In this article, you'll learn more about using Effects in the Rule Builder. You should have already read Building a Rule and Using Conditions.
What's an Effect?
In Talon.One, Effects are triggered when all (or at least one) of the Conditions of a Rule are validated to TRUE. When the Rule Engine evaluates conditions, Effects will only be triggered if the Conditions are valid. Effects are defined in the rules of your campaign, for example, apply a 5% discount, give 20€ off a specific item or give the cheapest item free.
Available Effects
When you select +Add Effect a menu will appear with a list of possibilities to build your condition. Below is a list of available options and their definitions.
Set a discount
Use this effect to apply a discount on a customer's session. Whatever information you enter in the Value field will determine the discount effect that is returned to a customer.
For a dollar amount discount, type in the amount into the value field (e.g., 10 for 10€ off). Percentage discounts require the formula “SessionTotal * 10%”.
Click the blue + button on the right side of the field if you want to add a variable to your formula.
You can also enter more complex formulas and/or variables in the Value field to create more dynamic discounts. For example, you can use a saved Cart Item Filter or a Custom Attribute you have already created like "Sale Items".
Tip: To round your formula's result to a whole number, just highlight the section you'd like to round and click one of the appearing options.
Set an item discount
Use this effect to apply a discount to an item in a customer's cart. To select the item from the contents of your customer's cart, select a Cart Item Filter that you have already defined for your rule.
Next, give your discount a name then add the value of the discount in the formula field.
The default formula is "(Item Price * Item Quantity)* 10%" which will apply a 10% discount to the item(s) saved in your filter. In the Value field, you can add any logical formula and variable combination to achieve the discount requirements of your rule.
To add a new variable to the value field, click the blue "+" add variables on the right side of the field to open the palette and select your variable or attribute.
If you would like to make an item in your customer's cart free, simply use the formula "Item Price * Item Quantity" in the value field. Or if you want to apply free shipping, click the blue + button and select the variable "Shipping Cost" to give free shipping. Read more about Per Item Discounts.
Add an item to the cart
If you want to add one or more free items to a customer's cart as a reward, you can input the SKU of the item to be added and use the quantity field to specify a number.
Alternatively, you can use a custom attribute formula to dynamically calculate how many of the item should be added.
In the example below, the Cart Item Filter 'pizzas_in_cart' returns the number of pizzas found in this transaction. Two of item 'BR162' will be added to the cart for each of the qualifying items found.
Create a notification
To notify customers of special offers or rewards on your site, you can select the "Set notification" Effect and trigger a message. Read how to create Notification Effects here.
You can enter text and add variables or attributes like 'user name' or 'loyalty points' to your message to make it more dynamic. Learn more about implementing notifications with your system in our developer documentation.
Create a Coupon Code
This effect automatically generates a Coupon Code as an effect of your campaign. For example, if a customer registers or makes a purchase, automatically generate a new code as a reward.
First, select the campaign for which this code applies. You can define the following settings for these automatically generated coupons in the Rule Builder:
- Recipient ID: Choose Current Customer or any variable from the palette
- Store generated value in session: Select if you want to use this code in a second effect
- Additional Properties: Define a start date, expiry date or redemption limit (numbers or variables)
- Coupon Attributes: Add values for predefined Coupon Attributes
To define the code length and possible characters for this coupon, go the Settings page in your account.
*Note: These are not the same type of codes you create in Coupons.
Create a Referral Code
You can choose to automatically generate a Referral Code as an effect in your campaign. Go to Settings to configure the shape and length of these codes (Note: these are not the same type of codes you see in Referrals).
The same settings for expiry dates, storing the code and Coupon Attribute values apply to Referral Codes.
Update a custom attribute
Select this option if you want to update a custom attribute you have added to your account.
First, choose an attribute from the palette then select how you would like to adjust this attribute. Input a value or in the "set attribute" field pick an attribute from the palette.
Once you select an attribute from the palette, you have the following possibilities to set a new value:
- Choose operators: increase, decrease, multiply, divide, set to value, flip the value)
- Input a numerical value
- Input a formula (numbers and/or numbers and variables)
- Select a variable from the palette
Important: Attribute update effects will run with every session update if you do not include a condition prohibiting this. This means if you have a coupon which increases the value of an attribute by 100, that attribute will be increased every time you send Talon.One a new session update with that coupon attached.
Instead, consider using attribute update effects only in tandem with a "Customer Session is closing" condition. You may pair that with another rule using a Notification effect when the coupon code is valid informing the customer of the increase, e.g. "Congrats! We'll increase your points by 100 once you check out."
Webhooks
A Webhook will execute effects outside the Talon.One API and trigger third-party services like Email or SMS. Webhooks will appear in Effects only if they have been configured in the Developers section of your account. Learn how to configure a Webhook.
For example, create a webhook that will trigger an email to a customer when their friend redeems a Referral Code.
Conclusion
Now you know more about using Effects when building rules and what is possible with the available options. Depending on the data you send to Talon.One, you can create customized Effects tailored to your campaign requirements.
Get in touch if you want to discuss more possibilities for your promotional campaigns.
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