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A Pass (aka. voucher or gift card) is a bit like a debit pre-paid card, it’s preloaded with an amount of money, and then used by the recipient beneficiary to spend during a purchase, either at a retail shop, or when placing an online order. |
THE BASICS
A typical flow would be that firstly a Pass Plan is manually created via the back-end system, any printed passes would be system with the characteristics of the passes to be generated. Any printed passes are generated, printed and distributed to the selling points, and then all passes (printed or electronic) would be managed by an integratora third-party system.
Here are some common terms used throughout CRM.COM in regards to pass plans and passes.
Pass Plan
Pass plans define the features and behaviour of different types of passes, it’s necessary to define a pass plan in order to generate passes.
Classifications
The pass plan Classification setting defines the type of passes which will be generated by the pass plan and their basic characteristics.
Promotion - The pass is redeemable only against a reward offer or a promotion when placing an order, and subject to the reward offer/promotion conditions
Gift - The pass is typically redeemed and consumed by someone other than the person who purchased it, the owner . The beneficiary can be an existing (registered) Contact, or a nameless Contact in the system
Top-up - The pass would normally be used by the person who purchased it to top-up their wallet balance
Distribution Method
Passes can be generated either in printed or electronic format.
Printed Passes - These are pre-generated with a unique code, and usually sold over-the-counter
Electronic Passes - These are generated on demand via third-party integrators, e.g. through a portal
Validity
Validity is defined on the pass plan and set on inherited by each individual pass at time of creation, it defines the period whereby the pass must be redeemed by. If a pass is not redeemed within the validity period, then it expires and the Contact can no longer benefit from it.
The pass validity date should not be confused with the pass value expiration date - this is an optional setting where the value of the pass (which has been redeemed to the commerce wallet balance) will expire if not consumed by a specific date.
Pass Value
Pass plans of type gift or top-up allow a fixed or variable pass value to be set for both printed and electronic passes. A value is not required for promotion passes since it will be determined by the reward offer they are linked to.
Fixed - The pass value is fixed, and all passes generated for the pass plan will have the same value (e.g €50)
Variable - A minimum and maximum value range is provided on the pass plan (e.g €50-€250), allowing the actual pass value to be set either at the time of creation (for electronic passes), or at a later stage but prior to being redeemed (for printed passes).
Pass Code Format
Every pass generated by the system has a pass code, for promotion type passes the pass code can either be a unique code, or a single code for all passes. For gift and top-up passes, the pass code is always unique. CRM.COM allows the pass code format to be defined by the system user and is adhered to when creating the passes.
PIN
For additional security purposes, Gift gift and top-up passes can optionally carry a PIN . This implies that the pass code and PIN must be provided by the Contact in order to initially redeem the pass, and then for each purchase where the pass funds will be spent. PINs are not applicable for promotion passes.
State
From the moment of creation, each pass has a state dictating it’s current situation, and what actions are permitted.
Draft - This is the first state of a pass, indicating that it has been generated but not yet ready to be redeemed, a pass in this state would normally then become Active
Active - The pass is ready to be Redeemed (after setting a value for variable value passes)
Redeemed - The pass has been used, i.e. the promotion was consumed, or the Contact’s wallet has been credited with the value of the pass and can be spent for future purchases
Cancelled - The pass is cancelled and cannot be used, only Draft and Activate passes can be cancelled
Hashing
Hashing is a feature which can be optionally enabled to scramble pass codes using a specific algorithm. The hashed pass code is used in subsequent API calls, instead of the actual pass code.
Generating Passes
This is the process of creating a pass, and can be achieved in one of two ways:
Electronic passes - These are created on demand (i.e. not pre-created), and can only either be created via an API call from an integration systema third-party integration system or through a
landing page configured in CRM.COM.Printed passes - These are pre-created either via the back-end system, or via the respective API call
Redeeming a Pass
Redeeming apass is the action whereby the contact’s wallet is credited with the value of the (Gift or Top-up) pass, so that the wallet funds can be spent by the contact, or the (Promotion) pass was used to enable an offer during a purchase, thus resulting in an instant price reduction.
Redeeming a gift or top-up pass can be achieved either through calling the Redeem Pass self-service API (when redeeming through front-end apps), or via the back-end system UI from the Contact screen.
