Customer Retention Tools

[jmestep]

I've got the bulk of it done and am testing everything manually before I run the routines automatically to periodically issue the gift certificates etc. I should shortly have the code done for the persons who paid to test on dev sites if they want to do that.

[Brewhaus]

I just came onto this thread, and would be interested in adding such a program. Given the scope of options discussed, what is the final decision on how it is going to work? Will it be a simple system of points added to a customer's loyalty account based on dollars spent, resulting in free stuff or a gift certificate? Or, will it be in the direction of an affiliate type program where customers get rewards for sending friends?

[snap624]

Judy: any details on how the program will work and any info on how those of us who did not find this thread until recently can purchase the add on would be appreciated? Thanks in advance.

[jmestep]

Here is a summary of how it will work:
Merchants can chose whether to make referral functionality to either customers, someone who has only registered on the site, or both. The merchant can notifiy the customers of this in whatever manner they desire.
Referral scope wil be by order (customer can put in a different referral code with each order, or persistent (once a customer has used a referral code, he will keep that code and all orders will credit that referrer's account.
Merchant will be able to set the number of days that points will be held before they are available- for example, to allow for returns, fraudulent orders, etc.
Merchant will be able to set the referral percentage rate. (% of dollar amount of product subtotal of order less coupons and discounts)
Referrers will have an referral code they can give out. It will be their Able userId and the code to add to the url will be rc=45 (for userid 45)
People can use that referral code by starting out with it in the url or entering it into a referral code box on the one page checkout.
When a referral code is first used, it is checked to make sure it is a valid store user id and a gift certificate with a 0 balance is created.
Periodically a routine will run that will total the orders for a referrer, check the point delay days and if the order date is prior to the delay days, points will be moved from pending to adjust the balance of the referrer's gift certificate which they can use to pay for products they would order from the site. There will also be buttons on the merchant admin page for a merchant to do this on demand.
The referrers will have a section on their account page that shows pending points, balance of gift certificate, gift certificate number, a sample url with their referral code. There is also a grid showing the orders with order number, date and points earned for the order.
In the admin, the merchant will have a page where they can change the settings for the referral program and a grid of orders that were from referrers and another grid of pending points for each referrer.
I'm not sure what the pricing will be on it- some merchants have already paid a certain amount pre-development. You can contact bkort@web2market.com about the price.
I've got everything basically done and have been testing. After it all tests out continually, I'll be putting it into some kind of automated routine and polishing up some of the display.
Here are some screen shots.

ReferrerAccount.JPG

AdminSettings.JPG

[Brewhaus]

So, this had gone the direction of a referral / affiliate type system, then? The original direction was a point system for customers when they ordered, and then the discussion veered to a customer referral program instead of a loyalty program.

Do you know if any work was done on an actual loyalty program? I am thinking that maybe this thread should have split into two, as the change in direction seemed to leave the original concept dead (unless I am misunderstanding something, which is quite possible).

[gjaros]

The plugin that we developed was created from feedback from several clients interested in this type of a referral program. It is basically an affiliate program, except the affiliate's earnings remain with the merchant in the form of store credit.

Judy, I think a possible enhancement to this for the future (maybe a version 1.5 of the plugin) would be to allow customers to earn credits on their own purchases also. That could be another option in the program config page. The way I see that working would be with a few additonal settings:

Program Type - select one:
- Loyalty Program - would allow customers to earn credits only for their own purchases.
- Referral Program - would allow customers to earn credits on referrals only.
- Combo Program - would allow customers to earn credits on both their own purchases and referral purchases.

Referral Percentage Rate - Already in the plugin, would set the rate for referral orders.
Loyalty Percentage Rate - The rate customers would earn on their own orders.

I think this will be a relatively minor addition to the plugin, so lets keep it in mind for the next enhancement. It'll basically cover both types of rewards programs in one plugin then.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

[Brewhaus]

I will wait to see what the system offers with the enhancements. Our needs, which I expect would not differ much from many others, would be to build the points only for selected groups (eg. Retail, but not Wholesale groups of customers). They should not need to go through any additional registration aside from setting up their account on the system (which is done when checking out), and they should be able to see the credits earned in the account administration.

[jmestep]

It can work as is for a customer loyalty program if the customer uses his own userId as the referral code. But right now there is no admin for the options that George is talking about, including a different percentage for customer loyalty points.

[Brewhaus]

I take it that a points program that will automatically apply to registered customers (in selected groups) would be a completely new project then? Is anyone else here interested in jumping on with such a program?

[jmestep]

I don't think it would need to be a completely new project. It would just add options to the existing one and the code to run depending on the options.

