Gated offers to grow customers and drive sales for SMEs
The simple, effective, quick-start way for retail and ecommerce SMEs to attract and keep customers.
Make gated offers your superpower
Attract and convert more customers
Personalized marketing isn’t the future, it’s the key to success in the present. Ditch the one-size-fits all approach, and get ready to fly. Students, healthcare heroes or veterans: whoever your target customers are, reward them and celebrate them for simply being themselves.
Increase basket spend
Exclusivity is the beauty behind why consumers love gated offers...When shoppers know they’re getting a steal, they’ll increase their planned spend (because who doesn’t love good value?). Research suggests exclusive deals can encourage shoppers to spend up to six times more.
Enrich your CRM with zero-party, consent-based data
Collect zero-party data on verified shoppers who engage with your gated offer. Use this consent-based data to enhance your CRM programs, drive repeat purchases and build long-lasting customer loyalty.
Build brand awareness
Did you know that 83% of students say that if a retailer offers a discount, they’re more likely to shop there? Exclusive offers show your customers that you care. And what’s the secret sauce to loyalty? An emotional connection.
Optimize your offers with Pion Portal
Get stuck into the real-time performance metrics of your discount program to maximize your ROI. You can view the number of customers accessing your gated offer, dive into unique customer insights, and manage your offers.
Make gated offers your superpower
Make gated offers your superpower
The magic of gated offers
Gated offers are a successful marketing tactic that uses exclusive promotions or discounts tailored to a specific customer segment - like students, members of the military, or teachers. Trust us, it’s the golden ticket for increasing sales and conversion rate optimization (CRO).
These offers are only eligible to customers who can ‘verify’ that they meet that criteria...which is where Beans iD comes in.
Tell me about Beans iD…
Beans iD is Pion’s award-winning verification technology for retail and ecommerce SMEs. It instantly verifies and helps convert shoppers with targeted, gated offers built just for them.
With Beans iD, you can convert visitors into customers wherever they shop – online, in-store or in your app. Our plug-and-play tech is simple, quick and easy to activate: get your gated offers up and running in under 24 hours!
Pick ‘n’ mix your target consumer groups
Discounts to give your brand an edge over your competitors, and win the hearts and wallets of Gen Z students. Set up your Student Beans student discount program with the market’s longest-standing and most loved student verification partner.
Why offer student discounts?
✔ Students are 5 times more likely to become a customer if they see a student offer or incentive when shopping.
✔ Students are the high earners and purchase decision-makers of the future. Build brand loyalty now, and it’ll last a lifetime.
The opportunity
Get your brand in front of over 254m higher education students globally.
Military discounts will show your brand’s appreciation, build a positive brand image, increase revenue and create long-term, sustained loyalty. It’s a no-brainer.
Why offer military personnel gated discounts?
✔ Reward military shoppers with exclusive offers to drum up lifelong loyalty and an ongoing revenue stream.
✔ Take advantage of a ready-to-purchase market of over 2m monthly internet searches for military discounts.
The opportunity
The number of military personnel and veterans…
2m in the UK
72k in Canada
59k in Australia
17.5m in the US
Build your brand affinity by supporting those who work tirelessly to make a difference.
Why offer healthcare workers gated discounts?
✔ Build loyalty across this united demographic to activate word-of-mouth marketing.
✔ Create a halo effect to build an emotional connection with all consumers who support the efforts of our healthcare workers.
The opportunity
The number of healthcare workers…
1.4m in the UK
644k in Canada
642k in Australia
18m in the US
We’d all be nowhere without them! Honor teachers with exclusive discounts and celebrate their contribution to future generations.
Why offer teachers gated discounts?
✔ Capitalize on key academic calendar dates, like the back to school season, by offering timely gated offers to teachers returning to the whiteboard.
✔ Reduce new customer acquisition costs by tapping into teacher pride.
The opportunity
The number of teachers…
624k in the UK
400k in Canada
448k in Australia
3.7m in the US
Show first responders that you value their contributions. Build brand awareness, loyalty and a lasting impression of your brand.
Why offer first responder gated discounts?
✔ Build positive brand sentiment with firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics.
✔ Gated offers encourage first responders to try a new brand, purchase sooner, and make repeat purchases.
The opportunity
The number of first responders…
220k in the UK
251k in Canada
300k in Australia
4.6m in the US
Help ease the financial pressure on people with disabilities by offering exclusive discounts.
Why offer people with disabilities gated discounts?
