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May 2022 Release Notes: https://help.pm.leapevent.tech/a/1556416
We're pleased to announce PatronManager's May 2022 release!
In this release you'll find a range of exciting improvements like built-in badges to help you quickly identify subscribers, a variety of updates to contact handling in the box office, a brand new CRM Snapshot to help you find your members, and more. Read on to learn all about:
- Subscriber badges and related fields
- Contact changes in PatronManager Box Office
- CRM Snapshot for members
- And more
You'll also get a sneak peek into development work in progress - more exciting changes are coming soon to PatronManager Box Office!
Prefer watching to reading?
Check out the release webinar recording below for a demo and Q&A.
Subscriber badges
Quickly identify your subscribers in the box office and in PatronManager as a whole! In just a few minutes you can apply (and next season, update) badges for your entire subscriber base:
- Adjust your page layouts to add the badge...
- Spend a couple minutes tagging your subscriptions...
- ...and the next day all your current, recent, and lapsed subscribers will have a special badge!
What subscriber badges are available?
PatronManager provides three options for subscriber badges; you can use just one, two, or all three:
- Current Subscriber (green)
- Recent Subscriber (yellow)
- Lapsed Subscriber (red)
A given patron will only have one "Subscriber Status" badge at a time. If they qualify for more than one (e.g. if they've been a steady subscriber for years), they'll receive whichever badge is closest to the top of the list above.
For example, if a patron has purchased both "Current" and "Recent" subscriptions, they'll only display a "Current Subscriber" badge, since that's the most relevant subscriber status when you're speaking to them.
Though only one badge will be visible per patron, all the values that apply to them are available in a field on their Account.
You'll find their full list of statuses (Current, Recent, and Lapsed) in the "Subscriber Badge Rollup" field on the Account, which is available in Account and Contact reports.
How do we activate the badges?
To use subscriber badges, you'll need to configure a couple things. First you'll add the new fields to your page layouts, then you'll tell the system which particular subscriptions should trigger which badges. The whole process should only take about 10 minutes.
1. Add fields to page layouts
To see your badges, you'll first need to decide where they belong on the page! Follow these instructions to add the badges to your Account and Contact page layouts.
The fields you're adding are called "Subscriber Status" (on Account) and "Account Subscriber Status" on Contact.
2. Adjust subscription Ticketable Events
Now we need to tell PatronManager which particular subscription packages count (at this moment) as "Current", "Recent", and "Lapsed". This will change over time, of course, but don't worry - you can update it whenever you'd like.
If you don't see the field, make sure the Ticketable Event Type is "subscription" - badges are only compatible with PatronManager subscriptions.
These are the three badge options, but you don't have to use all three - you may choose to use only "Current" and "Lapsed", or you may wish to differentiate folks whose subscription just ended from folks who haven't subscribed for a season or more.
We suggest applying the values to subscription Events as follows:
- "Current" for all subscription Ticketable Events in your current and/or upcoming season
- "Recent" for all subscription Ticketable Events in the season that just ended
- "Lapsed" for older subscription Ticketable Events - you decide how far back you'd like to go. Do you want to see a "Lapsed" badge only for subscribers from the previous season who haven't renewed, or the previous two seasons, or longer? It's up to you.
3. Wait for a day
The configuration is quick and easy, but the calculation that applies the badge to Accounts and Contacts happens on a nightly basis, so your badges won't appear (or change) until the next day.
This also means that when a patron purchases a new subscription, their badge will appear or update overnight.
4. Find your badges on Accounts, Contacts, and in PatronManager Box Office!
While you'll need to adjust your Account and Contact page layouts as noted above, the box office will show the new badge automatically:
Want to adjust the box office header to remove legacy custom subscriber badges you may have used in the past, or rearrange the order of badges? This article walks you through the steps!
5. Adjust as your seasons change
When it's time to close out a season or launch a new one, just head over to your subscription Ticketable Events and update the "Subscriber Badge" picklist as appropriate. Remember that changes will take effect on all your patron records the following day.
This also means you get to decide exactly which badges should appear for various subscription packages at any given time.
