Setting up Online Promotional Codes – Zaui Software Support

Overview

Zaui provides you with the ability to create Online Promotional Codes to help you drive new or repeat online business.

There are two ways to use promo codes. This article will cover how to manually create a promo code and how to use them. You can then set up your system to automatically generate a promo code when booking a certain tour or activity. To find out about Zaui's Automatic Promo Code Generator, check out this article.

What is the difference between Online Promotional Codes and Discounts?

Promo codes are created to be used by guests when booking through your booking engine. They can also be applied by staff in the Zaui Core (Back Office). Discounts, on the other hand, can only be used by staff in Zaui Core (Back Office) and cannot be used when booking through the booking engine.

This article will cover the following topics:

Why Use Online Promotional Codes?
How to Create Online Promotional Codes in Zaui
Creating Multiple Rules Within a Single Promo Code
Promotional Code-specific URL Links
Online Promotional Code Troubleshooting

Why Use Online Promotional Codes?

Using online promotional codes to drive business is a fantastic independent niche type of marketing that is far-reaching, long-lasting and a great investment. But the BEST part of it all is using it in Zaui makes it automated, 100% quantifiable and eliminates the guesswork.

Here are some great ideas on how you might want to approach using promo codes within your current flow:

Promo	Definition & Benefits
Print to Online Conversion	These are promotions that you are running in print material but must be redeemed online. You might, for example, place a specific promo code (DISCOUNT_10) on your rack cards. Making this code redeemable online allows you to track your marketing value for such a promotional code. It may also tell you a bit about how well your rack cards are performing.
Repeat Customer	A fantastic method to start building customer loyalty! This is really simple to implement in Zaui, and again, 100% traceable. Create a promotional code specifically for a group of guests that can be used the next time they visit your website. When a guest uses one of these codes, they're telling you that they are a repeat customer, and booking again. Hint: Try something like "PREFERRED_CUSTOMER" to further incentivize guests to book. The words used in your codes will have an effect on whether or not your customers make a repeat booking, and can convey how much you value their repeat business.
Viral Marketing	These are promotional codes that are sent to existing clients but intended for them to pass along to friends or family for their first booking. Word of mouth is a powerful form of marketing!
Buy One, Get One	If you have a new or existing activity that you're looking to generate bookings for, a BOGO might just be the best way to do that. Check out this article and this article for two different ways of running a BOGO promo.

How to Create Online Promotional Codes in Zaui

From the navigation bar, select Settings > Pricing > Promo Code
Click on + Create Online Promotional Code from the shortcuts panel.

The system will default to displaying only active promo codes. To view all or just expired promo codes, change the status.

Online Promotional Code Information

Code Name is the name your customers will enter online to receive a discount. Please note spaces are not allowed and the codes are case-sensitive.
The description gives you a place to write internal notes that are only visible in Zaui Core (Back Office).
Promo Code valid if BOOKED from and until is where you will enter your promotional date range (Purchase date). For example, if your promotion is to encourage early bookings for the summer during the month of March, enter March 1 in the From box and March 31 in the Until box.
Currently Enabled provides an easy way to turn a promo code on or off without having to delete or expire it. If for some reason you need to temporarily disable a promotion, simply uncheck the box.

Promo Code Tags

Promo Code Tags allow you to tag individual promo codes. This allows you to group promo codes and run reports on those groups.

Click on +Add Promo Code Tag and type a tag of your choice into the empty field. The field will search to see if this is an existing code. If so, the code will be linked to any other which also contains this tag.
Click on +Add Promo Code Tag to add additional tags, or click Remove to unlink a tag from this promo code.
Tags can be used as filters on Promo Code Reports (Reports > Promo Codes).

Promotional Code Component Configuration

This section is where you will configure the rules surrounding your promotional code. Click on the plus icon to expand and edit the Promo Code Rules.