[Brewhaus]

Please keep me updated if this becomes an add-on to the existing system. It would need to be based on a customer's account, though, as we don't want to hassle them with needing to use a referral code for their orders. There will guaranteed be customers who forget to use the code and then want us to credit the account... it is best to have it be automatic.

[igavemybest]

My initial post that started this thread got off the subject. The software division of our company is in turn developing this module I need. We have a little over 1000 hours invested at this time. Any feature requests would be appreciated. We will have limited Beta testing and will post when that becomes available along with the final version. Any feature requests would be appreciated at this time also.

[snap624]

I am with you, Brewhaus. I would be interested in a loyalty/points program. Something where members can view their points information under their account information. A points system based on purchases and (perhaps) customer referrals would be great. To be able to redeem those points for store gift certificates or mayber some other options as well (cash or a chance at a monthly drawing, perhaps) would work for me.

The referral program I was looking for, I guess, was one that had a referral scope of being by customer rather then by being by order. It seems that the referral/affiliate program outlined above does not seem to keep track of how many times the referrer gets credit for the same referree. Perhaps I am not understanding it correctly, but if someone refers someone by a link or by having the referree put in a referral code on checkout, it seems the process can be repeated indefinitely, no? That is, we give credit for a store referral because a new customer was referred to our site through a link. Then that same customer, at some other point, puts in a referral code on checkout or happens to follow the same link (or maybe someone else's link) to our store. Will the referrer get credit twice for the same customer (or in the case of the customer following someone else's link, will a new referral credit be issued)? We really just want to reward those who refer new customers to our site. Once the referree has made a purchase, no one should be receiving credit for future referrals for that customer. And I don't think a customer should be able to refer themselves.

Just my two cents.

[Jaz]

I have to ckeck with them, but last I talked to judy she was almost done.

[igavemybest]

I am with you, Brewhaus. I would be interested in a loyalty/points program. Something where members can view their points information under their account information. A points system based on purchases and (perhaps) customer referrals would be great. To be able to redeem those points for store gift certificates or mayber some other options as well (cash or a chance at a monthly drawing, perhaps) would work for me.

This is exactly what we are developing, with a lot, lot more options. If you would like to provide any suggestions or feature requests please email the development team at ac7_dev@safetekusa.com

[jmestep]

The referral program I was looking for, I guess, was one that had a referral scope of being by customer rather then by being by order.

On the code we are doing, the merchant can decide whether to keep the referral persistent (one customer comes to the store with a referral code and repeated orders by him use that referral code) or on a per-order basis (customer puts in a referral code and it is valid for one order. If the same customer comes back without a referral code or with a different referral code, then the old referrer does not get credit for the order.)

[Jaz]

Ignore my last post, I am a bit behind in the post. Here are a few of my thoughts.

1. I believe the way Judy has it written that, if a customer comes in on a link and then tyes in a code, the second code takes priority.
2. I think a customer would be able to use their own code and get kick backs. Some will figure this out, possibly most will figure this out. It just depends how you look at it. You can see them as abusing it, or you can see customer thinking they are beating the system and in turn buy everything from you. In my opinion, I would rather set the percentage properly and let the customer think they are making out big. Maybe even have some friends make some post about how they are beating the system. This could be great viral marketing.

3. The customer loyalty thing could probably be easily added, but this is where you get into double dipping if they put in a referral code. Maybe one could take priority over another.

4. My one last comment is about how to know if someone types in a referral code in checkout. Being this system only rewards the refer, not the customer, I would like to have a way to flag orders on the invoices to know if the order was referred. Possibly a simple 1,2 or 3 on the invoice would work. 1= no referral, 2 = link referral, 3 = typed in referral. This way your refers can have a better way to push your site. If they tell friends that you use a code and they will get a free t-shirt or something.

[russg]

we would be interested in a customer loyalty points addon, hopefully it will come out next

[jmestep]

I've got the loyalty points and the new customer only code added and had the code up on a test site for testing. That test site has since gone away, since it was an older build of Able. I will be putting it on a 7.0.2 test site. The core features are done and I am adding the automating for issuance of gift certificate points.
With the customer loyalty option added, if the browsing userid = the referral code they put in or is stored previously, the program checks for the type of program. If the program type is customer loyalty only or both customer loyalty and referral, then the points are calculated based on the loyalty percentage. If the type is referral only, then the customer doesn't get any points applied since he is his own referrer.
It won't differentiate between a referral code entered in querystring or on checkout page- the checkout page wins.

[Robbie@FireFold]

Looking foward to seeing a demo! Also looking forward to getting this bad boy on FireFold and in action.

[jmestep]

I checked with Brad to discover those of you who had paid for the development. I'll be putting it up on our new test site before Monday and will send you login and program flow information.

[jmestep]

The referral/customer loyalty program is available now for purchase.
Details are in this post:
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