For example, there may be a few months during which you want to display the "Current Subscriber" badge for patrons who have purchased a subscription to your current season or the season you just announced, even though it hasn't started yet. It's entirely up to you!
Contact changes in PatronManager Box Office (PMBO)
The box office sales path is getting an overhaul! In this release you'll find some preliminary contact handling adjustments, in preparation for bigger changes later on.
- Add/edit buyer info at any point during the sale - no need to gather it all at once in a single step
- Update contact info on the associated Contact record while submitting an Order - easily correct phone numbers, fix typos, and more to keep your data tidy
- Sell single tickets without requiring contact information - great for quick sales right before a show
Access and update contact info at any point
Previously, the only place to add/update contact info (as well as custom Ticket Order fields, Order Comments, Order Source, and Entry Note) was on the Buyer Info tab, several steps into the checkout flow. While that page is still present for now, you also have a new option: the buyer info overlay.
Add a new Contact right from the search results
Typing two or more characters into the Contact Lookup provides you a list of results - if you don't find the patron's record, you can now add a New Contact right from that list.
Clicking this button opens the new buyer info overlay, so you can add the info you just searched for right away while it's fresh in your mind.
Edit existing Contact info from a button in the header
Once the Order has Contact information present, you'll see an Edit Buyer Info button in the header to make changes. This opens the same buyer info overlay to show you whatever information is present and allow you to add or edit.
Close and reopen the overlay any time
When you're finished adding/editing info, click "Done" to save your changes and hide the overlay. You can click the "Edit Buyer Info" button whenever you want to bring it back up!
Update fields on a related Contact record
When you associate an Order with an existing Contact record (either by using the Contact Lookup in the header or by starting the Order from a patron's record), contact fields on the Order autofill with information from that associated Contact record.
Notice any typos or inaccurate information? Fix them on the fly and check the Update Contact Record box on the new buyer info overlay to automatically update the related Contact record when you submit the Order.
Sell single tickets to anonymous buyers
Selling walk-up tickets right before showtime? If you need to get through a line quickly and don't have time to collect patron data (which we always encourage gathering when you can!), use the new Anonymous Purchase checkbox to bypass the need to provide contact info for the buyer.
FAQs about updating a Contact record from an Order:
You can change your mind about the "Update Contact Record" checkbox as often as you like while processing the Ticket Order, but if the box is checked when you submit the final payment, your changes will be applied to the Contact record and cannot be rolled back.
Just as you're careful about merging Contacts during Qualification, use caution with this checkbox and only check it if you're sure about the edits you're making.
Yes! The "Update Contact Record" field is a checkbox on the Ticket Order object, and is available in reports. If you're confused about why information changed on a Contact record, you can likely find the Ticket Order that initiated that change using a report.
Changes are applied to the Contact record when you submit the final payment on the Order, if that box on the Order is checked. You can keep making adjustments, and decide whether or not you want your changes to update the Contact, all the way up to that point.
No. Once you've completed a Ticket Order, the checkbox is no longer available. You can of course edit the Contact record directly at any time.
If you check the box to "Update Contact Record", the following fields on the Contact will be overwritten with new values from the Order when you submit the final payment:
- Salutation
- First Name
- Last Name
- Phone
- Mailing Address
- Shipping Address
- Email Status, conditionally:
- The Contact's Email Status will update to "Opt-In" if you check the "Opt-In" box on the Ticket Order
- The Contact's Email Status will retain its existing value if the "Opt-In" box on the Order is left blank
Keep in mind that if a patron had previously opted out through your email marketing system (i.e. Emma or MailChimp), they'll also need to resubscribe through that system in order to start receiving your marketing emails again.
Yes - use with care. If you clear the value of a previously-populated Contact field on the Ticket Order and check the "Update Contact Record" checkbox, the field will also be cleared on the related Contact when you complete the Ticket Order.
Not quite: if a Contact field was previously blank and is populated on the Order, PatronManager will add that data to the related Contact record whether you check the "Update Contact Record" box or not.
For example, if you previously had no phone number for the related Contact and you gather that data on the Order, PatronManager will always fill in the Phone field on the Contact with the new information.
