What is the difference between Group Attributes and Patron Custom Attributes? : Support

Group Attributes and Patron Custom Attributes are different things and behave in very different ways, but it can be easy to confuse them as they are both used to categorise patrons by Attribute. Group Attributes of the Member Type behave somewhat differently again to Normal and Self-Opt Group Attributes - to add an extra layer of complexity. It can all get a bit confusing, so below is a table describing the basic similarities and differences between Group Attributes and Custom Attributes.

	Group Attributes	Custom Attributes
Patron Attributes Tab Location	Left	Right
Setup Location	Normal or Self-Opt groups can be created in the Desktop Marketing Module or WebHub. Member Groups can be created in Administration as well as the Desktop Marketing Module and Marketing in WebHub.	Custom Patron Attributes are created in the Desktop Administration Module.
Type	Normal Groups: staff can add Patrons into Normal Groups via the Desktop Marketing Module and Box Office Module Patron Window > Attributes tab. Self-opt groups: if self-opt groups are set up as sign-up groups then Patrons can opt themselves into groups (usually mailing lists) at registration or when updating details, or when signing up for a newsletter (via the PatronBase Embedded Newsletter sign-up form). Staff may opt patrons into self-opt groups - with written or verbal permission from the Patron - in the Desktop Marketing Module or in Box Office Patron Window > Attributes tab. Member groups: If a patron purchases a membership either via the web or via Box Office they are added to the appropriate member group - as long as the membership product setup has happened correctly.	Text, Date, Integer, Lookup, Number Field Options - Patrons can answer set questions online at registration sign-up (if custom attributes are added as sign-up Patron attributes in the Web Control Panel) or be forced to update their details at checkout (if added as "required" to sign up Patron attributes in the Web Control Panel). These sign-up Patron Attributes can be extended across to the PatronBase Embedded Newsletter sign-up form. Staff can enter answers given over the phone, message or in person into either the Desktop Box Office Module, Marketing Module or via the Patron Details form in WebHub.
Reporting	All groups can be used as filters for queries in the Desktop Marketing Module and in the Marketing Module in WebHub.	Patron Attribute criteria/Patron answers can be used as filters for queries in the Desktop Marketing Module and in the Marketing Module but not in WebHub.
Operators	Access to managing certain Member groups of the Member Type (that is... purchased membership) can be constrained to certain operators only.	Access to Patron Custom Attributes and managing them can be similarly constrained to certain operators only. Contact the support team if you wish to add constraints.
Special Integrations	Group Attributes are used with the PatronBase Mailchimp Integration and PatronPost service. For more information, discuss these integrations with the Support Team.	Morris Hargreaves McIntyre have developed Culture Segments to assist Arts organisations to segment their communities and understand the needs of each segment and how to address them. PatronBase supports the integration of Culture Segments as part of Patron Attributes. Instead of manually adding a patron’s Culture Segment to their record, this can be automatically entered once they have completed the MHM Golden Questions in a survey. For more information, discuss this integration with the Support Team.

Group Attributes

Group Attributes for each patron are edited on the left hand side of the Attributes tab of the Patron window.

To add a new Group Attribute (Normal, Member or Self-Opt):

In the Desktop Marketing Module:

Go to Maintenance > Attributes which provides a list of all user-defined groups or attributes

All groups can one of three member types:

Normal: A normal group is an internal group which staff may use to categorise patrons e.g. contacts from schools.

Member: A member group is a group which members pay to subscribe to - by purchasing a membership. An example of a Member group might be 'Friend' - with Friends member benefits such as member only events, free tickets or member pricing.

Self-opt: A self-opt group is a group which patrons may opt themselves into, for example, on sign-up online or by written or verbal permission provided to staff to opt them in.

To add a new group attribute in the Marketing Module, enter the name in the field next to the * at the bottom of the list. Once entered, choose a Member type

And Save.

