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Reward using Coupons

Coupon Based Rewards, as a use case, is among the most popular choices of rewarding users for their efforts in influences personal & friend circles with respect to apps. The ease of procuring such coupons from 3rd Party stores simply helps the agile marketing efforts of a fast growing app.

While Wallets increase retention, Coupons would be the better bet when beginning your marketing campaigns. It simply is less collateral at stake, compared to the mammoth task of implementing a Wallet inside the app.

Let us define an example use case that can help us understand how one can implement the Coupon Based Rewards program using AppVirality.

We are a up-and-coming Health Consultation app. We help people find quality doctors, physiotherapists, etc. in their city. We aspire to acquire as many new users for the app, as may be possible.

We want to run a Referral program to acquire these new users.

When an existing user refers the app to his friends:

  • as a Referrer – he could earn $10 worth Amazon vouchers, when a Friend installs the app & SIGNS UP
  • As a Friend – the new user could earn a $25 Domino’s voucher, when he/she SIGNS UP
  • Additionally, the Referrer could earn a $5 Amazon voucher, when the Friend makes a TRANSACTION of $100 or above
 

If the above mentioned use-case resembles your needs, then read on …

The above use case would need to be approached in 3 main steps:

This step will cover all the actions you need to undertake at the Dashboard level.

It is assumed that you already have a registered account with AppVirality, which gives you access to the Dashboard

Begin by adding your app to the Dashboard. You will need the basics like: your App/Play Store URL, App Name, etc.

  • On the Dashboard, you will find a ‘Add New App‘ button (almost center aligned, at the top of the page) on the orange strip bearing AppVirality logo.
  • Click on this button.
    It will open a new panel/sidebar, from the right of the screen.
  • Paste the App/Play Store URL for your app at the topmost field.
  • Hit the ‘Tab‘ on keyboard; or click just anywhere outside the field.
    The system shall auto-fetch all other relevant details.
  • Fill up any other data that may be needed/relevant, and Save the App.

That should get you app added to the Dashboard. Now proceed to create a Growth Hack Campaign for your app.

Adding an App
Adding an App

 

Once you have added the app, you shall be positioned in the App Details page for the newly added app. If not:

  • From the Side Panel on the left, click on the Arrow.
  • Scroll and select the app
  • Click on App Details

Here you shall see that there are no campaigns for you currently. Keep a note of the AppKey displayed under the app. This is the same one which you must use while integrating the SDK with your app.

Select the App
Select the App

 

  • Click on the Create Campaign button, visible in dark blue to the right of the screen.
  • As per current use-case, to select the Campaign Type: In App Referrals, Click on the Start button under it.
  • A new campaign page will open. Here we will create the new In App Referral campaign
  • Name your Campaign. Enter a relevant Campaign Name.
    Note: This name shall not appear anywhere in your app or any user facing interface. This is solely for you own identification.
  • Select the Reward Unit for the campaign.
    In the above use case, we cited the reward in $, so you must select $ as the reward unit here

When you select & commit the Reward Unit, only then you would be able to define Reward Rules.

Define Campaign
Define Campaign

 

When the Reward Rules panel gets activated, you can add reward rules based on the use case we discussed at the beginning of this post.

When an existing user refers the app to his friends:
  • as a Referrer – he could earn $10 worth coupons, when a Friend installs the app & SIGNS UP
  • As a Friend – the new user could earn $25 worth coupons, when he/she SIGNS UP
  • Additionally, the Referrer could earn $5 worth coupons, when the Friend makes a TRANSACTION of $100 or above

Based on the above mentioned use case – we have 3 reward rules to add as follows:

Rule 1

Rewarding Referrer $10, for Friend’s activity of app install & SIGN UP

  • In Reward Rules panel, Select Referrer – for rewarding the existing user
  • In the next field (Select Conversion Type), Select Signup
  • Add $10 in the reward value field
  • Click on Done to save the Reward Rule
Referrer Reward on Friend's Sign Up
Referrer Reward on Friend’s Sign Up

 

Rule 2

Rewarding Friend $25, for app install & SIGN UP

Click on + New Rule to add a new Reward Rule

  • In Reward Rules panel, Select Friend – for rewarding the new user
  • In the next field (Select Conversion Type), Select Signup
  • Add $25 in the reward value field
  • Click on Done to save the Reward Rule
Friend Reward on Sign Up
Friend Reward on Sign Up

 

Rule 3

Rewarding Referrer $5, for Friend’s activity of TRANSACTION worth $100 or above

Click on + New Rule to add a new Reward Rule

  • In Reward Rules panel, Select Referrer – for rewarding the existing user
  • In the next field (Select Conversion Type), Select Transaction
  • Add $5 in the reward value field
  • Add $100 in the minimum transaction field
  • Set Frequency of the reward
    Always  Every time Friend makes a transaction of $100 or above
    Only First Transaction   Only the 1st transaction, where $100 or above is done by Friend
    N Times  The first N transactions, where $100 or above is done by Friend
    (N could be any natural number)
  • Click on Done to save the Reward Rule

Now that all the Reward Rules have been added, you can define Maximum Reward Limit i.e. Redemption Cap and Minimum Review Period.