Updating blank fields is not new behavior. The difference in this release is the ability to change existing data on a related Contact from the Ticket Order by using the new checkbox.
FAQs about the Anonymous Purchase checkbox
Yes! The Anonymous Purchase checkbox is a reportable field on the Ticket Order. If you're concerned about staff members overusing the new option, you can find that data and adjust your box office training practices accordingly.
Note: it is also possible to submit anonymous Ticket Orders via Box Office Express - those are not currently reportable with this checkbox.
In most cases, yes! And don't worry about checking the box by accident - if you've already provided some contact info, you'll see a warning before the contact info is removed:
No. The Anonymous Purchase option is currently available only for single tickets - if you're selling subscriptions or memberships, or if you add a donation to the Ticket Order, you'll need to provide the patron's name at a minimum.
This is intentional - PatronManager believes strongly in the power of data, and you can't build relationships with your most valuable patrons and donors if you don't know who they are. If you feel differently, we'd like to hear about it! If you'd like to see different options for anonymous checkout, please suggest a Product Idea to let us know how this would benefit your organization.
If the Delivery Method on the Ticket Order is set to Email or if you've checked the option to send a confirmation email, an email address is required for obvious reasons. Similarly, if the Delivery Method on the Ticket Order is set to Ship, shipping information is necessary.
Using a credit card and filling in the corresponding field on the Ticket Order will populate the "Name on Card" field on the associated Payment Transaction, but it will not update fields on the Ticket Order nor create a new Contact in the system.
This is intentional for two reasons: first to ensure accurate data if, for example, a Ticket Order is paid by two different credit cards under different names; and secondly to avoid inadvertently creating a Contact in the system under a name the patron may not wish to use or that may have trauma attached, which can damage your future relationship with that patron.
If you'd like to see this handled differently, suggest a Product Idea and let us know!
CRM Snapshot for members
CRM Snapshots are a user-friendly way to pull lists of patrons who meet specific criteria. In this release you'll find a brand new Snapshot to help you find your members! It's designed to help you identify folks who may be up for renewal or those whose membership recently lapsed, but the parameters are flexible.
The April 2022 release included Member Badges and a couple new fields on the Contact record to track the patron's "Current or Most Recent Benefit Level" and "Latest Benefit Expiration Date". This new Snapshot gives you quick access to that new data, to help you find patrons based on their member level or latest expiration with just a few clicks.
New to CRM Snapshots? They're a little different from regular reports - read this overview before you dive in!
1. Name your Snapshot
First things first: name your Snapshot clearly to help you understand what you were doing when you come back later. For this example, we'll say "Members expiring in June 2022".
2. Provide an expiration date range
Select the date range for the Latest Benefit Expiration. You may leave the max blank, but a minimum date is required. For our purposes, we'll set a date range for June 2022.
3. Select the Benefit Level(s) you're concerned with
This step is optional - leave it blank to include all member levels, or select the specific levels you'd like to see. We'll leave it blank here to include all members.
Ignore the "PASSCODE" Benefit Level - that is used by the system and never assigned to any patrons directly.
4. Set other Snapshot parameters as desired
These options are common to many Snapshots, and help you narrow down the list based on things like contact preferences.
5. Click "Create Snapshot"
When you're happy with your parameters, create your Snapshot! It'll take a few minutes to gather results - you can refresh the page, or wait for an email to tell you it's done.
6. View the results!
When your Snapshot is finished, you'll find a link to "View Report" at the bottom of this page. Clicking the link will open a template report in a new tab with your results.
(though in our particular example, there were no patrons meeting our criteria, so the report would be blank)
Always "Save As" when viewing a Snapshot report! Otherwise you may inadvertently overwrite the template and break future Snapshots.
Bug fixes & other improvements
With every release we tidy up bits of unexpected behavior and make incremental improvements to PatronManager.
You've had access to a CRM Snapshot to find first time buyers by Ticketable Event for a while via the CRM Snapshots tab. This release makes that particular Snapshot a bit easier to find, with a new button right on the Ticketable Event.
Clicking the button loads the Snapshot setup page with that Event selected - fill in the rest of the criteria and run your Snapshot to easily gather an outreach list!
