Which program should I use?

In case you're wondering what Program type you select for your partner programs, look no further! In this article, we'll help you choose the most optimal solution. First off, let's discuss the difference between partners ie Affiliates, and Refer-a-Friend.

Affiliates vs Refer-a-Friend

Affiliates = Commercial Partners. These are professional business partners, who promote your business/ product/ brand to generate income for themselves. They prioritize working with you vs another business, based on their earning potential. Examples of affiliates are bloggers, influencers, website owners.

Refer-a-Friend = Customer Referrers. These are your own customers, who promote your business/ product/ brand to their personal network of friends and family because:

a) they really like your business/ product/ brand

b) they will earn some kind of reward, such as a discount on their next purchase or sales commission.

Both partner types should be categorized/ approached differently based on their individual 'drivers' ie what incentivizes them best to work for you. For example:

Partner Communication - tailor your email messaging based on who you're talking to. Customers don't always appreciate a high volume of emails about their program, whereas affiliates are more likely to want more information/ tools/ incentives on an ongoing basis.
Partner Recruitment - recruit refer-a-friend partners (customers) via Post-Purchase Modal; recruit affiliates via Marketplace Listings (new feature)
Incentive Types - create discount-focused incentives for refer-a-friend partners; create commission/payout-focused incentives for affiliates.

Default Affiliate Program

This is your main Partner Program for affiliates.

Opt-into Marketplace Listings. Affiliate programs can be placed and advertised in the Marketplace Listings, allowing you to recruit commercial partners and influencers and make them your brand ambassadors. Usually, they would offer a % from an order price reward for the affiliates themselves.
Set One-Click Registration to Default Affiliate Program. When a potential partner is logged into Shopify, their details will auto-complete when they sign up for your partner program. One-Click Registration is set to Default Refer-a-friend Program, but you can change this in Settings if you'd prefer this in your Default Affiliate Program. Only Default Programs can have partners from One-Click Registration.
You will always have a Default Affiliate Program in your GrowthHero account.

Default Refer-a-friend Program

This is your main Partner Program for customers.

Post-Purchase Modal is the fastest to recruit your customers into refer-a-friend partners. When one of your customers completes a purchase, they will be shown a pop-up, asking them to join your refer-a-friend program.
Embedded Referral Page, is a page/widget embedded into your site, showcasing your refer-a-friend program, visible to business visitors and your customers while browsing.
One-Click Registration in Default Refer-a-Friend Program. When a potential partner is logged into Shopify, their details will auto-complete when they sign up for your partner program. One-Click Registration is automatically set to Default Refer-a-Friend Program, so you would just need to activate this if not already done. Only Default Programs can have partners from One-Click Registration.
You will always have a Default Refer-a-Friend Program in your GrowthHero account.

Other Affiliate Programs

If you'd like to run more than one affiliate program, for example, adding different deals, feel free to do so!

Opt-into Marketplace Listings. Any affiliate program is eligible for the Marketplace Listings. However, make sure there's a reason for that (different types of product for example)
You will be able to add as many additional Affiliate Programs in your GrowthHero account, as you would like. However, they will not be eligible for One-Click Registration if you choose to recruit Affiliates this way.

Other Refer-a-Friend Programs

If you'd like to run more than one refer-a-friend program, for example, adding different deals, feel free to do so!

You will be able to add as many additional Refer-a-friend Programs in your GrowthHero account, as you would like. However, they will not be eligible for One-Click Registration, which is set to Default Refer-a-Friend.

Programs & Other Features

All other features are available to all program types; such as Marketing Resources, Campaigns, Multi-Level-Marketing, Partner Tiers, Commission Modifiers, Experiments, and more...

Program Conditions

You will not be able to change an Affiliate Program to a Refer-a-Friend program, or vice versa.
You will be able to swap an Affiliate Program to the Default Affiliate Program.
You will be able to swap a Refer--friend Program to the Default Refer-a-Friend Program.
Although you cannot swap Program types, you can change individual partners in any Program type, to another Program Type.