Marketing communications can be distributed to customers in one of two ways - either Automatically (Auto) based on targeting rules, or based on guest Activity.
Activity-based distribution allows operators to require that guests take some kind of action - for example, purchasing a digital gift card, entering a promo code, or signing up for an account - before they will receive the communication. When combined with the available Targeting Rules, Activity-based distributions can be a powerful tool for restaurants to increase guest engagement and adoption of their loyalty program and ordering platforms.
This article will discuss each of the available Activity Types - what they do, how to use them, and any potential limitations.
An important note about all Activity-based offers is that guests will not be alerted of these promotions, as they do not automatically distribute to user accounts. For this reason, it is necessary to create a separate message or external communication (such as a social media post) to alert guests of them.
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Birthday: This allows users to create communications that will be distributed to guests on their Birthday.
When using this Activity Type alone, it will only be distributed to guests who have created an account and entered their date of birth prior to their birthday, as it is a backend process that only runs once per day, early in the morning. However, this can be combined with the Activity Type Signup to allow guests to sign up on their Birthday and be eligible to receive the communication.
This should be used with the Targeting Rule Birthday to ensure that guests will receive this communication as expected. We recommend setting the Distribution Date Type to Never Expire, so this can be "set and forget," and will continue to distribute without interruption. -
Check-In: This is a broad Activity Type that requires guests to complete a specified activity, set using the Targeting Rules, to receive a communication. It is most often paired with the Promo Code rule, which allows users to create a communication that will only be sent after the guest has entered a pre-set promo code.
However, it can also be paired with other Targeting Rules such as Category Check-In, Item Check-In, and Store Check-In. Each of these rules requires that the customer scan a Category-, Item-, or Store-specific QR code in person to receive this communication. - Social Media: This requires that guests share a message on Social Media (either Facebook or Twitter) to receive a special offer or communication. To use this Activity type, it is necessary to first create a separate message, with the Message Type Shareable. Then, users can create either a Loyalty Offer or Offer using the Social Media Activity type and Message Share Targeting Rule to distribute once guests have clicked the Share button on the initial message.
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Lifetime Referrals: This enables operators to reward guests for referring friends and family to sign up for the restaurant's loyalty program. Guests have a unique referral code, accessible through their app, that can be shared with new users. This Activity Type should be combined with the Targeting Rule Lifetime Referrals, which allows you to set how many referrals guests must accrue before receiving this reward.
Please note: It is not currently possible to set a reward to distribute after each referral. -
Referral Signup: This enables operators to reward new users who were referred by an existing user with a special signup offer, separate from any existing Signup campaigns. This must be partnered with the Targeting Rule Referral Signup to ensure it distributes as expected to new users.
Please note: If there is also a general Signup offer set up, referred users will receive both the Signup and Referral Signup offer. -
Signup: This is used to create a signup offer that will trigger for all new users who create an account. We only recommend having one Signup offer at any given time, to prevent users from receiving multiple offers and taking advantage of the loyalty program.
This must be used with the Signup Targeting Rule, but can be combined with Redemption Rules such as Basket Subtotal to create limitations around when it can be redeemed (ex: only for orders greater than $X.) -
Transaction Complete: This is used to target offers that should only distribute after a user has completed a transaction. It can be used in combination with Targeting Rules like Day of Week and Time of Day to require that guests complete a transaction during a specific time frame in order to qualify for this offer.
Please note: Offers created using the Transaction Complete Activity Type will be distributed overnight after the transaction has been completed, so it is important to set the Distribution End Date to expire one day after the offer ends. This helps to ensure there is no delay in distributing these offers to guests who have qualified.
Additionally, if qualifying products are set under the Discount Target, they apply both to the initial transaction that triggers the offer distribution and to the offer redemption. For example, if a client must purchase an item from the Catering menu to receive this offer, they must also have an item from the Catering menu in their cart to redeem this offer. - Survey Complete: This enables operators to encourage guest participation in Surveys by incentivizing their completion. This should be used with the Targeting Rule Survey Complete, which will enable users to specify which survey guests must complete to receive this offer.
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Gift Card - Purchase & Gift Card - Add Value: These can be used to incentivize guests to purchase and/or reload a gift card. Frequently, both of these Activity Types are used simultaneously to target both new gift card purchases and reloads, but can absolutely be used separately to only incentivize one or the other.
This should be used with the Targeting Rule(s) by the same name - Gift Card - Purchase and/or Gift Card - Add Value. This Targeting Rule will enable you to set the minimum and maximum gift card purchase/reload amount to qualify for this offer. If you would like to set up multiple tiers (ex: spend $50, get $5; spend $75, get $10; etc.), it is necessary to set up an offer for each tier with the respective Targeting Rules and amounts.
Please note: Guests must be logged into their account to receive the promotion. If they purchase a gift card while they are not signed into their account, the offer will not be distributed to the guest. Additionally, this offer type is only valid for digital gift card purchases. This will not work for in-store purchases and add-values.