The regular customer who would rather have a voucher.
She has been buying your coffee for three years and tells everyone about it anyway. You do not want to transfer money to her, and she does not want it either. What she wants is the next bag of beans cheaper. That is exactly what the voucher is for: it costs you margin instead of cash and brings her back into the shop.
What the bonus really costs.
The point where voucher and payout part ways. In both cases the partner gives up €50 of balance.
For the customer 60 euros are worth more than 50. For you 60 euros of voucher are cheaper than a 50 euro transfer, because you give up only the margin on an order that would not otherwise have happened. The bonus does not charge the balance — 50 euros are used up, 60 are issued.
Four settings, then it runs.
Set the reward to voucher
Shop-wide as a rule, switchable per partner. Anyone who should only receive vouchers never sees the payout request in the first place.
Plus the bonus per partner, as a percentage on the voucher value.
Open up the sign-up
In straight away rather than an application, otherwise you check every recommendation by hand. As conditions, a customer group and a minimum turnover from previous orders are usually enough.
Optional: qualified customers become partners by themselves when they place an order.
Exclude their own orders
Out of the box the partner's own purchase counts. For this case you take it out, otherwise everyone refers themselves.
Follow-up orders you let run, so that the recommendation carries permanently.
Set a starting balance
A first entry on the partner account as soon as someone is in. An empty overview becomes an account with something in it, and spreading the word gets a point immediately.
The amount is yours, zero included if you do not want it.
Tiered amounts or a free amount, not both.
With tiered amounts the partner only converts round sums. At €37.40 of balance they take the 25 tier, and the rest sits there until they reach a tier again. With large amounts that is no problem, with small ones it is annoying.
For customers referring customers the freely typed amount is therefore usually the better choice: the partner converts exactly what they have. Both at once cannot be configured, you decide on one of the two.
Common questions
Why is a voucher better than money for regular customers?
Because they are going to buy from you again anyway. A voucher is not a consolation prize for them but the better deal: with the percentage bonus you can grant per partner, they get more out of it than a bank transfer would be worth. For you the money stays in the shop and creates a new order instead of leaving the till.
How does the bonus on the voucher work?
The partner gives up balance and receives a voucher with a higher value. If you give a 20 percent bonus, 50 euros of balance becomes a voucher for 60 euros. The bonus increases the voucher value only; the balance is charged just the 50 euros. You set it per partner.
Can the partner convert any amount they like?
One or the other. You decide on five tiered amounts from your own vouchers, or on a freely typed amount. Both at once does not exist. For customers referring customers the free amount is usually more pleasant, because nobody has to wait for a tier.
Do customers sign up by themselves?
If you allow it. The customer account carries a Partner program section, and you decide whether someone is in straight away or applies. In addition the shop can quietly turn qualified customers into partners when they place an order, with customer group and minimum turnover as conditions. A starting balance at the beginning makes it tangible.
What happens if the referred customer cancels?
When the order moves to the status Cancelled, the plugin automatically books the commission back with a negative entry and your note on it. If the balance had already been converted into a voucher, the voucher stands; the balance slips into the negative and is settled against the next commission.
Does the partner see who bought through them?
Only anonymised: first name, the initial of the surname and a town. That lets them see their recommendation arrived without you handing customer data out. How many orders and customers are visible at all is a setting.
How do I stop someone referring themselves?
Out of the box the partner's own order counts. A switch takes it out, and then their own purchase no longer earns a commission. For customers referring customers that is the usual setting.
Other ways to turn customers into partners.
A referral without a link
The code sits on a card, not in a link. The customer types it into the cart.
Read on → Instagram, 40,000 followersAn influencer with a discount code
A voucher of their own as advertising material, paid out to the bank account instead of credit in the shop.
Read on → A coffee machine reviewComparison sites and blogs
Commission per product and category, so that thin margins do not bleed twice.
Read on →Your best salespeople have already bought from you.
In the demo shop you can sign up as a partner and turn balance into a voucher.