Referral programs and affiliate programs - what is the difference?

[rifathasan]

Referral and affiliate programs are very similar strategies. They have a lot in common – incentives, bonuses, the power of word-of-mouth marketing, and a similar goal. However, both programs are aimed at different audiences and provide different types of rewards. Let’s look at what makes both programs unique in their own way. First, an affiliate does not have to be a customer of your brand, unlike referral programs, where the participant must be a buyer or client. In most cases, an affiliate is a person with a large audience that matches the profile of the company’s target audience . After all, a person can become an affiliate by being a loyal customer.

However, with referral programs, this is different gambling database – ​​the participant must be a customer. Second, people who join affiliate programs do so solely for the purpose of earning income, and not for the purpose of receiving additional benefits. Therefore, they are not necessarily customers of the company. And that is why affiliate marketing usually attracts marketers, bloggers, influencers, and not customers looking to save money or earn bonuses through referrals. And finally, the main difference between affiliate programs and referral programs is the relationship. Referral programs are the result of a close relationship between the parties – such as friends, families, employees, etc.

In contrast, affiliate programs do not require any existing relationship between the affiliate and the referred party. For example, a person buys a product through an affiliate link posted in a blog post. The person does not have any relationship with the affiliate. He simply bought the product because he trusted the affiliate’s recommendation. To summarize the above differences, here is a brief description of the differences between referral and affiliate programs.