The Smartspace Membership Module can be used by clubs and/or associations either as an integrated website tool or a standalone administration area for membership management.
One of the features of the module is the ability to make special offers to new and existing members at the start of their membership and, for fixed term memberships, at the end of the membership.
This article explains how to use the Introductory Offers feature to take care of existing members and entice new members.
This article assumes that you are familiar with setting up a membership (membership type). Click here for more information on setting up membership types.
Navigate to Control Panel > Database Manager > Memberships > [your selected membership type] after logging in.
To use any of the features above, tick the Introductory Offer field. This will expose further settings.
Please note: Introductory Offers only apply to fixed term memberships at present.
As a default, any membership that lasts for 3 months or more will have an early renewal period set at one month and one day prior to the end of the membership (this applies to both fixed term and floating term memberships)
This means that if a current member goes online to renew a membership, say 3 weeks, prior to the end of the membership, they will automatically be signed into the next period's membership.
You can change this default by simply adding a number (greater than 0 or zero) to the Early Renewal field and selecting the period to which it refers.
Once you are satisfied with the changes you have made, update (or save) the membership type.
IMPORTANT!! Please be aware that if you have configured an introductory offer, it will not work until a valid price code has been attached to the offer. See below.
Once you have changed the membership offer settings, you will probably need to add or in some way manage price codes.
It is important to note that payment for Membership for online sales is calculated on the day it is purchased, not for when the membership will apply. Therefore price codes need to accurately reflect prices at any point in time.
You can set up most price codes well in advance of changes of date, the only exception being that only one "Special Price" can be stored in the system at any one time (this can be configured in advance of the applicable dates).
If you have not already got a Price Code in the system that you want to apply to your Intro Offer (you may need to set one up for each membership option), you need to do so at Control Panel > Prices > New Price Code
Please click here to view more on setting up Price Codes.
Be aware that early renewal will override Introductory Offers which are offered late in the membership period.
You will also need to be careful with any "Specials" you have in the system as these Specials work across price periods. If you have a price change scheduled to take effect at the beginning of the new price period, ensure that the dates of the Special are correct.
Note that Specials of your introductory offer (if you have any which will apply) will only work with the introductory offer, not the normal membership fee.
Please also ensure that if you are changing prices of any of these services, that you use the "Carry Price Forward" button of the most advanced price, to create a new price instance, rather than just editing the old price.
Set up or manage as many of the Price Codes as is necessary to fully fund any changes you have made to the membership type. Return to the membership type to finalise the settings.