Promotion Codes (also known as a promo code, discount code, voucher code, coupon code or pre-access code) can be used as a powerful tool to increase sales, attract new customers and increase customer loyalty.
What is a Promotion Code?
A Promotion Code is a 12 character alphanumeric code that is entered in the Sales Interface or by customers online.
You can use Promotion Codes to:
- Offer customers a discount on their purchase
- Unlock eligible seats
- Enable the purchase of tickets during a Priority Booking period
- Waive Ticket, Delivery or Transaction Commissions
When a Promotion Code is entered, it will automatically apply any functionality that has been linked to it. For example, when a customer adds tickets to the Basket/Cart and enters a promotion code, the Offer linked to the Promotion Code will automatically apply.
You can report on the different Promotion Codes you use to see which distribution methods are most effective. For example, if you choose to include one Promotion Code in an email campaign and a different one on printed flyers.
Where can a Promotion Code be used?
Promotion Codes can be used online and in the Sales Interface, depending on what the Promotion Code is linked to.
- Offers: Online and in the Sales Interface
- Priority Booking: Online
- Locked Seats: Online
- Waive Commission: Sales Interface
TIP: In the Sales Interface, a Sales User can unlock seats and perform a sale during Priority Booking without having to enter a Promotion Code.
Planning your Promotion Codes
Before you set up a Promotion Code, consider planning how you will use and distribute it. Decide whether you want to use a single code, or a range of specific codes. Make sure you enter a description of the code for internal use only.
You may want to set up different Promotion Codes for different purposes so that when you come to report on your Events you can use the information about which methods were most successful.
- Promotional Codes can only be applied before the purchase is made. You can’t retrospectively apply a Promotion Code to a ticket purchase that has already been paid for.
- You can’t limit the number of times a Promotion Code can be used. Instead you can link Promotion Codes to Offers which use Offer Limits.
- It isn’t possible to generate unique promo codes. Instead you can set up as many Promotion Codes as required.
- A Customer can’t use a Promotion Code to enter Priority Booking and then remove the code to add another Promotion Code linked to an Offer. Each Basket can only have one Promotion Code, although the same code can enable multiple Offers, Priority Booking Periods, Lock Types or waive Commissions.
TIP: Promotion Codes should consist of alphanumeric characters with no spaces and be no more than 12 characters in length. You can use special characters £!%&+. Any other characters will result in an error.
How to set up Promotion Codes
You can set up a Promotion Code:
- In the Promotion Codes menu
- In Customer Eligibility when setting up an Offer, Lock Type, Priority Booking or Commissions
TIP: To access the Admin Interface, you’ll need the General Administrator Role. If you don’t have this Role, ask the Settings Administrator in your organisation to add this Role to your User Account.
In the Promotion Codes menu
To set up Promotion Codes from the Promotion Codes menu, follow these steps:
- Click Control Panel in the bottom left of Spektrix:
- Click Admin:
- Navigate to Other > Promotion Codes:
- Click New:
- In the Basic Details tab, enter the Code and Description. Click Save:
TIP: If you don't want to use the Promotion Code just yet, uncheck the Active? box.
In Customer Eligibility
You can add a new Promotion Code when setting up an Offer, Lock Type, Priority Booking, Criteria Groups, Fund or Commissions. Add a new Promotion Code in the following tabs:
-
Offers: Eligibility
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Lock type: Customer Eligibility
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Priority Booking: Customer criteria
-
Criteria Groups:
-
Fund details: Customer Criteria
-
Commissions: Waive Criteria
Once you’re in the relevant screen above, follow these steps:
- Click New
- In the Basic Details tab, enter the Code and Description
- Click Save:
TIP: If you don't want to use the Promotion Code just yet, uncheck the Active? box.
Adding a Promotion Code as Eligibility criteria
Once you’ve set up your Promotion Code, you can apply it to an Offer, Lock Type, Priority Booking, Criteria Group, Donation or Commission.
Take a look at the Customer Eligibility article for more information on how to do this.
How to apply a Promotion Code
Promotion Codes for can be used in either the Sales Interface, Online or both. Click each tab below for more information.
REMINDER: Each Basket/Cart can only have one Promotion Code applied at a time. The same code can enable multiple Offers, Priority Booking Periods, Lock Types or waive Commission.
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Promotion Codes in the Sales Interface
To apply a Promotion Code, follow these steps:
- Click the Add promo code button from within the Basket/Cart:
- You will then see a Promotion Code pop-up, with a dropdown menu containing all of the Promotion Codes which are currently active on your system:
- Select the Promotion Code from the list to apply to the Basket/Cart and click Ok:
- In the example below, an Offer has been applied to the Basket/Cart once the Promotion Code linked to that Offer is selected:
TIP: If an Offer requires a Promotion Code, the Offer won't apply in the Sales Interface until you have chosen the linked Promotion Code.
- Click the Add promo code button from within the Basket/Cart:
-
Promotion Codes online
Customers can apply a Promotion Code during checkout at the following points:
- Event Details or Choose Seats iframe: If the Instance is in a Priority Booking period with a Promotion Code set as eligibility criteria
- On the Choose Seats iframe: Where a Promotion Code is set as the eligibility criteria for a Lock Type in use on that Instance
- On the Basket iframe: Where an active Offer with a Promotion Code is attached to the Offer
How to deactivate Promotion Codes
To deactivate a Promotion Code, follow these steps:
REMINDER: To access the Admin Interface, you’ll need the General Administrator Role. If you don’t have this Role, ask the Settings Administrator in your organisation to add this Role to your User Account.
- Click Control Panel in the bottom left of Spektrix:
- Click Admin:
- Navigate to Other > Promotion Codes:
- Select the Promotion Code you want to make inactive:
- Click Edit:
- Uncheck the Active? box and click Save:
Reporting and Segmentation of Promotion Codes
It’s possible to use Promotion Codes as metrics in Segmentation and Reporting.
Promotion Codes in Reports
To report on Promotion Codes, you can use the following Reports:
To include Promotion Codes in the output of your Report, select the Order Item Promotion Code metric from the PromotionCodes wrapper:
Promotion Codes in Customer Lists
When building Customer Lists, you can segment on Promotion Codes using the Purchasing Segment.
In the Purchasing segment under the Tickets wrapper, drag the Promotion Codes metric into the Drop criteria here box:
Further Reading
You should have the information needed to set up and manage Promotion Codes.
To learn more, you may find the following articles helpful:
- Introduction to Offers
- A Guide to Standard Reports in Spektrix
- Customer Eligibility
- Introduction to Locks
- Criteria Groups