Redemption Cap allows you set a maximum limit on the earnings for a user, from a campaign.

Minimum Review Period holds the rewards, Under Review, till the defined time frame, thereby not allowing users to utilize the rewards immediately. This period defined could help you run background checks on the validity of the rewards.

Referrer Reward on Friend's Transaction
Referrer Reward on Friend’s Transaction

 

This is where you will switch on-off, and select the order of appearance for the various social channels that would be displayed to your end users, on the Referral Screen.

  • Toggle ON on any of the social channel given
  • A side panel will open on your right
  • Edit/Modify the Share Text in the foremost column
  • You will also get fields to add image URLs, if relevant – based on the social channel you have selected
  • In the Display Order field, set the numeric value to define it’s order of appearance,
    i.e. 1 implies 1st, 2 implies 2nd, and so on…
  • Click on Save to commit the changes
NOTE: If you do not switch/toggle ON any of the social channels, it will not be displayed on the Referral screen

 

After the above steps have been done, you are almost done with your campaign creation process. This step here will enable you in designing the look of the Referral Screen on the end user’s screen. As you can see, it’s a preview on the device and allows tweaks to the tittle & description.

  • Observe that only those Social Channels are visible, which you have selected or switched ON in the earlier step.
  • In the Campaign Title field, Set what would appear as the Heading or Title, on your Referral Screen
    Line Break(<br>) & Bold (<b> </b>) tags are supported here
  • In the Campaign Description field, an auto-generated catchy one liner is supplied by the system.
    Change it to suit your brand and communication, as you please.
    Line Break(<br>) & Bold (<b> </b>) tags are supported here, too
  • Campaign Image can be changed from the default provided – to include something of your own choice.
    Choose a File Location to upload image.
    Please ensure image is less than 250 KB and dimensions are 1040 x 910 px
  • Change Background Color, Title Color, & Message Color – as you please
NOTE: All changes you make will be dynamically previewed for you, alongside the fields

Take time to review the changes before you commit them

Close the window/panel when you are finished.

Now that all is done – go ahead and Save Campaign to lock-in/commit the changes done.

 

Changes not reflecting in Test App

It is possible you may not be seeing the changes done in the Reward Rules, with immediate effect, in your app.

Nothing to panic. The SDK simply needs to refresh the updated campaigns data to have them on the device too.
Solution: Kill the App and relaunch.

Doing so would force the SDK to refresh campaigns data, and then immediately you shall see the campaign with the updates you made to the campaign.

 

Once you are done with your Campaign Rules creation, your next initiative should be to configure rewards for the same. This should not be confused with creating rules for the reward – which we did just previously.

Here you are configuring rewards type and distribution. In this particular use case, we are focusing on implementing a solution that would allow you to reward users, by delivering them their rewards as coupons.

 

When you use coupons, AppVirality will do the job of handing out rewards (as coupon codes) to the user persona, as and when a specific conversion event is triggered. This implies, unlike for Webhooks, you need not call the Redeem Rewards API for authenticating the rewarding of users.

  • Go to Reward Configuration
  • Select Coupons as user reward type in the 1st step
Configuring Coupons for rewards distribution - Step 1
Configuring Coupons for rewards distribution – Step 1

 

Now you need to define a Coupon Pool

What is a Coupon Pool?

In a nutshell, a coupon pool allows you to group a similar set of coupons – which can be delegated/scheduled to be distributed to specific rewards only.

Use Case Refresher

When an existing user refers the app to his friends:

  • as a Referrer – he could earn $10 worth Amazon vouchers, when a Friend installs the app & SIGNS UP
  • As a Friend – the new user could earn a $25 Domino’s voucher, when he/she SIGNS UP
  • Additionally, the Referrer could earn a $5 Amazon voucher, when the Friend makes a TRANSACTION of $100 or above

Going by the above use case, you will need to declare Two Coupon Pools at least: 

  • one for Amazon vouchers, where coupon value is $10
  • the other for Domino’s vouchers, whose coupon value is $25

 

Creating A Coupon Pool

We will create two pools as mentioned above. Let’s begin with the Amazon Coupon Pool:

  • After defining the User Reward type as Coupons, now under the section Coupon Pools – add/create a new Coupon Pool.
  • Next, Name this coupon pool as Amazon Coupon Pool (or anything you like)
  • Define the VALUE as $10 for coupons pooled in this coupon pool,
  • Add a Description, Image URL(if any) & Save!

