Coupon Code in URL

Is there any way to attach the coupon code to a URL instead of having the customer enter the code upon checkout? We use codes to track advertising and it would be a lot easier if we could just embed those codes in the URL, then search orders by discount code.

Please let me know if anyone knows of a way to accomplish this.

Thanks!!

Kevin

I just popped in here looking for the same thing! I have a programmer working on something similar. The plan is to use sessions to set the code, then input it into the cart during checkout.

We will be using landing pages to capture the code, then on submit will send them to the main page.

I'll let you know when he's got it situated.

;-) Amanda

Hey Amanda,

That's awesome! I'm excited to hear how you guys approach it. I've been trying to figure out a way to add that feature without making it difficult to upgrade zencart when the time comes.

It would also be nice to have a function that turns certain GET or POST vars into SESSION vars and then appends them to the order data. We use discount codes more for tracking advertising than actually offering discounts. It would be cool to look at an order and see the tracking/discount code as well as being able to track things like keywords from search engine ads.

Anyway, definitely let me know if you figure out any good tricks!

Thanks!

Kevin

Hey again! Here is a possible, albeit ugly, solution. First, edit index.php and add something like:

Code:

---

if (!empty($_GET['visitor_code']))
    $_SESSION['visitor_code'] = trim(htmlspecialchars($_GET['visitor_code']));

---

Then in includes/modules/order_total/ot_coupon.php

Edit the line:

Code:

---

'field' => zen_draw_input_field('dc_redeem_code', '', 'id="disc-'.$this->code.'" onchange="submitFunction(0,0)"'),

---

change the second value sent to the function so that it looks like this:

Code:

---

'field' => zen_draw_input_field('dc_redeem_code', $_SESSION['visitor_code'], 'id="disc-'.$this->code.'" onchange="submitFunction(0,0)"'),

---

OK, I'm not much of a programmer, but if you go to yoursite.com/index.php?visitor_code=whatever it definitely puts 'whatever' in the discount coupon field during checkout :) Mostly, I just wanted to see if it was possible. The only problem with doing it this way is that it will make it difficult to do ZenCart upgrades. I'll keep working a more elegant solution.

Kevin

The email that customers recieve has the Discount Coupon code on it ...

When they come to the site via the URL in the email ... it is automatically added when they login ...

If you want to automate this on completion of signup ... you need to only add 1 line of code to the /includes/modules/create_account.php

This will remain valid until the user logs out or the session times out ...

If either should happen, they can then apply the code during checkout ...

Hey Linda! Thanks for the reply. I'm not quite sure that I understand though. Let me tell you what my goal is and if you get a minute, let me know if it will be easy to accomplish.

For example, in our Google ads we would like to use a destination URL like "mysite.com/index.php?tracking_code=google&keyword=whatever"

Then, when they checkout, I would like to put "google" into the discount code box and then append "whatever" to another piece of data, like order notes, before it goes into the database.

So, basically, whether the customer is new or returning, I want to autofill the coupon code from the URL so that they don't have to think about what code to place in the box.

I attempted to send myself a discount code from the admin panel, but the link in the email didn't contain the discount code - I would still have to enter it by hand.

Let me know if the method that I proposed earlier seems salient, or if it could cause conflicts. Thanks again for your help!!

Kevin

What stops me from going to your site and just manually adding &tracking_code=google to get the discount?

Good point Linda. I guess that what I am trying to do is easily track orders. The discount codes that we would use in the URL would have a 0% discount, so I guess that we could avoid the problem of people mis-using them.

I know, it probably seems a little unorthodox. The only reason that I want to use this method is that it makes the orders easily trackable by sorting the data by discount code. It wouldn't be 100% accurate, but good enough - plus I don't want to really modify the code or the database.

Another option that I might consider is just adding my own data to a separate database to track things. That way I can sessionize the tracking code, keyword, etc. and then put those into my own db with some ZC data like order total so that I can have completely custom reporting.

Thanks again!

Kevin

It can be accomplished ...

There are several areas where the code would need customization ... but it can be done ...

How you regulate preventing fake URLs not that it would help anyone with anything would be up to you ...

Only when the create_account is processed does it have to be managed and handle updating your customers_referral ...

Or whatever field you want this to be ...

Capture the get on the hit from the link ... store to a session ... save prior to the session_destroy ... reset ... add to customers account ... make a report ...

Or, utilize the customers_referral field and have that hidden from the customer ...

I have a need for capturing the Referral code on account creation as well (unless someone has a better solution).

We are doing direct sales, and now have an independent consultant making sales. She needs the ability to be able to refer customers to our site so they can easily make purchases.

I then need to be able to easily track the sales, and the Referral Code seems like the most likely method. I cannot guarantee that someone will enter the proper referal, but I could improve my odds of capturing that data if my consultants emails, urls, etc had the referral code in the url.

Then after initial creation. all sales attributed to that account will result in a commission for my independant consultant.

Any ideas, or suggestions...

We ended up implementing the method that I posted above... we capture the GET variable in the URI by using something like:

Code:

---

if (!empty($_GET['tracking_code']))
    $_SESSION['tracking_code'] = $_GET['tracking_code'];

---

at the bottom of the index.php page. That will sessionize the variable so that you can access it later on. Make sure that you sanitize the variable before sessionizing it though, just to be safe! Also, be sure to not use a variable name that conflicts with core ZC variables.

Then, in includes/modules/pages/checkout_success/header_php.php, I wrote a custom function which grabs my sessionized tracking code and writes it to a unique database table.