Promotion passes can only be redeemed as part of a Create Purchase Event API call from an integration system.
In any case, when a Contact redeems a pass, the Contact information (e.g. name and email) is added to the pass.
Commerce Pool Conditions
Commerce pool conditions are the spending rules which dictate how/where the value of the pass can be spent. These conditions are optionally set on the pass plan configuration and apply to Gift and Top-up passes only.
Exporting Passes
The passes of a pass plan can be exported in .csv format and are automatically emailed to the logged-in user’s email address.
Gift Pass
RecipientBeneficiary Information
The pass recipient beneficiary is the person who received a pass and can therefore redeem it. In CRM.COM, the recipient beneficiary information (i.e. name, email/phone), is only necessary for electronic Gift passes and provided by the person purchasing the gift pass. This information is subsequently used to notify the recipient beneficiary that they have been sent a gift pass, with instructions on how to redeem and use it.
Managing Pass Plans & Passes
Pass Plans
A Pass Plan defines the behaviour and characteristics of the passes to be generated, it’s necessary to configure a Pass Plan to be able to generate passes of any type.
To view or create a new Pass Plan navigate to Finance > Pass Plans using the main menu on the left-hand side of the screen.
Select Create Pass Plan to create a new pass plan.
Name
Provide a unique name for the pass plan.
Classifications
Pass Plans can be classified as one of three types:
Promotion - Promotion passes consume a Reward Offer and abide by the offer definition in terms of the applicable discount (amount or percentage), and award & spend conditions. Promotion type passes can be configured for multiple uses but require an accompanying communication plan to notify the relevant Contacts of the promotion pass or offer details.
Gift - A Gift pass would normally be purchased and loaded with an amount of money before being offered to another person as a gift. The receiver beneficiary of the gift pass can be either an existing contact in the system, or an unnamed contact.
Top-up - Top-up passes are usually purchased to credit the wallet of an existing Contact, who uses their wallet to pay for subsequent purchases
These are the main characteristics of the three types of Pass Plan classifications, which in turn determine the behaviour of the passes to be generated.
Pass Type | Format | Generated for | Consumes a reward offer? | Pass Codes | PIN option? | Can be used more than once? |
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Promotion | Electronic | Existing Contact | Yes | Unique codes or Single code | No | Yes |
Gift | Electronic or Printed | Existing or non-existing Contact | No | Unique Codes | Yes | No |
Top-up | Electronic or Printed | Existing Contact | No | Unique Codes | Yes | No |
Validity
The validity setting of the pass plan defines the duration of time whereby the pass must be redeemed, and not the actual expiration of the already redeemed pass funds in the contact’s wallet. The validity of each pass is set when the pass is created, and according to the pass plan setting.
Available validity settings are:
Always - The passes generated through this pass plan will never expire, they can be redeemed without any date restrictions
Period - Set a validity period using day, month, year time intervals, a pass will expire if not redeemed within the defined time period from the date of creation
Date - Passes will expire on a fixed date if not redeemed
CRM.COM also provides the ability to set an expiration date for consuming the value of Gift and Top-up pass funds passes once they have been redeemed. This expiry date is set as part of the Commerce Pool Rules for passes which credit can be set on the pass plan definition using Commerce-Pool-Rulesand only by selecting the commerce wallet balance to be credited with the value of the pass.
Printed Passes vs Electronic Passes
Pass plans (and subsequently, passes) can be defined as either having a printed or electronic format. Printed passes are pre-generated (via the backend system or API), and can have a fixed or variable value, they can also be exported for printing purposes. Electronic passes are generated on demand (only via API), and again support fixed or variable values.
Number of Passes
Number of passes determines the maximum number of passes that can be generated using the specific Pass Plan. If the Pass Plan is configured for printed passes then the number of passes to be generated must be set. For electronic Pass Plans a maximum number of passes can be set, or use 0 (zero) for an unlimited number.
If a maximum number of passes has been defined for a Pass Plan, then no more passes can be generated once the maximum number has been reached.
Pass Values
Both printed and electronic (gift or top-up) passes can be defined as having either fixed or variable values.
