A loyalty program, also written loyalty programme, is any arrangement where a business gives customers something extra for returning. The simplest is a stamp card: a fixed number of visits earns a fixed reward. Others give points for every dollar spent, sort members into tiers with better treatment at the top, charge a fee for a membership with ongoing discounts, or pay back a percentage as credit. The large national schemes are mostly points and tiers, and they run on a mix of data, partner deals and unclaimed rewards.
An independent shop needs far less than that. What works at a counter is a scheme a customer understands in one sentence, that staff can operate in one action, and that thanks the regular for a habit they already have. The more parts a program has, the more of the owner's time it eats, and the more likely it is to be explained badly at the till on a busy morning.
In practice
A small cafe weighs two options. A points scheme would give one point per dollar, with 100 points worth a $5 credit: 5 percent of every dollar comes back to the customer, and the cafe gives up the full face value of every credit used. A nine-stamp card hands back a $5 coffee after $45 of coffee, about 11 percent in the customer's eyes, but costs the cafe only the $1.50 it takes to make, about 3.3 percent of what was spent.
With 180 members and about 25 free coffees handed over a month, the stamp card costs around $37.50 a month. The same $1,125 of member spending under the points scheme would earn about $56 in credit, cost the cafe every cent of it, feel less than half as generous, and need explaining to every customer.
In Counter Club
It is a stamp card with a reward in your own words, a list of members who joined themselves, and, on a paid plan, one message to members who have not opted out. There are no points, tiers or paid memberships. See how it works.