You've asked us for the ability to reward select groups of clients using referral (or promotion) codes, and, just in time for your spring marketing strategy, it's here!

I'll run through a quick tutorial on how to create and use referral codes, and this guide is also available as a Help Topic, or just search Help for "referral".

Here's how to create your first Referral Code:

1. Go into your Marketing tab and choose Events from the left sidebar.
2. Create a new Event, and select the brand-new type "referral code" from the drop-down list.

   

3. Type in a name, description, and the code you'd like to use.  That code is what you can give to your clients.  If you're sending via email or the web, a weblink is also created in the textbox below, ready to copy & paste.

   

4. Choose your date range by typing in the date, or using the pop-up calendar

   

5. Now, just select the type of special you'd like to extend to your clients – Featured Services, Buy One Get One, or Percentage Off – and just set those up like you normally would.

   In this case, we're taking the usual $75 massage and offering it for just $62, as you'll see:

   

6. Distribute the code in any number of ways – cards at your front desk, email marketing (through your SpaBoom account or your 3rd party solution – all you need is the link!), flyers you drop into purchase bags, your Twitter account – any way you'd like!  Be creative and have fun with the codes.  You could even link to it on your website, giving the perk to anyone who visits your site often.

IGC Purchases With Referral Codes

With the referral code link, when they click on the link it will send them directly to your IGC page with the type of GC you are promoting already up on the screen, ready for them to choose it:

With the code only, the purchaser will be prompted for their code on the 3rd screen in the checkout process:

Notes About Purchase Options

1. Tax, if you add tax to your GC purchases, will be calculated on the discounted price.
2. Gratuity, if you feature that option, will be calculated on the NON-discounted price.
3. Mail delivery option fees are assessed as normally configured.
4. The IGC after purchase – just like with any other special – shows only the full value or name of the service to the recipient.   If the promotion is a Buy One, Get One, your purchaser will receive their bonus GC just like normal.

Let us know what you think and how you plan to use your Referral Codes this holiday or all spring long!