Overview
When a customer reports that they didn’t receive an expected reward, your goal is to determine where the reward journey stopped. Most issues fall into one of these categories:- The qualifying event never occurred.
- The event hasn’t been processed yet.
- The event wasn’t attributed to the referral program.
- The participant wasn’t eligible.
- The reward rule didn’t evaluate successfully.
- The reward was created but hasn’t been delivered.
Investigation Workflow
Before You Begin Collect the following information before investigating:
- Participant email address(es)
- Approximate date and time of the qualifying action
- Expected reward
- Referral, order, or account ID, if available
- Campaign or program name
- Screenshots or error messages
Step 1: Confirm the Qualifying Action
Verify that the participant completed the action your campaign rewards:- Purchase
- Signup
- Trial start
- Account opening
- Account funding
Step 2: Open the Participant Profile
Locate the participant using their email address. From the participant profile, review both the Activity tab and Show Steps. For investigations, Show Steps is the primary troubleshooting tool because it displays the participant’s complete event timeline, including:- Referral clicks
- Campaign attribution
- Qualifying events
- Reward evaluations
- Internal processing events
- Unattributed events
Step 3: Verify Referral Attribution
Determine whether the qualifying event belongs to a referral journey. A successful referral journey usually follows this sequence:- Referral link clicked
- Referral context established
- Signup or registration
- Purchase or other qualifying event
- Reward evaluation
Step 4: Look for Unattributed Events
An event may have been received by Extole but not associated with a referral. These events typically:- Have no Campaign
- Have no Journey
- Have no Program
- Display Quality = NONE
Step 5: Verify Reward Configuration
Navigate to Campaign → Rules to confirm that:- The qualifying event is configured.
- The rule includes a reward.
- The reward rule is active.
Step 6: Review Eligibility
Even when attribution succeeds, participants must still satisfy the campaign’s eligibility requirements. Common examples include:- New customers only
- Minimum purchase amount
- Qualifying products
- Eligible account types
- Campaign audience restrictions
- Geographic requirements
Step 7: Determine Whether the Reward Was Created
If attribution, configuration, and eligibility all appear correct, determine whether the reward exists.Reward Exists
If the reward has already been created, investigate delivery. Common causes of delayed delivery include:- Reward provider processing
- Email delivery delays
- Spam or junk filtering
Reward Doesn’t Exist
Review the participant timeline and reward evaluation to determine which condition prevented reward creation.Understanding Activity vs. Show Steps
Both views provide participant information, but they serve different purposes.
When troubleshooting, always rely on Show Steps.
Common Investigation Outcomes
The Qualifying Event Never Occurred
The participant hasn’t completed the required action, so no reward can be issued until the qualifying event occurs.
The Qualifying Event Is Still Processing
The event has not yet been processed by Extole - wait until the next processing cycle before continuing the investigation.The Event Wasn’t Attributed
The participant completed the qualifying action before referral attribution existed or never entered the referral journey. Events without attribution cannot generate rewards.The Participant Isn’t Eligible
The participant failed one or more eligibility requirements configured for the campaign.The Reward Rule Didn’t Evaluate Successfully
Review the reward rule configuration and determine which condition failed.The Reward Exists but Hasn’t Been Delivered
The reward has already been created, meaning that the issue is likely related to delivery rather than reward generation. If the reward is in a Sent state, open the reward and click Resend on the Reward Details page. If the reward should go to a corrected email address for a Tango gift, see How to Resend Tango Rewards. For other suppliers, or if Resend does not resolve the issue, contact support@extole.com.Explaining the Outcome to the Customer
After identifying the cause, communicate the result in clear, non-technical language. For example:We reviewed your referral activity and found that the qualifying purchase occurred before the referral link was used. Because the referral wasn’t established until after the purchase, the purchase couldn’t be associated with the referral program and wasn’t eligible for a reward.Or:
We confirmed that your reward has been created successfully and is currently being processed by our reward provider. Delivery may take a little longer to complete.Avoid using internal terminology such as Quality, Show Steps, or rule evaluation when communicating with customers.