Implement item level promotions
An item level promotion is a price discount, such as a specified percentage or amount of money off of the regular product price. A promotion can also be a product offering that deviates from your standard product offerings. It gives customers an incentive to buy a product. Promotions boost sales or reward loyal customers.
Examples of promotions are:
- Freebies
- Limited-time offers
- Holiday specials
To access item level promotions in our web admin tool, go to the Item Level Promotions tab in the Optimize > Promotions section.
On the dashboard, you can see the Item Level Promotions table displaying the following data:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| ID | Unique ID of the promotion. |
| Name | Name of the promotion. |
| Coupon Code | Coupon codes for the promotion. |
| Active | Whether or not the promotion is active. |
| Valid from | The first day and time in which a promotion is valid. |
| Valid to | The last day and time in which a promotion is valid. |
| Case-Sensitive (optional) | Whether the coupon code distinguishes between upper and lower case letters. |
| Client Sales Revenue Last 14 Days (optional) | How much revenue the promotion has generated for the client in the past 14 days. |
| Client Sales Revenue Last 24 Hours (optional) | How much revenue the promotion has generated for the client in the past 24 hours. |
| Client Sales Revenue Last Month (optional) | How much revenue the promotion has generated for the client in the past month. |
| Created by (optional) | User who created the promotion. |
| Date Created (optional) | Date and time when the promotion was created. |
| Date Modified (optional) | Date and time when the last edit occurred. |
| Currently Active and Valid (optional) | Whether or not the promotion is currently active and valid. |
| Last Modified by (optional) | User who last edited the promotion. |
| List Type (optional) | Whether products were added to the promotion using an include or exclude list. |
| Orders Last 14 Days (optional) | How many orders for the promoted products have been placed in the past 14 days. |
| Orders Last 24 Hours (optional) | How many orders for the promoted products have been placed in the past 24 hours. |
| Orders Last Month (optional) | How many orders for the promoted products have been placed in the past month. |
| Discount Pricing Method (optional) | How the discount is priced. |
| Total Number of Coupons (optional) | How many coupon codes haven been set up for the promotion. |
Add an item level promotion
To add an item level promotion in our web admin tool:
- Go to Optimize > Promotions.
- Click Add Item Level Promotion.
- Complete the relevant information in the following sections:
The General & Price section is used to enter settings that define the overall characteristics of the promotion. You can also limit the discount and specify a pricing model or a price configuration for the promotion.
General
Enter information in the following fields:
Enter a unique name for the promotion.
To make it easier to find the promotion later, name it with a structure that can be easily found and tells you what it is. A good naming convention can include:
- The type of promotion you are naming.
- The product name associated with it.
- The price, country, or other relevant information An example that follows good naming conventions could look like this: Email – Internet Security Basic – Germany – GIFTFORYOU
To credit an affiliate for every purchase made with a coupon from this promotion, enter that affiliate’s ID number. Use the affiliate ID number for affiliates who distribute coupons through media, such as mailings or print media.
This setting overrides any x-parameters passed to the order process or previously set in a cookie.
A primary use case for the X-parameters field is to collect information that allows Cleverbridge to correctly credit the Partnerize publishers who distribute promotional coupon codes through mailings, print media, web forums, and so on. To utilize the X-Parameters field for this use case, enter a key-value pair in the field that has the following format:
x-publisher-id=<partnerize publisher ID>
The <partnerize publisher ID> can also remain empty. To connect multiple x-parameters, use &.
x-publisher-id=130l392
An active integration with a Partnerize campaign is required to use this field.
To find the Partnerize Publisher ID for a publisher in your Partnerize account, complete the following steps:
- Click the Partners tab in the main menu of Partnerize.
- Select Status > Approved as a filter in the left column.
- Select Download CSV in the Actions drop-down list. A CSV file is downloaded.
- Open the CSV file and find the publishers you would like to credit. In Column E, you can find their Partnerize Publisher ID.
