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How Do I Set Up a Reward Card Program?

If you’re asking how to set up a reward card program, you probably at least know the appeal of plastic rewards cards. Simply put, reward programs are a very trendy and effective way to encourage customer loyalty and promote repeat purchasing behavior. Common reward card programs can be as simple as a paper punch card (buy 5 cups of coffee get the 6th free!) or a plastic card that tracks various behaviors and awards the user after earning a set number of points ($10 off after $100 purchase)?

Setting up your reward card program can be easy. Just take some time to set a goal and create a plan tailored to your business—like selling more coffee! 

good dragon rewards

A few things to think about as you start your reward card program:

  1. What is your goal? (Examples include improving customer loyalty, increasing overall purchases, encouraging repeat business, marketing a promotional program, etc.)
  2. Have you ever offered a reward program before? What worked? What didn’t work? How can you learn from that? Is there a business reward program you admire and wish to model after?
  3. If you were a customer of your business, what kind of incentives or offers would motivate you to utilize a reward card program?
  4. Do you have a customer processing or point of sale system that will help you manage a reward program? If the answer is “no”, don’t let that deter you from starting a program. We frequently provide recommendations to help businesses find a point of sale system to meet their needs. Contact us if you need recommendations!

Now that you’ve thought about those topics, you might be interested in the specifics of what you need to get a plastic reward card set up, to provide your customer. We're always happy to walk you through the process and answer any questions you might have. Want to gather up some information before contacting us? Here are some important questions to consider:

What you need to create a plastic reward card:

  1. Do you want any of the following options on your card?
    • Magnetic Stripe with or without encoding—this helps with tracking.
    • Variable Data—unique names, ID numbers, barcodes.
    • Embossing—available if you’d like information to be raised and stand-out.
    • Luggage slot or hole punch—for use with a lanyard, key ring, etc.
    • Not sure? Don’t worry, we can be your guide!
  2. Do you have a card design ready? Do you need design assistance?
  3. How many cards do you need? Think about any promotions you’ll be running and how many customers you have.
  4. Do you want your reward cards sent to you to distribute to your customers, or would you prefer to send them directly to your customers via mail? We can take care of sending all or some of your cards directly to your customers.
  5. Deadlines—Do you have a special program, event, or offer that you want the reward card to support? Make sure to share this timeline with us.

Think through these topics. If at any point you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t get frustrated. Just ask. You probably know the answer and don’t even know it! Soon, you’ll have your reward program in place, you'll be getting more customers in your store, selling more product, or launching your new promotion!

Start your Reward Card program today! We’ll walk you through it.

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Tom Murphy
ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Tom Murphy
CEO
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