Which Referral Program Approach is Right for you?

The referral-centric approach vs. the advocate-centric approach

The Referral-Centric Approach

• Built around a widget• Good for a one-time referral from an

essentially anonymous advocate• Works well for an ecommerce company

who wants to sell its product but doesn’t care who’s buying it and isn’t looking for repeat referrals

The Advocate-Centric Approach

• A full referral program• Emphasizes the advocate experience• Data from your advocate is the primary

importance• Great for generating repeat referrals and

developing a long-term relationship• Increases customer engagement

In essence, when you’re deciding on what approach is right for you it’s similar to asking, “Do I want a one-night stand or a long-term relationship?”

One-night stand (referral-centric) - You gather hardly any information because you aren’t interested in having contact with the person again. Once you achieve your desired interaction you don’t try to continue building the relationship.

Long-term relationship (advocate-centric) - You get their contact information, learn their name, get to know their interests, and try to understand the person you’re interacting with in order to build a successful long-term relationship that continues to benefit both parties.

Pros and Cons of the Referral-Centric Approach

Pros Cons

• A widget can be placed on an existing site

• Low barrier for advocates to register

• No registration other than an email address so no advocate data

• No way to accumulate rewards

• No way to encourage repeat referrals from advocates

• Requires web developer to place it on the site

• Requires IT to perform security reviews

• Ad blockers block widgets

Pros and Cons of the Advocate-Centric ApproachPros Cons

• Full profile of advocate data and program activity

• Can utilize reward structures that encourage repeat referrals

• Minimal IT needed• Holistic view of all referral

activity available for advocates

• Registration (1st time only) is an extra step (only if not using SSO)

• Goes to a different page to make a referral

While both approaches have their merits, if you’re looking to develop a long-term relationship with your Advocates you need an Advocate-centric approach.Calculate what your ROI could be with an advocate-centric referral program by using the ROI Calculator now.

Amplifinity referral marketing software generates revenue growth for sales-driven companies. Amplifinity turns customer, partner, and employee advocacy into high-quality leads by integrating referrals into marketing and sales processes. Companies like ADP and DIRECTV trust Amplifinity to enable high-quality acquisition while providing an engaging experience for their advocates. Amplifinity.com