Valid Dates and Times
The Valid Dates and Times options control if and when a promotion is active. There are two options for controlling a promotion's validity:
The Active option determines whether or not a promotion is available for use.
The Valid from and Valid to options determine when a promotion is available for use. If you don't enter valid dates and times, the promotion is always available when active. This setting is based on the date and time settings of your computer.
- Click the toggles to activate the Valid from and Valid to fields.
- Enter a date and time for the duration of the promotion.
Discount
The following options are available to limit the discount and define subscription settings:
The following options are available for limiting the discount:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Discount limit for quantity of licenses | The Discount limit for quantity of licenses option limits the quantity of units that can be discounted when a customer purchases multiple quantities of the same product. Select the maximum number of units that can be discounted. Example The quantity limit is set to 2. A customer purchases 5 units of the product. The discount is applied to the first 2 units of the product, and the remaining 3 are full price. |
| Can't be combined with other discounts | The Can't be combined with other discounts option prevents other discounts in the Cleverbridge platform, such as from price configurations, from being combined with this discount. This is valid in situations where partners may have other discounts in the platform and you do not wish those discounts to be applied in addition to this one. warning A dynamic discount created in Link Generator will also work in addition to this discount, even if you select the Can't be combined with other discounts option. To avoid this scenario, in the Link Generator of the Marketing section, deselect the Enable coupon code entry field in cart option. Select this option to prevent partners from getting another discount after this discount is applied. |
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Apply to billing interval(s) | The *Apply to billing interval(s) option applies the discount to subscription-billed products. Select a number to control how many billing events have the discount. Use 0 to discount only the initial purchase, which means later billing events are full price. Use numbers greater than 0 to specify how many billing events are discounted. If you turn off this toggle, then the coupon applies to all interval billing intervals. Example A subscription product is billed monthly. You create a promotion for the first 6 months free. The Apply to billing interval(s) is set to 5. The discount is applied to the initial billing event plus the next 5 subscription rebilling events. Starting with the 7th rebilling event, the customer pays the full price for the monthly subscription. |
| Apply to one subscription billing interval only | The Apply to one subscription billing interval only option applies the discount to a maximum of one billing interval per subscription. Example A subscription product is billed monthly. You create a promotion for the subscription product and select the Apply to one subscription billing interval only check box. The discount is applied to the initial billing event. Starting with the second rebilling event, the customer pays the full price for the monthly subscription. note It is only possible to select one of the following in the Discount section:
|
Price Settings
The Price Settings section determines how the discount is priced. To set up the price settings for your discount, you must first select a Discount pricing method. Our web admin tool will then provide you with additional fields you must complete. Cleverbridge offers four basic discount pricing methods, all of which you can also apply to a volume scale model:
The Percentage Discount option allows you to set a specific percentage which will be subtracted from the price of a product. To offer a percentage discount, do the following:
- From the drop-down menu, select Percentage Discount. The Percentage field is displayed.
- Select the percentage you want to offer as a discount.
- Click Save.
In the cart below, Internet Security Basic Extended has a promotion with a percentage discount of 25% off. The promotion doesn't apply to the other product in the cart, Mobile Internet Security. Note that the discount is only taken from Internet Security Basic Extended, and not the total order price.
The Percentage Discount (Volume Scale) option allows you to set a specific percentage which will be subtracted from the price of a product. This is useful for products that are sold in multiple quantities. To offer a percentage discount for a product purchased in volume, do the following: 4. From the drop-down menu, select **Percentage Discount (Volume Scale). A grid with quantities and percentages displays. 5. In the Quantity column, enter the volume scale, with each row representing the next tier of the scale. For more information, see Volume pricing method. 6. In the Percentage column, enter the percentage discount for each row of the volume scale. For more information, see Volume pricing method. 7. Click Save.
The Absolute Discount option allows you to set a specific amount which will be subtracted from the price of a product. To offer an absolute discount, do the following: 8. From the drop-down menu, select the Absolute Discount option. 9. Select and enter the appropriate information in the following fields:
- Price type for taxation
- Price grid
- Click Save.
