Create promo code

Create a promo code and associate outcomes with it.

About this task

Use the Promo Codes module to generate promo codes (including multi-use, single-use, and 3rd-party codes) with specific outcomes tied to them. Promo codes can be distributed through customer service agents, printed and handed out at live events, or used within broader marketing campaigns. Once a customer redeems the promo code, its associated outcomes are issued to that customer.

Step 1. Define promo code

  1. Click Create Promo Code List in the top right of the Promo Code Lists dashboard to open the Create Promo Code List view.
  2. Name the promo code list. This is an internal name that identifies the promo code list within the dashboard. Customers never see the name of the promo code list.
  3. Choose the promo code type:
    • Single-Use – Randomly generated, unique code that can be claimed only one time. Each code is tracked, so as soon as a customer claims it, the system marks it as “claimed” by that customer. Any customer who enters the same code after it has been marked "claimed" does not receive any points. Single-use codes are ideal for distributing through customer service agents as part of service recovery, since they cannot be used by others after they have been claimed.
    • Multi-Use – A multi-use code can be claimed as many times as the administrator allows. The code itself can be named to match a specific purpose (for example, “SpringSale”). When creating a multi-use code, specify the actual code name and set a cap on how many times that code can be claimed. This cap is often driven by the budget for a given campaign. For example, if you plan to spend $1,000 on a given campaign and the point value assigned to each code is $1, you would cap the number of claims at 1,000.

      Multi-use codes can be redeemed only one time by a customer. They can, however, be shared with others until the total number of claims against that code reaches the cap. At this point, anyone claiming the code receives a message indicating that the code has expired.

    • 3rd Party – 3rd party codes are uploaded from a 3rd party provider against a particular promo code list. These codes can be validated as active and unused when a customer enters a promo code value.
  4. Define the activation date, which is the date and time at which the promo codes become active.
  5. Define the expiration date, which is the date and time at which the promo codes expire, even if the promotion has not reached its usage-based caps.

  6. Limit the number of claims that can be made against this promo list or code. While not required, capping promo codes limits liability, as it allows you to directly cap the maximum amount of money you could spend on that list or code. Choose from two promo code capping options:

    • Don’t Cap Code Entries – There is no limit to the number of codes (single-use) or times that a code (multi-use) can be entered during the life of the promo code list.
    • Cap Code Entries – There is a limit to the number of successful code entries (single- or multi-use) during the life of the promo code list. If chosen, a box appears where you to enter the capped amount.
  7. Set the outcomes for the promo code. See for more information. After selecting the outcomes, click Save.
  8. Click Save to save the promo code definition.

Step 2. Generate and exporting a batch of single-use codes

If you created a single-use code in step 1, now generate a batch of those codes.

  1. On the Promo Code Lists dashboard, click the single use promo code for which you want to generate a batch of codes.
  2. On the Promo Code Details page, select Generate Codes to open the Generate Codes modal window.
  3. Specify how many single-use codes to generate.

    After selecting the Generate Codes button, you only need to supply the number of codes to generate for the batch. You can name each batch within the Generate Codes view. You can also set up an email alert to notify people when a batch of codes has finished generating. If you are generating a small list, this feature is not necessary because generation is very quick, but if you need to generate millions of codes, this reminder can prove helpful.

    When using the email alert feature, the actual codes are not emailed to you. Once you receive the alert, log into the SessionM Platform and return to the Promo Code Details view to export the codes.

  4. Click Generate. The code is listed with a "Pending" status in the Code Generation Batch Log for that code. When the status changes to "Active", you can export the codes.
  5. Click Export to export the codes as a comma-separated list.