Important Update!
- Product Questionnaires are now created, edited and managed using the new "Pricesheets" interface. See more about using Pricesheets by clicking here.
- For established users - we strongly recommend you begin a process
of transforming your existing galleries to being managed by the new
"Pricesheets" structure. (Click on link above to see more...)
Many of our photographers have looked for a way to obtain additional information at the time of an order. Product Questionnaires (PQ’s, for short) were designed to add customized functionality to any product offered by our Shutterbug Storefront photographers.
What can Product Questionnaires be used for?
There are two primary uses of PQ’s, based on the input and requests received from our photographers - posters and collages - but other uses are possible:
- Custom Sports Posters: Get all the information you need to create a custom poster for any of the sports you photograph. Now, a parent can see a great action shot of their player and turn it into a custom poster with a player’s name, team name, team colors, uniform number, etc. With the PQ option implemented on any given product, you can totally automate the process, having them input all the pertinent info at the time of sale online.
- Photo collages: Photographers who create collages always looked for a way to ask a customer for additional images choices. The PQ option can be used to do this automatically with the initial order.
- Commemorative Photos: Get custom information to create special photos that commemorate a special event, a tournament, a competition or a performance.
- Adding special instructions: Certain products you create may require an added explanation prior to purchase. The description field in the Product Questionnaire is perfect for this, and you can simply ask a question: "Do you understand how this works?"
Other uses for PQ? You can use your imagination! Use them on any special product you offer that requires additional information from the customer. Offer NEW products that you never could before!
PLEASE NOTE! See details below about how the Product Questionnaires fit into your overall workflow process!
Setting up Product Questionnaires
Please refer to the Pricesheets link (above) to see how to create and manage your Product Questionnaires.
You are provided an instructions box and fields where you can enter up to 10 specific questions. (See the example, below, where there is a "PQ" named "Sports Action being created and saved.
Also remember that as with most other text boxes in Shutterbug Storefront, use can use simple HTML to enhance the presentation. For example - If you wanted to highlight part of your instructions and get parents’ attention:
<b>Important! Enter all info</b> Create your own custom poster with this information:
In this case, you could put the “bold” tags around the text you wanted to make bold.
There are no specific length limits to either the instruction field or the questions fields. (Of course, keeping the instructions and questions specific and concise will be helpful for usability and effectiveness.) Additionally, there is no specific length limitations to the answer fields provided to the customer.
The Customer Experience:
When the customer chooses a product with a PQ attached, they get a special button that shows up in the cart with that product.
The button says: "Add Product Details:" (See the example)
This button leads them through the product questions before they move on to the rest of the billing info in the cart. (See the example).
At the end of the shopping process, after the billing information is entered, they are given one final opportunity to edit the PQ’s, as well as all of the billing and shipping information.
Once the customer finishes the product questions, they can move on or go back to more shopping as they normally could in the standard cart. Please note, however, that there is no built in safeguard for them to answer any or all of the questions.
If they go back to more shopping, the cart stores the PQ’s answered and they are given the opportunity to edit the answers. (See the example).
The End Result – PQ’s in the Photographer’s overall workflow (IMPORTANT!):
As an order is placed, the Shutterbug Storefront photographer will receive the same order notification email as usual. When there is a PQ attached to product, the notification email will now also contain the customer’s answers. Additionally, the answers will be part of the order report details under the "Sell My Photos" section.
Most Shutterbug Storefront photographer’s will be using the PQ’s for creating customized images – posters, collages, etc. Here's the best part....No matter what your existing setting are in your gallery, when you create a PQ for a product, it automatically changes the product to "Display-Only", and will NOT send it to the printer until you upload the completed file for that product. In other words, it assumes you need to make the customized image for every order, and handles the workflow accordingly. (It will ask for a new optimized file even if the product for that file has been ordered before, assuring that every order is a custom order.)
Multiple images - Additional note - For those who would use the PQ's as a way to collect additional images for a collage or multi-image poster: The field(s) you use to ask for additional image IDs is just a text/character field and you are simply asking the question for your information. The actual product order is attached to only the one main image. The image in the order report will show the main image selected and NOT the optimized image file you customized as a result of the "creation process," however the lab will print the customized image (collage, poster, etc.) you upload for that particular order.
Setting up for multiple products:
You can save and name the "PQ" for use with multiple products and in other pricesheets.
Here, we are applying the PQ entitled "SportsAction" to the 20x30 poster product.