Be careful with the absolute discount option if it applies to more than one product and the products have different prices. It's possible to discount the prices more than you intended.
In the cart below, Internet Security Basic Extended has a promotion with an absolute discount of $5 off of the original product price.
The *Absolute Discount (Volume Scale) option allows you to set a specific amount which will be subtracted from the price of a product. This is useful for products that are sold in multiple quantities. To offer an absolute discount for a product purchased in volume, do the following: 2. From the drop-down menu, select the *Absolute Discount (Volume Scale) option. 3. Select and enter the appropriate information in the following fields:
- Price type for taxation
- Volume pricing method. For more information, see Volume pricing method.
- Price grid
- Click Save.
The Fixed Price option allows you to set a discounted price for a product. This price is a lower version of the original product price. To offer a fixed price discount, do the following: 2. From the drop-down menu, select the Fixed Price option. 3. Select and enter the appropriate information in the following fields:
- Price type for taxation
- Price grid
- Toggle (Show original price and discounted price)
note
Select this option only if you want the original price and the new price to be shown.
- Click Save.
In the cart below, the original product price for Internet Security Basic Extended is $24.95. The discounted price is set at $20.
The *Fixed Price (Volume Scale) option allows you to set a discounted price for a product. This price is a lower version of the original product price, and this option is useful for products that are sold in multiple quantities. To offer a fixed price discount for a product purchased in volume, do the following: 2. From the drop-down menu, select the *Fixed Price (Volume Scale) option. 3. Select and enter the appropriate information in the following fields:
- Price type for taxation
- Volume pricing method. For more information, see Volume pricing method.
- Price grid
- Toggle (Show original price and discounted price)
note
Select this option only if you want the original price and the new price to be shown.
- Click Save.
The Recurring Price option allows you to set a unique price for each subscription billing event. These prices are lower versions of the original product price. To offer different prices for different subscription billing events, do the following: 2. From the drop-down menu, select the Recurring Price option. 3. Select and enter the appropriate information in the following fields:
- Price type for taxation
- Price grid
- Click Save.
The fictional company, Shieldware, sets the original product price for the anti-virus software, Internet Security, at $34.95 for one year of use. However, if a customer signs up for a subscription, Shieldware will offer a discounted price for each billing interval. Using the Discount tab, they set the discounted price for the initial subscription payment (Interval 0) at $29.95 for one year of use. Thereafter, they add the following to the price grid:
| Interval | Price |
|---|---|
| 0 | $29.95 |
| 1 | $29.95 |
| 2 | $24.95 |
| 3 | $24.95 |
| 4 | $19.95 |
| 5 | $19.95 |
If one or more of the products associated with the Recurring Price discount is not set up as a subscription product, the following warning will appear: At least one product is not a subscription. If this occurs, the discount for Interval 0 will be assigned to the non-subscription product.
The *Recurring Price (Volume Scale) option allows you to set a unique price for each subscription billing event. These prices are lower versions of the original product price, and this option is useful for subscription products that are sold in multiple quantities. To offer different prices for a product subscribed to in volume, do the following: 2. From the drop-down menu, select the *Recurring Price (Volume Scale) option. 3. Select and enter the appropriate information in the following fields:
- Price type for taxation
- Volume pricing method. For more information, see Volume pricing method.
- Price grid
- Click Save.
If one or more of the products associated with the Recurring Price discount is not set up as a subscription product, the following warning will appear: At least one product is not a subscription. If this occurs, the discount for Interval 0 will be assigned to the non-subscription product.
Price Configurations
The Price Configurations section is used to specify a price configuration for the promotion. Complete the following:
- Click the Limit by these price configurations toggle to enable configuration of this feature.
- In the List type drop-down list, select one of the following options:
- Exclude List to exclude specific price configurations from the promotion. This option is best when you have only a few price configurations that are not included in the promotion.
