referral coupon question

[DivaVocals]

If you make a Discount Coupon called Fred10 and hand it to Harry ... then Harry gives it to Bob and Bob gives it to Ted and everyone uses it then that would be their referral code if they have never had a previous referral code (such as a new account or if it were blank, depending on the setting you are using) ...

Another method to track this Discount Coupon would be to either click on Report in your Zen Cart Admin for Gift Certificate/Coupons ... Coupon Admin ... and clicking on REPORT which will list all uses of the Discount Coupon ...

You could then, update the information on this REPORT so that you can obtain any other details that you are needing ...

I'm with the OP because this REALLY isn't straightforward..

I create a coupon
enter that coupon code in the referral field for a particular customer
that customer in turn gives this coupon code out
Said coupon is used by the folks my customer gives this coupon code to

When I go to the customer referral report and select this coupon code what exactly am I supposed to see??

What would happen if in the customer referral field I entered a coupon that has already been put into use???

[DrByte]

Every customer has only ONE spot in the database to record what referral-coupon was used as the "referral source" for that customer.
It can only have one value. And generally, once it's set, it's intended not to be changed (if "can't be changed bothers you, that's another topic, isn't it?).

For setting #1:
If Frank is given coupon code FRANK15 to hand out to people then every customer who uses FRANK15 will have FRANK15 recorded as the referral code, and will show up as FRANK15 in the referral report.

If Sally uses FRANK15 then she'll have FRANK15 in her referral spot. If Sally hands out FRANK15 then Frank will still get credit for all of Sally's friends who use FRANK15. But if Sally is given SALLY20 to hand out, then anyone who uses SALLY20 will get that recorded as the referral source.

Anyone who uses another coupon after the referral source is already set, will not alter the existing referral source. It's a one-time tracking credit, and does not track future use of coupons for the context of referral tracking.

If you want to pay commission only on who first referred the customer, the above is a great way to do it.
If you want to pay commissions based on every individual coupon code, or based on any other complex rules, then you'll probably want a plugin which does that complex tracking.

For setting #2, the same "once set, it's set" rule applies, but it's not established by the first coupon code used. Instead it's set by allowing the customer or the admin to type it in. But then once set they're not given the option to change it.

[DivaVocals]

If Frank is given coupon code FRANK15 to hand out to people then every customer who uses FRANK15 will have FRANK15 recorded as the referral code, and will show up as FRANK15 in the referral report.

If Sally uses FRANK15 then she'll have FRANK15 in her referral spot. If Sally hands out FRANK15 then Frank will still get credit for all of Sally's friends who use FRANK15. But if Sally is given SALLY20 to hand out, then anyone who uses SALLY20 will get that recorded as the referral source.

Anyone who uses another coupon after the referral source is already set, will not alter the existing referral source. It's a one-time tracking credit, and does not track future use of coupons for the context of referral tracking.

If you want to pay commission only on who first referred the customer, the above is a great way to do it.

This is what I wanted to confirm.. Because honestly it REALLY isn't clear how this works, but I was PRETTY sure that it could NOT be used in the manner my client thought it might work.. It's the term "customer referral" which threw her off - since she interpreted it to mean something other than what has been described here. I believe she needs more robust "tracking" capabilities.. But I need to help her understand how the built in referrals work so I can layout for her WHY this won't be the solution she is really wanting/needing..

So one follow up question.. In scenario 1, if I understand this correctly, I have the customer admin settings of "1st Discount Coupon Code used", and when Frank places his 1st order using the code Frank 15 will get that recorded as the referral source in his customer record.

[DrByte]

Yes. I've now revised my earlier comment to explain setting 1 and setting 2 differences.

[DivaVocals]

Yes. I've now revised my earlier comment to explain setting 1 and setting 2 differences.

Got it and your revision reflects the email I sent out last night to my client with one minor revision..

Frank is given coupon code FRANK15 to hand out to people. Frank must USE this same coupon, and IF there ISN'T another another value present in the referral spot, the referral code FRANK15 will show up in his referral spot

Because in the "Sally" example if Sally already has FRANK15 in her referral spot, if she uses the SALLY20, and then passes it out SALLY20 will appear in the referral spot for everyone she shared the coupon with, but it will not replace FRANK15 in her referral spot. I needed to make this clear for my client because the "Sally" scenario is MOST likely to happen for her.. (a person who was referred becomes a referrer..)

In the "Sally" scenario my client needs to understand that on reports that Frank gets credit for Sally and his first usage and the people he referred will appear on the reports.. (ie: Frank AND Sally will appear on Franks reports) However the current functionality means that Sally's first usage will NOT appear on her reports.. SALLY20 will only show those customers she referred..

[smcelligott]

I'm with the OP because this REALLY isn't straightforward..

I create a coupon enter that coupon code in the referral field for a particular customer that customer in turn gives this coupon code out Said coupon is used by the folks my customer gives this coupon code to . . .

Not sure if this will help or confuse, but I just did a test, and this is more workable than I had thought.

I am using option 2 (Customer can add during create account or edit if blank). First Referral Code appears to be free-form. In other words, a new customer could enter SallySmithBrisbane even though that code was never created by admin. This referral code does not have to be a discount code as well. This new customer can then also enter another discount code to get a special (coupon) discount.

This is what I am envisioning:

"Hey Sally, to celebrate something special, we are offering you and any of your friends a 15% discount through XX June 20XX, and all you or they need to do is enter the discount code 15FRIENDS at checkout. But it gets better ;) If they are new to our store then tell them to put your name and suburb without spaces (For example: BarneyFifeMayberry) in the referral box when they open their new account and make a purchase, and you'll get a FREE keyring from us."

Okay it is a bit convoluted, but hopefully you get the idea.

Debbie, Sally's friend, enters SallySmithBrsibane in the referral code and 15FRIENDS in the discount code at checkout. Debbie then passes it on to her sister, Amelia, who enters DebbieDumontAdelaide in the referral code and 15FRIENDS in the discount code at checkout. Sally didn't make a purchase during this sale, but gets a keyring. Debbie gets the 15% discount PLUS the keyring. Amelia gets just the 15% discount. Everyone is over the moon!

If you want to track customer value that gets more complicated depending on how you perceive customer value, but can easily be done on a spreadsheet outside of Zen.

Good luck folks.