Setting	Required Field	Definition
Valid if ACTIVITY DATE is FROM and until	Optional	The range of activity dates that the promo code can be used for. Please be aware that customers will be able to use a promo code before the start date if they are booking an activity that will occur within this date range.
Valid Days of the Week	Optional	Apply additional restrictions on valid activity dates. For example, if Tuesday is the only checked box, a booking must be made for an activity that occurs on Tuesday in order to use this code. These boxes do not restrict the days of the week that a booking is made on, but rather, the days of the week the booking is made for.
Valid if Minimum Booked	Optional	Configure specific numbers and types of passengers that must be on a booking for the promo code to be used. For example, if you specify 2 adults here, there must be 2 adults on a booking for the code to be used. A booking with 2 children or 3 students and 1 adult would not be able to use this code.
Max Uses Per Code	Required	Restricts the number of uses for the promo code. Every time a promo code is applied to a component of a booking, that will count towards the use of that code. If there are multiple valid items in a shopping cart and the promo code is set up to apply to all eligible items in the cart, then a single booking would have multiple uses of the code. However, only one distinct promo name can be used on a booking, so this prevents customers from layering multiple discounts.
Type and Value	Required	Specify whether this will be a flat dollar discount or a percentage discount. If you choose flat, you will be prompted to select whether the value is to be deducted on a per-person or per-booking basis.
Include all surplus fees as part of promo code	Optional	Choose whether to include the surplus fee in the discount or not.
Apply Discount To	Required	Select whether a discount is to be taken off of all eligible items in a shopping cart or only one item. If “only one eligible item” is selected, then the discount will be calculated on the least expensive eligible item in the cart.
Specify a Moving Date Window	Optional	Restrict how far or close in advance to the activity date a booking can be created. This allows you to do “early bird” and “last-minute” promotions. Some examples include: “Purchase date is at least 30 days before activity date” In this case, the customer will need to purchase the activity 30 days in advance “Purchase date is at most 2 days before activity date.” In this case, the customer can only purchase the activity 2 days before and up until the day of the activity.
Specify Number of Items	Optional	Restrict how many items are in the cart before the promotion is applied. Some examples are: "The cart must have exactly 2 unique items in the cart" In this case, the customer will need to purchase the two separate activities "The cart must have at least 2 unique items in the cart" in this case the customer will need to add two or more activities before the promotion is applied.
Required Activities	Optional	Determines if the promo code is only valid if the specific activities listed are included in the cart
Apply full discount based on passengers booked	Optional*	Optional for regular promos but mandatory when setting up a Buy One, Get One Promo Using Specific Tours & Activities
Promo Code Valid ONLY For	Required	Control which passenger type(s) the promotion is valid for. This is useful if you do not want certain passenger types to be eligible for the discount.
Minimum Item Price	Optional	Control the minimum price of an item for it to receive the discount. If you have items that are already inexpensive and you do not want to further discount them you can use this field to control that. Note that this field is based on the sub-total.
Passenger Maximum Per Item	Optional	Works to enforce a maximum amount of passengers a promo code can be applied to. Useful when applying a 100% discount to enforce a maximum amount of passengers that are complimentary.
Promotional Code Components	Required	Specify individual activities and products that are valid for this promo code or check the boxes to allow the promo code to be used for any activity or any product.

Creating Multiple Rules Within a Single Promo Code

If you are setting up multiple rules for one promotion, make sure the first rule you create has the biggest discount. This is very important because the logic behind the rules is that the system will check if there is a match based on the first rule before moving on to the next rule within that promotion.

The promo code module in Zaui allows you to use one code across multiple date ranges if you choose. This is achieved by configuring multiple rules on the promo code.

Click +Add at the bottom of the rules configuration to place another rule on the promo code, and then configure the rule for a new start and end date.

This can be useful if you have seasonal promotions that run every year. Simply add a new rule for each year that you want the promotion to run. Please note that if the date ranges overlap the system will apply the first promo code. This is also useful for setting up a Buy One, Get One Promotion.

Promo Codes with more than one rule will appear as two separate lines in the Online Promotional Codes list view:

Promo Code-Specific URL Links

This section will require some knowledge of the Embeds & Widgets section. For more info on this section, check out this article.

Your Zaui Online Booking Engine has the ability to automatically apply promotional codes to front-end bookings through URL links. Here's how you set this up:

Create an Online Promotional Code.
Navigate to Settings > Online Bookings > Embeds & Widgets and set up your portal and user experience.
Set your Embedding Method to Direct Link so it's easy to copy and paste this on your website.
Click to expand the Advanced Options section
From the Auto-apply Promo Code drop-down menu, select your newly created promotional code. Your link will now update so the promo code will be attached at the end. For example https://support.zaui.net/booking/web/#/default/activity/2695?promocode=online15

Online Promo Code Troubleshooting

Note that in Zaui, Promo Code discounts are always applied to the sub-total of a booking, taxes and fees are then applied.

If your Online Promotional Code is not working, make sure you have not accidentally created a second promo code name with the same promo code name. If you have two codes with the exact same name, neither one will work. It doesn't matter whether one promo code is valid and the other is expired.
Please note that Promotional Codes cannot be used on Activity Pricing Options.

Check out this Video Tutorial to learn more about Discounts and Promotional Codes.

If you require a large number of distinct individual promo codes for your system please contact our support team at support@zaui.com and we will be able to handle the bulk upload for you.