- Include List to include specific price configurations in the promotion. This option is best when you have a limited number of price configurations in the promotion.
- Click in the Price Configurations field and select the price configurations that you would like to include in the promotion.
For more details on the combination of price configurations and promotions, see Use a price configuration for combining discounts and coupons.
You can use the Coupons section to create new coupons or copy existing coupons for a promotion. Complete the following:
The coupon settings located at the top of the Coupons section apply to all coupon codes for a promotion:
Coupon use limit
The Coupon use limit option limits the number of times a unique coupon code can be used for a promotion.
This field limits the total number of times a coupon code can be used by all customers. For example, if you set this number to 1,000, this coupon can be used 1,000 times. If you set the number to one, on the other hand, only one customer gets the discount and then the coupon expires, no matter how many customers you have.
Depending on your business model, use the coupon use limit to create a sense of urgency for a promotion. For example, you can set the limit to 500 and create a promotion for the first 500 customers.
Case-sensitive
Turn on the toggle in order to require that the coupon code distinguishes between upper and lower case letters.
In the coupon code section, there are two main ways to set up coupon codes:
Generate new coupon codes
- Click Add Coupons > Generate Coupons. The Generate Coupons window opens.
- Enter information about how the coupon code should be created.
- Click OK. The coupon codes are added.
One way to name coupon codes is to personalize them by including customer information, such as an email address or phone number. Personalizing coupon codes can create a positive customer experience.
Coupon code names can be easily edited by clicking on a coupon code line item and entering text.
Copy existing coupon codes
You can import your own pre-generated coupon codes from a spreadsheet, text file, or other source by copying and pasting the codes.
- In your source file, select and copy the coupon codes to be pasted.
- Click Add Coupon > Paste Coupons. The coupon codes are added.
Depending on your business model, you can create one coupon code for multiple uses, or multiple coupon codes for one use each. You can activate or deactivate a coupon code. The Quantity Used column displays how many times the coupon code has been used.
Use the Products section to specify which products are used in the promotion. Complete the following:
Add Products
To add products to a promotion, complete the following:
- In the List type drop-down, select one of the following options:
- Include List to include specific products in the promotion. This option is best when you have a limited number of products in the promotion.
- Exclude List to exclude specific products from the promotion. This option is best when you have only a few products that are not included in the promotion.
If you would like to include all products in a promotion, you need to choose the Exclude List with no products selected.
- Click the Select Product button at the top of the Selected Products table.
- Search for and select the products that you would like to add to the promotion.
- Click OK.
Remove Products
To remove products from a promotion, in the Selected Products table, click the bin icon to the right of the product that you would like to remove.
Trigger a promotion
There are two ways to trigger a promotion to customers:
- A customer enters a coupon code during the checkout process.
- The coupon code is passed in the URL and the discount is automatically applied.
Customer enters a coupon code
In this implementation method, customers manually enter the coupon code into the coupon code entry field during the checkout process.
In the following cart, the customer clicks the Check to enter coupon code button to enable the coupon code entry field. The customer enters the coupon code and clicks Apply to activate the discount to the applicable product in the cart.
Coupon code is passed in a URL
In this implementation method, the coupon code is added to the URL, and the discount automatically displays in the cart. The customer doesn't enter the coupon code manually.
This option can be implemented by using Link Generator or by using parameters.
Link Generator
To pass a coupon code in the URL with Link Generator, in the Use coupon code field, enter the coupon code. The link is created with the discount automatically applied in the cart.
Parameter
To pass a coupon code by appending parameters to the URL, use the &coupon= parameter.
In the following cart, the discount was applied automatically. The URL for this cart includes the coupon code: &coupon=1XQ-XUA-3EJ
A complete checkout link is built according to the pattern: https://<your.domain>/<your-accountID>/?scope=checkout&cart=<productID>&coupon=<your-promo-coupon>
For information on how to set up promotions using Commerce Assistant (CA), see Promotions.