About Coupons and Promotions
This tool can be used to further promote your Web site by adding an additional eCommerce ordering feature. You can offer promotions such as free goods, samples, and gifts added to a customer’s order based on different qualifying amounts. For example, you can send a free coffee mug to any customer who meets an order amount of $100. You can also set up one-time or reusable coupons to apply to orders.
There are several different promotional types you can give, including:
Choice of Additional Items: This type lets you add items to the customer's order free of charge, for example, buy three boxes of pens, get your choice of two free items.
Discount Matching Items: This type provides a discount on items that match the items you specify. When the matching item is purchased, the discount is applied
Discount Current Order: This type can be used to offer a discount using either a percentage or dollar amount off of the current order, purchase $100 and receive $10 or 10% off your current order, for example.
Discount off First Web Order: This type gives the customer a first-time order discount. The front-end system verifies that this is a first order for the selected customer. For example, you could allow $25 off a first-time order of $100 or more.
Discount Next Order: This type gives the customer a discount when the next order is placed. The system displays the discount when the back office business system determines this is the customer's next order. For example, you could specify that if customers order three boxes of pens, they'll get 10% off their next order, or you could set up a promotion that allows customers $10 off their next order when their current order totals $100 or more.
Discount Highest Priced Item: This type offers a discount for the highest priced item on the customer's current order, 5 or 10% off, for example.
To Set Up the Coupons and Promotions Feature:
Set up the coupons and promotions you intend to use in the back office business system. In the Master Menu, click the Databases menu and select Promotions. The Promotions window opens. In the Promotions window, the Promotions Order Requirement Type and Promotions Benefit Type box work together to determine the promotion being offered. For further details, see your back office business system online documentation.
After you set up promotions in the back office, go to the Administrative Web site and click Customer Settings. Then, click Marketing. Select the Marketing setting to use and check the Allow Promotions and Coupons check box. Assign this Marketing setting to each user to enable the Promotions and Coupons feature on the front-end Web site.
Next, use Site Text and back office business system Promotion Error Message parameters to communicate your promotions and error messages to your shoppers.
The End User's Page
If shoppers meet the coupon or promotion requirements, the Add Coupon or Promo button appears on the Review and Complete Your Order or Order Approval pages. Once clicked, promotional information opens on the Coupons and Promotions Web page.
From here, shoppers enter the promotional code you specified in the back office business system in the Code box.
Your system then prompts for a department, if required, and checks the code's validity. If necessary, the system also prompts the shopper to select free items from a list based on the promotional benefit you set up.
To accept the promotion being offered, the shopper clicks Save Changes.
The coupon and promotional information appears on the shopper's Checkout page and displays when printed. It can also be viewed in Order History.