✔ Encourage people to try a new brand and activate peer-to-peer recommendations.
✔ Develop brand loyalty whilst ensuring your brand is accessible and disability-friendly.
The opportunity
The number of people living with a disability…
14.6m in the UK
6.2m in Canada
4.4m in Australia
61m in the US
The first years of parenthood aren’t only tough, they’re expensive. Help parents’ money go further and build lifelong loyalty.
Why offer parents gated discounts?
✔ Organically build word-of-mouth recommendations across this tight-knit community.
✔ On average, new parents spend $13k in the first year of a child’s life - make sure your brand is front-of-mind when making essential purchases.
The opportunity
The number of new parents…
46m in the UK
5m in Canada
3m in Australia
46m in the US
Reward charity workers such as fundraisers, volunteers, management, researchers and more, with a gated discount.
Why offer charity workers gated discounts?
✔ Commemorate the selfless work of charity workers and help them save! Show workers you appreciate their commitment to making the world a better place, by making it more affordable for them.
✔ Showcase your brand’s commitment to corporate social responsibility by rewarding charity workers.
The opportunity
The number of people working in the charity sector…
827k in the UK
2m in Canada
1.2m in Australia
12.8m in the US
Support people on low income with exclusive discounts when they need it the most.
Why offer low income gated discounts?
✔ Acquire new customers who might not have considered your brand before.
✔ Build loyalty that lasts a lifetime by providing financial support to the people that need it most.
The opportunity
The number of people on a low income…
13.4m in the UK
3.3m in Canada
1.8m in Australia
37.9m in the US
Expand your discount program to graduates and target Gen Zers for an additional five years!
Why offer graduate gated discounts?
✔ Increase your conversion rates with digitally native Gen Zs.
✔ Establish loyalty at the start of graduates’ careers and become their go-to brand as their disposable income grows.
The opportunity
The number of students graduating each year…
750k in the UK
321k in Canada
340k in Australia
2m in the US
Launch your gated offer in 4 simple steps
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Pick your audience
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Choose which consumer groups best align with your marketing goals.
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Customize your discount
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Build your bespoke offer using our simple set-up form.
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Launch your offer
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Add your gated offer to your website, app or in-store signage.
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Get promoting!
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Promote your offer loud and clear to drive conversions and reduce customer acquisition costs.
trust Pion
Got questions? We’ve got the answers
Our pricing plans are usage-based- you can choose between: ‘Starter’- £0 license fee + commission* (up to 30 verifications per calendar month) or ‘Growth’ (up to 100 verifications per calendar month) £99 monthly license fee +commission*
*Commission is dependent on whether you’re part of an approved affiliate network.
For brands part of an affiliate network, commission is tracked via your affiliate network (CPA). Brands on our Starter plan are charged 10% commission on all verified transactions and brands on our Growth plan are charged 8% on all verified transactions.
Alternatively, for brands not part of an affiliate network, commission is based on number of verifications per monthly billing cycle (CPV).
Brands on our Starter plan are charged £1 per verification for the first 30 then charged £1.50 per extra verification.
Brands on our Growth plan are charged £0.50 per verification for the first 100 then charged £1 per extra verification.
At the end of sign-up, you will need to add a payment card via Stripe.
For brands on our CPA pricing model, applicable license fees and any overages incurred will be paid directly to Pion via Stripe. Commission will be tracked and paid via your approved affiliate network.
For brands on our CPV pricing model, applicable license fees, overages and commission will all be paid directly to Pion via Stripe.
Payments are charged via Stripe once per monthly billing cycle for the previous month’s activity.
A ‘verification’ occurs when a user verifies their status to redeem an offer. An individual can verify their status multiple times per monthly billing cycle to redeem an offer but will only count as one verification.
If you’re on our Starter plan and exceed over 30 verifications within your monthly billing cycle, you will be charged £1.50 per extra verification.
If you’re on our Growth plan and exceed over 100 verifications within your monthly billing cycle, you will be charged £1 per extra verification.
Alternatively, you can upgrade to the next plan at any time by emailing support@wearepion.com to avoid incurring overages.
Currently, we do not have the functionality to place a cap on the number of verifications per month. However, you can choose to upgrade your plan at any time by emailing support@wearepion.com
Join Pion in three easy steps:
1) Complete our sign-up form
2) Add payment card via Stripe
3) Our support team will automatically start your onboarding
No, you are not required to be a part of an affiliate network to sign-up.
