Which referral program approach would give you the most benefits? Discover whether you need a referral-centric approach or an advocate-centric approach.

1. Which Referral Program
Approach is Right for
you?
The referral-centric approach vs. the advocate-centric approach

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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?”

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

8. Pros and Cons of the
Advocate-Centric Approach
Pros 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

9. 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.

10. 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