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What is the difference between referral codes and discount codes?
What is the difference between referral codes and discount codes?

Differentiating between the Buzzbassador referral code and discount code features

Shelby Baldwin avatar
Written by Shelby Baldwin
Updated over a week ago

Note: We use "Program" and "Member" as label-agnostic terms to refer to any marketing you are using Buzzbassador to facilitate, whether you refer to it as an affiliate program, influencer marketing, ambassador program, referral program, creator partnerships, brand reps, partner program, etc.

**Disclaimer: If you're looking to understand how Buzzbassador automatically generates a member's unique referral code, check out this article instead.

When a member is accepted into your program, they receive two codes: a discount code and a referral code. Both of these codes are automatically created by Buzzbassador based on the rules you set up in your app settings. Both of these codes, when created by Buzzbassador, will be integrated with Shopify (active promo codes on your store) and will appear in your Shopify "Discounts" section.

You may be wondering, what is the difference between the two codes? What is each one for? You've come to the right place! Below is an explanation.

The Discount Code

The member discount code is one code that a brand gives every member access to. In other words, all members get the same single discount code. The purpose of this code is to give your members an exclusive discount on your store as a "perk" of being a part of your program. This code is simply for the members to use whenever they want to make a purchase from you. This encourages member loyalty and also makes it easier on them when they want to buy more products in order to promote them on their social media pages. Most brands offer an exclusive member discount of between 15%-30%, but the amount is completely up to you!

The Referral Code

The referral code is the unique code that a brand gives its each of its members. In other words, no two ambassadors will have the same referral code; each one will be named differently. Each code, when applied at your brand's checkout, will take a certain percentage off of the purchase. Most brands set up their referral codes to take between 10%-25% off of a purchase, but this discount amount is completely up to you!

Members should be encouraged to promote their code to their friends and followers, because not only will these codes help your brand generate sales, but the ambassador can also benefit by earning commission off of the sales their code generates.

It's typical for these referral codes to be made in the member's name. For example, if you have ambassadors named Michaela, Laurel and Analise, and the discount amount you have set is 10%, their codes could be "Michaela10", "Laurel10" and "Analise10", respectively. This just makes it easier to keep track of whose codes belong to who-- but it's your brand, your referral codes can be whatever you want!

Here's an example of a referral code in action:

Let's say Michaela goes to promote your brand on her Instagram. She could make a post with a picture of her using your products and caption it: "I'm so excited to be a member" Use my code, 'Michaela10' at checkout to get 10% off your purchase!"

Then, let's say Michaela's friends all go to your website and make a purchase with the "Michaela10" code. They each get 10% off their purchase, and now you know that your member, Michaela, helped you earn all of those sales, and you can reward her with a commission off those purchases! Win-win for everyone involved.

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