New to CRM Snapshots? They're a little different from regular reports - read this overview before you dive in!
This button works only in Lightning - if you haven't yet made the switch, get started here.
If you're using PatronManager's Virtual Events, you can now find the total minutes viewed across all your livestreams and VODs hosted on the PatronManager platform.
Find the dashboard in PatronTicket Settings
Head to PatronTicket Settings and scroll down to the "Virtual Event Settings" section, then click "Virtual Events Dashboard".
Adjust the date range
It defaults to the last 30 days, but you can adjust to any date range you like. Keep in mind that the dashboard shows you the minutes viewed in the specified date range - it does not filter based on the date of the Livestream or VOD itself. This difference is particularly relevant for Video on Demand, which may have views over a long period of time.
View and export results
In addition to the totals at the top, you'll see a list of virtual Event Instances at the bottom of the page - all the ones that had views within the range you specified, along with the minutes viewed for each. You can also download a .csv file with the complete results (especially handy if your results span multiple pages).
"Start Date" displays the Instance Date for livestreams, and the Video Availability Start Date for VODs.
To find more details about total viewership for a specific virtual event, head to that Event Instance and view the Control Panel.
Previously, the "Buy X, Get Y Free" Discount Code type was not available for use with subscription packages due to how those packages handled quantity calculations.
That has changed, so you can now associate subscription packages with these kinds of discounts if you wish!
This affected organizations using STS gift cards with online redemption enabled, and also using the subscription renewal tool to allow patrons to complete Pending Renewal orders in PatronPortal.
Previously, those patrons were unable to use an STS gift card to pay for a subscription renewal - the option did not appear for those particular Orders.
That is fixed in this release: the gift card payment option is now available for Pending Renewal Ticket Orders in Portal.
PatronManager Box Office: new work in progress
Our development team is working on a range of improvements to PatronManager Box Office (PMBO) to make it faster and easier to use, particularly for walk-up sales. You'll see preliminary updates in this release with new contact handling options, and there's much more to come!
Future updates to PMBO will likely include ways to quickly launch a sale for specific Event Instances, the ability to set certain defaults to speed up transactions, a more intuitive interface, and more.
The primary goal for these particular upgrades is to better facilitate walk-up sales during busy periods so that PMBO will be ready to take the place of Box Office Express in future, but we think they'll be helpful in other day to day situations as well.
How far along is the project?
Development is already in progress for some elements (and the Contact updates in this release are preliminary work), while other more complex changes are still in the design phase.
When will we see these changes?
It's too soon to promise a specific date, but we anticipate including assorted updates over the next few PatronManager releases.
As always, safe harbour: development priorities are always subject to change.
What about Box Office Express? Isn't that the recommended solution for walk-up sales?
Box Office Express (BOE) has been around for quite a while (longer than PMBO), and while it is useful today for walk-up sales, its underlying structure is out of date. You've probably noticed that it doesn't look like the rest of PatronManager, and it isn't compatible with many box office features, including
- Badges
- Ticket Order Donations
- State & Country Picklists
- and more
We want to bring you all the best functionality, some of which just isn't possible on the old BOE framework. Eventually PatronManager Box Office will replace BOE, which is why we're working hard to ensure that PMBO is ready to take over those fast and easy walk-up sales.
We expect that pretty much all the things that are possible in the old BOE interface will still be possible (and easier!) in the new version of PMBO. And rather than just copying and pasting from one interface to the other, we're taking advantage of this opportunity to reevaluate design choices to bring you something new and improved!
I'd love to participate in focus groups or see early designs. Is that possible?
Sometimes! The best way to get involved with product research and be invited to things like focus groups is to suggest and vote on Product Ideas in the Client Community.
Click to learn more about Product Ideas and suggest the things you'd like to see happen with PatronManager Box Office!
That's all for now!
Want to be part of the product development process? Log in to the Client Community to suggest and vote on Product Ideas, track suggestions your organization has given us in the past, see what's planned and in progress, and much more. Read All About Product Ideas to get started!
Releases are very exciting; we can hardly contain ourselves