Fixed value - The value of the pass is set when the pass is created and cannot be amended
Variable value - The value of the pass must be within the given range, it can either be set upon creation or at a later stage (via an API call), but certainly before redeeming the pass
Open Balance vs Commerce BalanceWhich wallet balance to credit with the value of the pass
Define which of the Contact’s wallet balances Open or Commerce will be credited upon redeeming the pass. Open wallet funds can be consumed unconditionally, whereas Commerce wallet funds can be subject to spend conditions (commerce pool rules), e.g. the pass funds can be spent at specific locations, and/or on specific products, and/or within a given time frame.
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Adding conditional spending rules to the pass plan configuration can restrict how and when the pass value can be spent, such conditions can only be set if the Commerce wallet balance will be credited upon redeeming the pass.
Commerce pool rules can be created and re-used, or new rules can be created on-the-fly. Either select an existing commerce pool condition, or choose Create new Commerce Pool to create a new one instantly.
When creating a new commerce pool rule, you will be prompted to provide a Pool Rule name and the restrictions to be applied, choose from the following:
Time - Set specific days and/or times when the funds can be spent, any day and any time is the default
Location - Set specific locations where the funds can be spent, any location is the default
Products - Select specific products to spend the funds on (using families, types, brands or SKUs), all products is the default
Expiration - Select the pass funds expiry period, e.g. any unconsumed pass funds will expire 1 year after redeeming the pass
Pass Code Format
Define the format that a pass code will have when a pass is created. Pass codes are randomly generated (i.e. are not sequential numbers), and are unique across the business.
Format
Alphanumeric - pass codes will consist of a combination of letters and numbers (e.g. 3YX7DDG08)
Alphabetic - pass codes will consist of letters only (e.g. UNLRXDQU)
Numeric - only numbers will be used for pass codes (e.g. 811256347026)
Length
Define the length of the pass code not including the prefix and suffix, minimum permitted length is 7, and maximum is 16.
Prefix
Provide a prefix to proceed all pass codes for this pass plan. Multiple pass plans can use the same prefix, (e.g. prefix is ‘GIFT’ so pass code would be GIFT811256347026).
Suffix
Provide a suffix to be added at the end of all pass codes, (e.g. suffix is ‘GIFT’ so pass code would be 811256347026GIFT).
PINs
Will the passes have an associated PIN? If so, then the pass PIN is initially required to redeem the pass, and thereafter for any future purchases which will consume pass funds. PINs have a length of 4 digits.
Custom Preferences
Use custom fields to include any additional data on passes which are not catered for in CRM.COM. The value of the custom fields will be automatically copied to any new passes upon creation, and for printed passes, can also be changed either via the Update Pass API or by viewing and editing the individual pass information via the back-end system. Furthermore, custom fields are also included in the passes exported files.
Refer to the Custom Extensibility manual for information on how to configure and manage custom fields.
Activating a Pass Plan
Once a Pass Plan has been defined and saved it appears on the Pass Plan summary screen with an Inactive state, a Pass Plan must be Activated to allow passes to be generated.
Navigate to the Pass Plan summary screen
Locate the Pass Plan and select pass plan options (…) > Activate
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In the same way, pass plans can be deactivated to stop any more passes being generated. |
Generating & Activating Printed Passes
Electronic passes are generated, activated and redeemed upon demand, through the use of API calls, typically via a third-party system integration, electronic gift passes can also be generated through a
Generate and activate printed passes for a Pass Plan
Navigate to the Pass Plan summary screen
Locate the Pass Plan
Select pass plan options (…) > Generate (number of passes generated in accordance to Pass Plan configuration)
Locate the Pass Plan
Select Pass Plan options (…) > Manage Passes (this option is available only after passes have been generated)
Select options (…) > Activate All Passes
A batch of printed passes will typically be activated once they have been printed and distributed.
Activate a single printed pass
It’s also possible to activate individual passes, instead of activating all passes of a pass plan.
Select Pass Plan options (…) > Manage Passes to see all the passes generated for the pass plan
From the Actions column select the button with the tick
Printed passes can be generated and managed by the back-end system as well as by an integrator
Electronic passes can only be generated by the Create Passes API call, i.e. third-party integration, with the exception of electronic gift passes which can be generated via landing pages.