In WebHub <YourCountry.patronbase.com/_<OrgID>/WebHub:

> Marketing Tile

> Patron Groups Tile

Click Add:

Enter a description and select a type and then click Add:

Only Groups of the Member type Member can also be created/edited in the Desktop Administration Module under

Setup > Members > Member Groups

Enter text in the Group field next to the asterisk, which will bring up the Group Name window. Enter the text in the Group Name field

Click OK

The Member Type of member group will be added to the list.

It is possible to constrain the access to managing certain member type member groups only to certain operators.

In the Desktop Administration Module select > Security > Operators

Select an operator and then click the Member Groups button to assign the operator access to Member Groups

All Member Groups will be available in the table. Each operator can manage any number of groups, and you can assign them access to manage whatever groups they need, or constrain access to only certain operators.

For more details on Membership Products in relation to Member Groups see here.

Whilst membership groups will have patrons added to them via purchase of a membership, Self-Opt Groups can be set up as Sign-up groups in the Web Control Panel <YourCountry.patronbase.com/_<OrgID>/Admin >

> Web Module Settings > Patrons > Sign Up Options

To add a self-opt group to a sign-up group, click and drag the option from the left hand column into one of the right hand Sign Up Groups, and rearrange them until they're correctly grouped together. Multiple sign-up groups may be created by dragging self-opt groups into different boxes. To remove a self-opt group drag it back to the left hand list.

Save changes (bottom right), refresh the cache on the booking skin and this is how the self-opt groups appear during registration/updating patron details > privacy:

Reporting on Group Attributes

In the Desktop Marketing Module you may report on any Group Attribute

Marketing > Maintenance > Reporting Window

Member groups of the Member Type fall under the Member group filters in the reporting window:

Select a Member group and click the inclusion or exclusion arrow to use a member group as part of a filter for a query:

If the member type of member group has been set up correctly in connection to a membership product, with member categories, the following window should appear with all the member categories and other parameters for filtering members in the query.

Normal and Self-Opt Group Attributes fall under Groups in the reporting window:

Click the include criterion arrow (or exclude) and include/exclude members of any Group Attribute in a Query.

Click Go to produce the report:

It is also possible to create Marketing Queries using all types of Group Attributes in WebHub:

Go to the Marketing Tile

Go to the Query Builder

Select a Group Attribute

Select to Exclude or Include Patrons who are members of the selected Group Attribute

Change the conjunction to produce different results:

And:

Or:

Then when you are ready, click Run to run your query.

Click Details next to the Patron listed to go into the Patron's Details:

Custom Patron Attributes

Custom Patron Attributes for each patron are edited on the right hand side of the Attributes tab of the Patron window.

You can add as many patron attributes to the list as you like. To add a new attribute:

Go to the Desktop Administration Module:

Setup > Patrons > Attributes

Click on the empty field next to the asterisk:

A Box with an empty field will pop up. Enter the descriptor for the new custom attribute and click OK:

You will then need to specify the Type field from the options provided:

Text: free-form text can be entered into the attribute field.

How it looks in the Box Office Module Patron window:

In your organisation's Web Control Panel <YourCountry.patronbase.com/_<OrgID>/Admin under Web Module Settings > Patrons

Under Sign-Up Attributes down the bottom you will see you can drag Patron Attributes to the right column to show them on the sign-up form and the Patron Details page:

Once you have saved settings, return to the landing page and refresh the cache:

Go to register:

And there will be the custom attributes as sign up attributes. So here we have the Text type of custom attribute again:

Information entered in here via the web will appear in the Find Patron window in Desktop under Attributes:

New attributes set to required:

Will force the patron to update their details as a part of the checkout process:

Date: the attribute is a date field with a calendar date selection widget provided

In the Patron Window:

Under Update Patron Details on the Booking Skin:

Number: a number which can include decimal points

In the Patron Window:

Under Update Patron Details on the Booking Skin:

Integer: a number with no decimal points

In the Patron Window:

Under Update Patron Details on the Booking Skin:

Lookup : a dropdown list of options. To create the options list, select the attribute, then click the Options button. Enter new list entries by putting the option in the last row of the table next to the * under the Value column header.