Now let’s create the Domino’s Coupon Pool:

  • Again click on + Add Pool and create a new coupon pool, in the Coupon Pools section
  • Next, Name this coupon pool as Dominos Coupon Pool (or anything you like)
  • Define the VALUE as $25 for coupons pooled in this coupon pool,
  • Add a Description, Image URL(if any) & Save!
Configuring Coupons for rewards distribution - Step 2
Configuring Coupons for rewards distribution – Step 2

 

Dominos & Amazon Coupon Pools
Dominos & Amazon Coupon Pools

Once you have declared a coupon pool,next step is to upload the relevant coupons to it.

 

  • On the desired Coupon Pool, click on Upload
  • Choose Coupon type: Single Coupon or Multiple Coupon
  • For Single Coupons: Set the Coupon Code, set a quantity or set an unlimited supply, assign an expiry date.
  • For Multiple Coupons: Copy-Paste the set of Coupon Codes as plain text or upload in a CSV sheet, and assign an expiry date to them. Take a look at the sample CSV file for multiple coupons upload before you go ahead with it.
    You are now ready to map the new coupon pool to a reward event!

For this use case you will be uploading Multiple Coupons, and we advise you use a CSV file to upload the coupons.

Below are simple examples of how you can add coupons.

Configuring Coupons for rewards distribution - Step 3
Configuring Coupons for rewards distribution – Step 3

 

Multiple Coupons Upload to Coupon Pool
Multiple Coupons Upload to Coupon Pool

Once your coupon pools are ready, it is time to map them to the right events – as per your reward rules.

 

Mapping Coupon Pool to Reward Event

AppVirality allows three different ways of coupon distribution.

By the event I choose

By the order I choose

User will choose

Hence, you can map the coupon pool to the beneficiary type (Referrer/Friend) in 3 ways. The tabs listed below shall explain what each method implies. Toggle between them to understand all cases.

By the Order I chooseBy the Event I chooseUsers will choose

This would automate an order of coupon distribution for the campaign, based on the order in which you declare your coupon pools.

If your order is set as, Coupon Pool A, followed by B and the last being C, the outcome order of coupon distribution would be:1st coupon disbursed goes from A, 2nd coupon is disbursed from B – and thereafter all coupons are disbursed from C.

Herein, you map a Coupon Pool to a specific event, thus ensuring that only coupon from a particular pool are used for a certain type of conversion event. Suppose you have rewards for the Friend when he signs up and for the Referrer when his friend transacts, you may allocate separate pools for coupon disbursal to each.

This allows your end users to pick a coupon from the existing set of coupons pools.

That implies, you are allowing your users to choose from 3 variants of coupons of same value: like the user can choose between a PayPal voucher, an Amazon voucher or a Starbucks Voucher

 

For this use case, let us take By the Event I choose mapping method.

  • In the Map Coupon Pools section, toggle to the Friend Reward tab
  • Ensure By event I choose is selected
  • According to reward rules, Friend would earn $25 on Sign-up. So only Sign-up event is shown.
  • From the drop down, select Dominos Coupon Pool, which has coupons worth $25
  • Save the Friend Reward‘s Coupon Pool Mapping
  • Toggle the tab to Referrer Reward now
  • Ensure again that the secondary tab is: By event I choose
  • According to Reward Rules, the Referrer can earn both on Friend’s Sign-up and Transaction. So you have two events listed.
  • From drop down, select Amazon Coupon Pool for both events
  • Save the Referrer Reward‘s Coupon Pool Mapping

Now when Friend will sign-up, one Dominos coupon would be picked from the pool and delivered to him/her.

Due to this, the Referrer would also earn $10, and hence an Amazon coupon will be delivered to him too.

When the Friend performs one transaction of $100 or above, the Referrer would earn $5. But no coupon will be sent. When another Friend of the Referrer does a transaction of $100 or above, $5 more will be rewarded – taking the rewards tally to $10. This is when another Amazon coupon will be delivered – since accumulated reward value is equal to coupon pool value

 

Mapping Coupon Pool: By Event
Mapping Coupon Pool: By Event

 

For the same use case let us take By the Order I choose mapping method and see how coupons gets distributed

  • In the Map Coupon Pools section, toggle to the Friend Reward tab
  • Ensure  By the order i choose is selected
  • According to reward rules, Friend would earn $25 on Sign-up. So only Sign-up event is shown.
  • From the drop down, select Dominos Coupon Pool, which has coupons worth $25 and Amazon Coupon Pool , which has coupons worth $10
  • Save the Friend Reward‘s Coupon Pool Mapping
  • Toggle the tab to Referrer Reward now
  • Ensure again that the secondary tab is: By the order I choose
  • According to Reward Rules, the Referrer can earn both on Friend’s Sign-up and Transaction. So you have two events listed.
  • From drop down, select Amazon Coupon Pool  and Dominos Coupon Pool .
  • Save the Referrer Reward‘s Coupon Pool Mapping

by the order screenshot

Now when friend signup, both friend and referrer will get $25 and $10 respectively. Now for friend Dominos coupon and for referrer Amazon coupon will be distributed.