Cancelling Passes
Similarly, to cancel all passes of a pass plan or just a single pass:
Select Pass Plan options (…) > Manage Passes to see all the passes generated for the pass plan
Select the options button (…) > Cancel all passes
OR
Select the prohibited symbol under the Actions column to cancel a single pass
Only passes in Draft state can be cancelled
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In cases where Gift or Top-up electronic passes are purchased from an online platform, or Promotion passes need to be distributed by a business, it’s necessary to send a communication to the recipients beneficiary in order to inform them that they have received a pass, and how to go about using it. In such cases an Automation with a communication, or a Communication plan needs to be configured.
Promotion passes
A Communication Plan It should be created to send a communication to contacts about the Promotion passnoted that the only way to communicate promotion pass details to contacts is through the use of a Communication Plan.
If the Promotion pass is configured to use the same pass code for all contacts, simply type the pass code in the communication plan message area (e.g. ‘use pass code 123456 on your next purchase…)
If the Promotion pass is configured to use a unique pass code per contact, use the #link_for_pass communication tag in the message area, and select the respective pass plan from the listed promotion pass plans
Use the same segment in the communication plan as for the reward offer so that only those contact’s who are eligible for the offer will get the communication
Gift & Top-up Passes
To communicate the details of an electronic Gift or Top-up pass, you need to configure a Automation with a trigger event of Generate Electronic Passes, along with the communication content to be sent to the recipient beneficiary of the pass.
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Refer to the Communications and Automations manuals for details on how to configure a Communication Plan or an Automation. |
Passes
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It’s possible to redeem a pass for an existing Contact through the back-end system.
Contacts > My Contacts
Locate and select the Contact
Select the Financials tab
Select the Options button (…)
Redeem Pass
If the pass is redeemed successfully, the Contact’s wallet will be credited with the value of the pass.
Good to Know
Electronic passes are largely managed through third party integrations systems with the use of APIs, or through Landing Pages for electronic gift passes.
When variable value printed passes are generated, the pass value is not set until the pass has been purchased
Passes with a state of Active can be redeemed, passes with a state of Inactive or Cancelled cannot be redeemed
Only passes in Draft state can be cancelled
A whole batch of printed passes can be Activated or Cancelled in one go, or a single pass at a time
If a pass has an accompanying PIN, then it must be provided to redeem the pass, and also when using the pass to pay for purchases
Promotion and Top-up passes can only be redeemed for existing (registered) Contacts in the system
Gift passes can be redeemed for both existing and non-existing Contacts. In the case of a non-existing Contact, the system will create a fictitious Contact with the pass code set as the Contact name
Upon redeeming a Gift or Top-up pass, the Contact's wallet is credited with the value of the pass
A Promotion Pass Plan is linked to a reward offer, in such cases the reward offer will need to be defined and activated prior to configuring the Pass Plan
A Promotion Pass Plan should be accompanied by the relevant communication informing the eligible Contacts of the pass code and validity period
When an electronic Gift or Top-up pass is purchased, an automatic message is communicated to the receiver with the pass code information, this message can be overridden by creating an automation
Automations can be configured to trigger webhooks upon creation of both printed passes (e.g. for a printing house) and electronic passes
Pass Settings
Configure pass settings by navigating to the Settings screen - click on your logged-in user name in the top right-hand-corner of the screen > Settings > Financials > Passes.
Enable Hashing
If you want to use hashed pass codes then you will need to enable this setting and choose the hashing algorithm. Available algorithms:
SHA-1
If you decide to implement hashing of pass codes then you will need to use hashed pass codes for any integrations with CRM.COM.
Landing Pages & Mobile Passes
(Settings > Platform > Contact-facing Essentials > Landing Pages/Mobile Pass Cards)
CRM.COM provides an additional stand-alone solution for purchasing passes through a web page (Landing page for Purchasing a pass) which can be created and managed through the back-end system. The pass recipient can then register and redeem their pass using another Landing Page (to Register a contact), with the option of uploading their pass funds to either an Apple Wallet or an (Android) Wallet Passes app. Refer to the Landing Pages and Mobile Pass Cards manuals for more details.
Reference Material
You may also find it useful to refer to the following manuals for further reading in relation to Passes.
Contacts
Accounts
Communications
Reward Offers
Automations
Integrations
Landing Pages
Mobile Pass Cards
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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