How do I link a required product to a purchase?

You can create different relationships with certain products to make sure users have all required purchases or memberships before they can complete checkout.

For example, if your contacts need to have an Adult Membership, before they can sign up for a class, you can use a product relationship to force that link. They will not be able to register for the class, without also buying (or already owning) the membership.

Setting up Product Relationships

You can find this feature by heading to Settings > Products > Product relationships

• Source Product - This is the product the contact will be buying (i.e. Class)
• Linked Product - This is the product they need to own in order to purchase the Source Product (i.e. Membership)
• Relationship Type - Choose required
• Apply Discount? - You can add a discount to apply to the linked purchase
• Action - Here is where you can save or delete

 

Steps

• Navigate to Settings > Products
• Choose the product you wish to set up a product relationship for here
  • Remember, this is the product the contact will be purchasing
• Select 'Add Relationship'
• Fill in the relevant information 
• Click Save

 

Setup Considerations

• Product relationships are required, not optional

You can’t use them to offer extras like uniforms or equipment unless those items are mandatory. Optional add-ons should be set up as separate products - you can either invite customers to buy them or keep them available in your shop for customers who want to purchase.

• Check the customer journey

We always recommend going through the shop yourself to see what your customers will experience. You don’t need to complete checkout - just go far enough to confirm that the product relationship is working as expected.

• Is there more than one required purchase?

You can link more than one product in a relationship - for example, requiring both a membership and a joining fee to be purchased together

• Choose between linking a product group or a specific product

Make the 'linked product' a group if you want customers to have the option to choose from all products in that group, or a specific product if one is required (e.g. Pre-School Class needs Junior Membership).

• Consider the product status

Private "Linked Products" still appear at checkout - but they can’t be purchased or seen in the shop unless the customer adds the "Source Product" to their basket first.

• The system checks if the requirement is already fulfilled

If the customer has an active linked product (e.g. a valid membership), they won’t be prompted to buy it again. If it’s expired or never purchased through JoinIn, they’ll be asked to add it at checkout.