This article is for merchants on other platforms. If you're on Shopify, see [Shopify] Advocate Reward: Coupon.
Use the coupon reward to send a discount code to your advocates when they successfully refer a friend. After a successful referral, ReferralCandy emails the advocate a coupon code they can use on another purchase at your store. Advocates can also see every coupon reward they've earned in their advocate or affiliate portal.
Using coupons
How you get the coupon codes depends on your platform. On BigCommerce, Squarespace, and WooCommerce, ReferralCandy creates the advocate's coupon codes in your store for you — a new code is created after each successful referral, so there's nothing for you to upload. On WooCommerce, this applies once your store is on the WooCommerce OAuth connection (where you approve ReferralCandy inside WooCommerce) rather than the legacy connection (where you pasted ReferralCandy API keys into the plugin), and the campaign's advocate reward uses codes ReferralCandy creates. On every other platform, and on WooCommerce campaigns that use codes you uploaded, you generate and provide the codes yourself, because the codes are tied into your store's checkout, and you can use either single-use coupons or one multi-use code — both are described below. For the steps to create codes, see How to create coupon codes.
WooCommerce: If you moved your store from the legacy connection to the WooCommerce OAuth connection, each existing campaign keeps the advocate reward codes you uploaded until you update its advocate reward settings, and ReferralCandy keeps giving out those uploaded codes until then. If they're single-use codes, keep enough uploaded: the campaign stops if they run out. See Your coupon codes after you move over in the WooCommerce integration guide.
Tip: Use a coupon reward if your customers are likely to make repeat purchases — a discount on a future order is a strong motivator to keep referring. Learn more about choosing referral rewards.
Single use
Single-use coupons are a batch of codes you upload — ReferralCandy gives out each code only once as a reward. Any single-use code your store accepts at checkout can be used. If you run out of single-use codes, your campaign automatically stops — generate and upload more codes to resume it.
Multi use
A multi-use coupon is a single code that every advocate receives as their reward. Use this if you'd rather hand out one shared code than manage a pool of unique ones. Any multi-use code your store accepts at checkout can be used.
Combining a coupon with another reward
You can give a coupon as one of up to two advocate rewards in the same tier. For example, you can combine:
Coupon + cash
Coupon + another reward type available for your campaign
This lets you give advocates a discount for a future purchase while also rewarding them another way for the same successful referral. If you use FlexiTiers, you can apply this in specific tiers to offer a stronger combined reward.
Coupon advocate reward FAQ
Can I customize an advocate's referral code?
Can I customize an advocate's referral code?
On BigCommerce, you can customize the advocate or affiliate's referral code — the code they share with friends. See [BigCommerce] Customizing an advocate or affiliate's referral code.
Do I need to create the discount codes myself?
Do I need to create the discount codes myself?
Whether you need to create the discount codes yourself depends on your platform. On BigCommerce, Squarespace, and WooCommerce you don't: ReferralCandy creates the advocate's codes for you after each successful referral. On WooCommerce, that applies once your store is on the WooCommerce OAuth connection rather than the legacy connection, and the campaign's advocate reward uses codes ReferralCandy creates. On other platforms, and on WooCommerce campaigns that use codes you uploaded, you generate and provide the coupon codes yourself, since they're tied into your store's checkout. For the steps to create your own codes, see How to create coupon codes.