Quick Integration
Getting your first program off the ground can be low-lift without sacrificing style or functionality. Learn how to set up a basic integration with Extole.
Overview
The Extole platform is designed to help you get more value from your existing customer base and acquire new customers at a lower cost than traditional advertising methods. Whether you’re looking to increase account openings, drive higher value conversions, or tap into a specific audience, we can help you achieve your goals with minimal to no technical resources required.
Our basic, no-code integration, can get your Extole program up and running quickly without sacrificing functionality. You don't need to be a technical expert to get started and your Extole team will guide you through each step of the process. The best part? Extole scales with you. Once your first program is off the ground, it’s easy to introduce more tech over time to meet your business goals as they evolve.
What’s Required
The following sections go over the minimum requirements for setting up a basic integration.
Extole-hosted Microsite Configuration
Your microsite is the heart of your program, offering both form and function. It is a dedicated landing page hosted by Extole that provides information about your program and encourages customers to participate. The microsite template is accessible within your My Extole account and it doesn’t require any technical know-how to set up. All you need are images and copy to create a seamlessly branded experience.
The microsite acts as standalone promotion and hub for referral activity. It details how to participate in the program and get rewarded while providing an embedded share experience where customers can quickly start referring their friends.
Driving traffic to your microsite is as easy as adding trackable on-site links. We recommend placing these links in prominent CTA placements on your website like a banner or global header. You can also use Extole to send promotional emails that directly link to your microsite.
Minimum Viable Product Creative Assets
Bringing your program to life means you'll need a few creative assets. These include brand-specific entities such as your logo, colors, and favicon, as well as an email image and any additional images to ensure the look and feel of your microsite matches that of your website.
| Required image assets | Recommended Image Specs (width x height) |
|---|---|
| Microsite Banner Image for Desktop | 2800 x 800 px |
| Microsite Banner Image for Mobile | 1080 x 900 px |
| Social Share Image | 1200 x 630 px |
| Email Banner Image | 1200 x 700 px |
CNAME and DNS Setup
Ensure that your program is easily accessible to your customers and can be found through your website's domain by creating a CNAME record and updating your DNS settings. This important (but not required) step will ensure that promotional links, shareable links, and emails are branded for your business.
The process is simple and can be completed within your My Extole account. All you need to do is create a new domain within the Tech Center for CNAMEing purposes. For example, if your domain is "mycompany.com," you can create a CNAME record for "referrals.mycompany.com".
Once you've set up your CNAME record, you'll need to update your DNS settings to ensure that your Extole program is connected correctly.
Related resources
SFTP Server Connection for Event File Transfer
To transfer data between Extole and your other systems, you can set up an SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) server within your My Extole account. This connection allows you to transfer large files between your systems and Extole securely.
Related resources
Setting up an SFTP server at Extole
Extole file formatting requirements
Required Events
We strongly recommend sending all rewardable events—conversions, account openings, subscriptions, and so on—to Extole. For referral programs, our objective is to maximize the number of advocates and their activity levels. Selectively passing these customer events to Extole has been demonstrated to lead to significant underrecognition of referrals and requires more work on your part to set up.
Extole profiles are an advanced tracking and attribution system that matches advocates 30% better than cookie or code tracking. For it to work, we need to be able to evaluate all people who interact with your business and generate an outcome, whether as a result of referral or not.
Reward Configuration
Rewarding your customers and members for participating in your brand is an essential part of your program setup. Within your My Extole account, adding and managing rewards is easy. For basic integrations, we recommend uploading coupon codes or setting up a gift card account. Regardless of the reward type you choose, the configuration takes just a few minutes to complete directly in the platform.
Updated about 1 month ago