If friend does a transaction referrer gets $5 rewards but in the reward configuration we have Dominos coupon of value $25 in order for referrer. so his friends has to do five transactions , each transaction of value more than $100 to get the coupon distributed.

 

Let us take User Will Choose mapping method and see how coupons gets distributed 

  • In the Map Coupon Pools section, select User will choose.
  • you will see only Referrer Rewads tab because both referrer and friend can redeem coupons from same pools.
  • According to reward rules, Friend & Referrer would earn $25 and $10 respectively on Sign-up. If friend does transaction Referrer will get $5
  • From the drop down, select Dominos Coupon Pool, which has coupons worth $25 and Amazon Coupon Pool , which has coupons worth $10.
  • Save the Referrer Reward‘s Coupon Pool Mapping
.

recording

 

Now when friend signup, both friend and referrer will get $25 and $10 respectively. Friend can see both the coupon pools (Dominos Coupon Pool,Amazon Coupon Pool)  claim button enabled to redeem the rewards in earnings screen because the reward value is $25. Friend can redeem reward from any coupon pool.If you click on claim button on any coupon pool then the claimed coupon will be distributed to the user.

Friend earnings screen

But for referrer, only Amazon Coupon Pool  will be enabled Dominos Coupon Pool will not be enabled to redeem rewards in earnings screen because the reward value of referrer is $10.If the reward value of referrer reaches $25 then Dominos Coupon Pool will be enabled to redeem rewards.Here user can claim Amazon coupon by clicking on claim button.

referrer earnings screen

 

Note:If the coupons in a coupon pool gets finished then also Claim button will be disabled even though you have approved earnings. You should upload coupons in the coupon pool to see the claim button enabled

Since your rewards are also in place for your campaign, it would make sense to have automated Notifications to communicate to users about rewards and conversions.

 

Post Reward Configuration, it is required that you set in place the process of automating notifications for your End Users when they are rewarded. AppVirality will help you do most of that.

For notifying your user via email, AppVirality allows you to fire direct mails through your SMTP server – employing wise & intelligent templates that are available to use. You can thereby create new templates too. Feel free to use the given replacement token as you feel fit.

  • Just navigate to Notifications from the Dashboard.
  • Here select the tab ‘Mail Notifications’
  • Add an email ID – one which would be dedicated as the support email ID for delivering mail notifications to end user.Click Here for how to add Mail accounts in dashboard.
  • Now, move to the next tab: Create E-mail Templates
  • Select the most appropriate template or Edit these templates, as per your convenience. The Replacement Tokens provided could be used to craft your own templates
  • Make sure you have set the Status for the template as ON.
    If it is not, the email shall not be fired

This shall ensure mail notifications to your users, as and when they get rewarded.

 

Configuring your push notifications for AppVirality events is typically just as easy as setting up the email notifications.

 

Android

Mainly, update the GCM API Key as provided by Google Messaging Services.
For a detailed understanding, read: Android Push Notification Configuration

 

iOS

  • Upload the Push Notification certificate (.p12 file)
  • Update the push notification password provided by Apple
  • Click on Save to commit
  • Select an appropriate template for your push messages.
  • You may customize the templates and use the replacement tokens for the same
  • If you’d like, you can Test run your push messages from the same place too

With this, we have finished the Dashboard Setting for the Wallet Based Rewards use case.


 

Now, you are already setup with your reward rules, the reward distribution mechanism and the modus operandi to notify your user on being rewarded. This is about the right time to wind up the SDK 2.0 integration with you app.

Follow on by clicking the below links, as may be appropriate for you:

Android       iOS       Web

 

While integration is an important aspect, please take special attention towards ensuring you are sending across the Conversion Events.

Android: Register Conversion Event

iOS: Register Conversion Event

 Web: Register Conversion Event


That would conclude the App & SDK integration for the Wallet Based Rewards use case.


 

Now your campaign is ready & so is your app, along with the SDK. Things are warmed up for the execution of the Wallet Based rewards campaign for your app.

Testing

Begin by Testing the app, for the use case and the reward rules.

You try running a Test cycle to check and inspect how the payloads arrive at your Bin URLs.

Read >> Guide to Test Your Referral  

Follow the steps listed above, and check the Bin URLs for each event separately.

The above testing Guide is comprehensive in every angle. For each step in the Testing Scenario, there are clear instructions on how the step would interpret in the Analytics.

When executing the steps, make sure you Check you Dashboard’s Analytics as stated in the guide.

Along side that, for every such Event stated in the Guide – crosscheck your event’s dedicated Bin URL too – to see how the payloads vary.

 

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