If you already already use one of our 120+ approved affiliate networks then you can sign-up to one of our pricing plans with commission tracked via your affiliate network (CPA). Commission will be charged based on verified transactions- % dependant on the pricing plan you choose.
If you are not part of an affiliate network or offering an in-store discount only then you can sign-up to one of our pricing plans with commission based on number of verifications (CPV). Unit cost of verifications dependant on the pricing plan you choose.
If the affiliate network you use is not on the list then we’re unable to track commission via your affiliate network. Instead commission will be based on number of verifications per calendar month (CPV). Unit cost per verification is dependent on the pricing plan you choose.
During sign-up, you will simply need to share your contact details, basic brand information, monthly traffic volume and details of your student discount such as the % discount you want to offer and in which country
For payment, you will need to securely add a payment card via Stripe
During onboarding, you will need to share some brand details (category, list of domains) and assets with us such as your brand logo and a few lifestyle images representative of your brand for us to create your offer listing on Student Beans website and app or Beans iD website- depending on your chosen target consumer groups.. You will also need to share details of your offer including any T&C’s and a .csv file of min 250 single use discount codes per country your offer will be available in (depending on your chosen redemption method)
Beans iD is Pion’s verification solution for your website, app or stores and it’s designed to work with your existing set-up.
If you’re a Shopify merchant, we recommend you join us by downloading our Beans iD Verification app on Shopify as you can create a fully customisable user journey with a variety of display options to choose from without any dev time or resource.
However, if you’re not on Shopify, you can integrate our verification technology on your website, app or in-store directly in minutes.
Our Starter and Growth plans are monthly plans only.
Our plans are usage-based so you only pay for the number of verifications you use. You can choose our Starter plan with a £0 licence fee.
Once you have signed to one of our pricing plans and completed your onboarding, your offer will be added to our website and app for millions of our verified users to access.
Here are the media options that would be available once your offer is live- if you're interested in any of these additional placements, we can put you in touch with our media team.
Our conversions varies by market and sector; however our brands typically deliver a 25% conversion rate from sessions to code redemptions and a 15% conversion rate from code redemption to transactions
Beans iD is Pion’s verification solution - you can integrate it with your website, app or stores.
Yes, you can create gated offers across multiple discount channels, you will need to sign-up per discount channel.
For brands that want to offer an in-store student discount only, you will just need to select your discount channel as ‘In-store’ during sign-up.
Beans iD integrates seamlessly with your website, app or store. Once integrated, when a customer wants to redeem your offer, our technology will securely verify their status in real-time. Once verified, they will be able to redeem your offer and complete purchase.
We verify students via our direct integrations with academic institutions.
Beans iD checks the user’s selected institution in real-time to confirm that they are a student. Students must also re-verify their status every year to ensure accuracy.
During onboarding, we’ll need you to share a few assets and information with us to create your discount listing. We’ll also send you detailed integration instructions – there are only 5 or 6 steps you need to follow depending on the type of integration you choose. Onboarding should take no more than an hour.
To integrate Beans iD with your website, you will just need to:
1. Share a few assets and information to create your offer listing and unique script
2. Create a new landing page and embed your script
3. Add CTA to the header and footer of your website linking to your new landing page.
Of course, you’re in control of your gated offers- you can end offers and create new ones by logging into Portal.
We can only use one language per market. But you can add an additional market and create an offer in another language by completing this sign-up form.
Brands on our Starter plan can create offers for up to 3 consumer groups.
Brands on our Growth plan can create up to 6 offers for different consumer groups.
However there are restrictions on available consumer groups depending on 1) Discount Channel and 2) Country.
For website: Student and Graduates are available in all countries
Health Service, Military, Teachers, Parents and Disability are available in the UK, US, AU, CA & IE only.
For app or in-store: Students are the only available consumer group.
Yes, if you have signed up to our Starter plan, you can add up to 3 consumer groups at any time. Or if you have signed up to our Growth plan, you can add up to 6 consumer groups. You can also upgrade your plan at any time too to add more consumer groups by emailing support@studentbeans.com
Unfortunately it’s not possible to change your consumer groups once they have gone live. Alternatively you can upgrade your plan to test more consumer groups.
Absolutely, you can add another market by simply completing the sign-up form for each country. You can sign up to our free Starter plan for each country and benefit from 30 verifications per country - it's a great way to promote your offer and test your appeal in multiple new countries with no upfront cost!