You could do something similar by writing the tracking code (plus any other pertinent data) to your own db table when someone registers and then retrieve it later on. You'll just have to explore the modules to figure out where the registration happens. Make sure that you take good notes, because you'll have to re-write all of that code when you upgrade ZC.

Good luck!

Kevin

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gmoyle

I have a need for capturing the Referral code on account creation as well

---

Admin->Configuration->Customer Details->Customers Referral Status

Quote:

---

Customers Referral Status
Customers Referral Code is created from:
0= Off
1= 1st Discount Coupon Code used
2= Customer can add during create account or edit if blank

NOTE: Once the Customers Referral Code has been set it can only be changed in the Admin->Customer->Customers area

---

how about option #3, can add during account creation only.
That way they can't come back later after they've perhaps made purchases, or maybe talked to their buddy and give their buddy credit when it fact they found the site ahead of time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DrByte

Admin->Configuration->Customer Details->Customers Referral Status

---

Yes, I already use that Dr. Byte, but what I am requesting is the ability to add it to a link and have that held so that when the user DOES create the account, its already autofilled. I want to try to make it as automated as possible.

Right now, people forget, or dont bother to enter it. If its prefilled I beleive they would be likely to leave it filled.

I am looking for the same thing. We have our banners posted on several sites (i.e. MySpace) and I would like a way to change the linking code (i.e. <a href=bla bla bla...) to a promotional discount so when a user clicks the link they automatically get a percentage off. I can go back and turn off the "promotional discount" when I choose. Since I supply and host the banners I can edit the banner to no longer offer the discount when I turn off the discount.

Is this possible and what would the code be?

Thank you,
Ryan

Seems like there are a growing number of Zenners seeking some good "Advertising Tracking" services for their businesses.

The Module “Advertizing Tracker Contribution” used to be quite helpful (and still will be to lots of people) allowing companies who advertise within different magazine publications, web ads, banner ads, search engines, etc and who were never able to determine exactly what drove customers to their site. When a client made a purchase they were asked the question "Where did you hear of us" which gave some tracking results.

Of course, this wasn't good enough for monitor all referrals to the site i.e. those who didn't make an order or for those who did (customers were asked to select from a list of options rather than for that information being captured in the background).

I'd really like to hear from Kevin about how he has got on with his work and more also from other Zenners who have opted for 3rd party scripts that specialise in Click Tracking (e.g. http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Script...ing/index.html) - Are you using any that you can recommend?

Maybe the need for Click tracking moves outside of the ZenCart arena - Linda what's your thoughts on this? Should Zen just focus on allowing/monitoring sales (using coupons etc) or is Click Tracking now such a standard business need that it should be incorporated in the future?

In the mean time I will keep reviewing other 3rd party scripts and post back any findings.

Regards

Jamie

Hey there Jamie. We've had pretty good luck with the bit of scripting that I inserted. It was kind of a rush job, so it's definitely not module-worthy, but it fits our needs pretty well. I wrote my own control panel for ZC because we do a lot of custom reporting. The custom db table records the order number and the tracking code, so I just added a join in my SQL queries to compile things like order total, items, and tracking codes.

We do a lot of search engine advertising on google, yahoo and msn as well as some banners and affiliates, so it's imperative that we can trace orders back to the advertising. This concept was pretty simple to implement and so far it hasn't caused any problems other than adding a step to the ZC update process.

Here's the over simplified logic:
1. attach a tracking code to the url (domain.com/index.php?tracking=code)
2. in index.php, sessionize $_GET['tracking']
3. in checkout_success, grab the order insert id and insert the tracking code into a custom db table

I think the concept is module worthy. I haven't written any modules yet, but it can't be that tough, right? This feature is definitely worthwhile. If anyone wants to start a 3rd party module project, I would be more than happy to help out!

Kevin

I was just rereading the thread, and I should probably clarify a bit. The original method was to insert the tracking code into the coupon code field, but this is a much more elegant solution.

The new method uses a custom database table to associate an order number with an arbitrary string to use as a tracking code. NOTE: this is not a coupon code, or anything created from within the ZC control panel, just a bit of text like "google" or "msn."

1. When a URL arrives with "tracking=google" I sessionize it
2. In includes/modules/pages/checkout_success/header_php.php you can locate the order id ($zv_orders_id)
3. Write the order id and sessionized tracking code to a custom table so that you don't have to ##############ize the ZC schema

Then, when I do my reporting I can do something like:

Code:

---

SELECT orders.order_total,custom_reporting.code FROM `orders`,`custom_reporting` WHERE custom_reporting.code = "google" and orders.orders_id = custom_reporting.orders_id;

---

Which will return any orders that came from google. Of course, you can write any number of queries to list all tracking codes, search by date range, etc.

It's been a while since the last post to this thread, but I'm trying to achieve the following (which seems highly similar to that of previous posters) but wasnt able to find a solution as of yet:

1. I create a customer referral coupon
2. A potential customer receives an email saying: "Visit the website using the following link for instant 10&#37; discount: http://www.website.com/index.php?customers_referral=COUPON", where COUPON is ofcourse the actual coupon code.
3. When the customer clicks the URL, it automatically fills the value for Customer Referral to COUPON

I was looking at the create_account.php file, but wasnt yet able to figure it out.. It seems to be passed on to the templates at the bottom, but I have no idea where to go next..

Appreciate anyone's thoughts or suggestions!

Haha, ignore my above post. This seems to be exactly what it does. Just didnt think the sessions through properly :)

I created ref=CODE and then pull that back in the create_account.php code. Awesome solution! Thanks lots!

I used this solution - and now have couponcodes auto entered for create account and checkout.

THANKS EVERYONE WHO HELPED ON THIS THREAD