3 Steps for Starting a Loyalty Reward Program for Your Business

10 July 2015
 Categories: , Articles

Share

Are you looking for a way to boost sales at your store? If so, you may want to consider starting a loyalty program at your business. A loyalty program is designed to give perks and bonuses to customers, but it may also offer benefits for your company. Starting a loyalty program takes some work, but it isn't as hard as you think. Here are three things you will need to do to get a program like this started.

Devise a Plan

The first step in creating a loyalty program is creating a plan for it. In other words, what will this program offer to your customers? Make sure that it is a good deal for your customers, otherwise they may not even want to sign up for it. Here are some ideas to consider using:

  • Point system – Every purchase they make could reward them with points. The points could be redeemed for money off a purchase, gifts, or something else.
  • Dollar system – You could offer money off purchases for every dollar amount they buy.
  • Percentage off or coupons – Another option is to offer coupons for a percentage off or dollar amount off their next purchase.

As you devise a plan, keep in mind how it will affect your business. You will want to get benefits from going through the work of creating and sustaining the program, and a main benefit is repeat customers. When customers have an incentive to shop at your store, they may do so more frequently. This could lead to increased traffic and sales at your business.

You could also use the system to track habits of your customers. This could help you plan and forecast for the future.

Create the Software

If your company already has a POS system, adding a loyalty program to it will not be hard. You may need to hire this out, but it is something that is relatively simple. To offer a loyalty program, you will need to be able to swipe or scan loyalty cards of customers. Once a card is scanned, the system should recognize the card and cardholder, and the purchases will automatically register under this person's name.

Create Loyalty Cards & Applications

The final step consists of hiring a print shop to create loyalty cards and applications. If you have ever registered for a loyalty card, you were most likely handed an application that had a loyalty card attached to it. This is the typical way of doing this, and this system works well.

You can hire a printing company to create these for you, and you will then be able to hand them out to your customers. Your customers can fill out the forms and return them to the cashiers, and then someone will have to input this information. As soon as you scan the person's card for the first time, it will register the card. You can click here for info on how this works. 

As you think about the cards you will issue, you may want to stick with using the colors of your business. This will help brand your business, and it could also make it easier for the customer to find your card when needed.

You should also clearly spell out how the program works on the applications you issue. Your customers should be able to read over this application and fully understand the program you are offering.

Starting a loyalty program could be a good move for your business to make. If you would like to learn more about loyalty programs, contact a company that offers printing services. They can help you design the perfect cards and applications for your business.