The fourth step of session creation is deciding how to match your shops with the shoppers.
Start by setting the desired number of shoppers per location using the Shopper Target fields.
The broader the range, the easier it will be to identify locations that may cause scheduling issues. Keep in mind that the minimum number (first value) can be no higher than 100, and the maximum (second value) must be at least 50.
Next, Match Shopper Using one of the possible methods:
SmartMatch by GeoCode Method
This method will automatically select the best GeoCode/Distance for each location up to 100 miles, or 161 kilometres.
This is the recommended method of matching for almost every situation, as it yields the most accurate list of likely shoppers!
SmartMatch by Zip Method
This method automatically selects the best Zip/Distance for each location, also up to 100 miles, or 161 kilometres.
Manual method
There are a few additional selections for this method, allowing you to filter by Country, State, Area Code, Zip Code, and Zip Code Distance.
In most cases, the manual method is not recommended!
Only Email Previous Shoppers
With this selection, only the shoppers that have previously done shops for the locations in this session, and are matching the profile, will be emailed.
The shoppers who do not meet the requirements will not receive an e-mail!
The bottom of the page has a couple of checkboxes, with options designed to make the shopper matching as easy as possible.
Show Search Results
Checking this box will allow you to identify the problem locations and adjust the matching methods accordingly.
This option is highly recommended, unless you are confident in a particular match method and want to bypass the shopper match preview.
Clear Exceptions
The Location Exceptions Cache records alternate lookup types you have chosen.
We recommend that you do not check this option.
Clear Cache
The Location Search Cache remembers past searches and speeds up scheduling.
We recommend that you do not check this option.
After using the GO button, and if you selected to Show Search Results, a new informative section will open on the page.
At the top of the screen, the Scheduling Wizard will let you know how many total shoppers have been selected for the previously selected locations, alongside some additional details.
Locations on Target
The green row tells us we found our target number of shoppers for the number of locations you previously selected.
Too Few Shoppers
This data displays how many locations had fewer than 20 shoppers matched (remember, you can set the minimum amount of shoppers by filling in the Shopper Target field!).
These are considered 'danger' locations - locations that may be difficult to fill. For each of these locations, the system searched within a 100-mile (ca. 161 km) radius but still couldn’t find enough eligible shoppers.
You can use the retry option to expand the search area, such as by Area Code or State.
However, this is generally not recommended. While it may yield more matches, those shoppers will likely be over 100 miles (ca. 161 km) away and unlikely to complete the shops!
Too Many Shoppers
Opposite of the Too Few Shoppers is the Too Many Shoppers situations.
In this case, it may be useful to retry with Zip Code Zone as a way to pare down the number of shoppers.
On the same note, the bottom of the screen will list the matches per locations.
Clicking on the number in the Matches column will open a list of found shoppers, displaying some data so you can easily check who the shoppers might be.
If the matching satisfied your needs, you can use the Good Enough! Move on! button on the top of your screen to move forward with the process.