Fall 2016: New Features and Changes
Here is a two minute tour of the changes and new features you'll see on your site(s). Check out the links for complete details. . .
Enhanced Email and Text Communications
Standard Subscribers:
- Can now send a variety of email Invitations to selected users from any datapage, including invitations to donate items, buy tickets, and bid.
2. Each Invitations contains a link and unique token to deliver the recipient to the desired page, logged in and ready to participate and/or with their contact info pre-populating the form.
3. Auction Chairs can now send invitations to join the team as a Chair/Admin/Volunteer/Staff user instead of creating accounts for others.
Plus and Premium Subscribers:
4. Can also send custom email messages and create their own message templates.
5. Enable outbid notifications via SMS text messaging and send individual Invitations to Bid via text.
Changes are visible at:
Admin > Site Settings > Communications > Email Templates: view/edit existing templates and create new templates.
Users/Donors/Tickets/Orders > Bulk Actions > Email Selected Users: create/select and send messages.
Admin > Site Settings > Online/Mobile > Email and Text Notifications: configure email and text settings.
Auction Night Tasks > Mobile Invites > Mobile Login: send mobile invite via text message.
Upload Users and Donors From a Spreadsheet
All Subscribers can now upload, review, and import Users and Donors from a spreadsheet.
Changes are visible at:
Admin > Manage Users > Import Users: upload and import Users and/or Donors.
Admin > Donors > Import Donors: upload and import Donors only.
Online and Mobile Features Merged and Simplified
When we introduced mobile bidding, we anticipated that most customers would want to restrict mobile bidding to guests attending their gala. We were wrong. So we have merged and simplified the online and mobile features to make online pre-bidding on items seamless and set up easier:
1. Instead of configuring access for bidders who are not present, the feature now defaults to access for all. For those that do want to restrict bidding to ticketed (or invited) guests, a single checkbox is all it takes.
2. Site Settings are reorganized and simplified:
- Catalog visibility is now controlled by a simple on/off setting rather than specifying opening and closing times.
- Online and Mobile settings are merged as Online/Mobile
- Settings are organized by function (see above) and all catalog display settings now reside at Site Settings > Catalog > Additional Settings for Online/Mobile.
3. Invitations to bid can be emailed to any selected user from the User page as well as from the Auction Night Tasks screen.
4. In addition to sending invitations to bid, supporters can also sign up to bid using buttons on the homepage, nav bar, catalog, or from an optional link on the ticket menu.
5. Alternate methods are now provided for bidders that have trouble accessing an emailed invitation, including text messages and QR codes.
6. Venues (Gala, Online, Mobile) were replaced by more intuitive Bidding Styles (Paper Bid Sheets or Bid Paddles, Online/Mobile, or Paper Bid to Online/Mobile). Bidding styles can be set on an item by item basis and/or bulk edited.
7. Online and Mobile Reports have been merged.
Plus: Online/Mobile is now available with a Standard Subscription.
In addition to the above, Plus and Premium plans:
8. Can now offer Paddle Raise and Live items via online/mobile bidding;
9. Can create one or more display screens to be projected during the event. Displays can now be launched from the Auction Night Task Screen.
Online Ticket Sales Interface Prevents Duplicate Accounts:
All Subscribers can now:
1. Email invitations to buy tickets to selected users. The link/token within the invitation navigates to the Online ticket page and populates the Buyer fields with the info in their User Record, which they can then confirm, edit, and/or complete.
2. If ticket buyers navigate to your site without an invitation, but already have an account, their email will be recognized and an invitation automatically sent to their email address. The invitation provides them with immediate access to complete their ticket purchase, using their existing account. Ticket buyers also have the option of signing in to their account (if they know their password) or continue using a different email address.
3. If someone buys a ticket for a guest with the same name as an existing account, their transaction will continue normally, but a new user record will be created for their guest (for security reasons, this protects everyone's personal information online). When this occurs, the automated notification message sent to the designated person on your team will contain an alert:
IMPORTANT: For security reasons, this transaction may have created duplicate user records for some of Mary Smith's guests. Please review the following Users and merge duplicate records as necessary:
Mary Jane Doe: 1 probable duplicate records.
4. To prevent triggering automatic invitations to matching emails, Users with Chair/Admin/Volunteer roles are now blocked from entering tickets on the public form and must enter tickets on the internal form at Tickets > Sell A Ticket (this has always been best practice.)
New Voting Contest Feature
Plus and Premium Subscriptions include new tools to create and run voting contests with guests voting with their dollars for their favorite contestant.
1. The Contest tools use the online/mobile platform to accept votes - so you can run online/mobile/voting events simultaneously or one at a time.
2. Templates are provided for easy contest and display setup.
3. Invitation to Vote can be sent to selected users from the User page and/or the Auction Night Tasks screen and/or participants can signup to vote from your site.
Sponsor Promotion Tools
Plus and Premium Subscriptions include the new Sponsor Tools:
1. Create your own sponsor levels and specify where each should be displayed (homepage and/or guest receipt)
2. Upload sponsor images and information into a standard format. Image sizing is automatically adjusted for consistency within and across levels.
3. Drag and drop sponsors and levels at any time to reorder.
4. Specify how and where Sponsors are featured on the homepage.
Changes are visible at:
Admin > Site Settings > Customize Your Site:
> Sponsors: set up levels and add sponsor images and information.
> Homepage: specify location and format for homepage display and add custom text.
> Guest Receipt Setup: enable display and provide custom text.
What you won't find:
Gift and Ad Sales Item Types: Replaced by the ability to create internal orders for all items types, including paddle raise (cash donations) and instructions for handling In-Kind donations.
Non-Attending Bidding Tickets: Replaced with the ability to send Invitations to Bid from the Users page, and a new option on the ticket menu: I can't attend in person, but would like to participate online.