Loyalty program ideas for small businesses: rewards that work in Australia
Published · Updated · Reviewed quarterly
The loyalty programs that work best for small businesses are simple: a digital stamp card with a reward customers want, close enough to see. Buy 9 coffees and get the 10th free, a free cut after 9, or a free wash after 9. Start new members with a stamp or two already on the card.
The steps#
- Pick one reward from your own menu. Choose the thing your regulars buy most, and make one of them free: a coffee, a cut, a wash, a loaf. It's easy to understand and costs you less than its menu price.
- Set how many visits it takes. Make the reward reachable: a few weeks for daily customers, a couple of months for weekly ones, and within 6 to 9 months for monthly clients like a barber's. That's usually 8 to 10 stamps for daily or weekly visits, 6 to 10 for visits a month apart.
- Start new members with a head start. Put a stamp or two on every new card, so it feels underway from the first visit.
- Put the QR where people wait. Print the counter kit from the Share page in your dashboard and put the QR by the till, at reception or on the waiting bench.
- Check your numbers after a month. Look at your member list and the monthly email report: how many joined, how many came back, and how many rewards were used. Adjust the reward if nobody is getting close.
Keep it to one reward and one rule
The best small-business loyalty programs fit on the card itself: "one stamp per visit, 10th coffee free". A customer should understand it in one second, and a new staff member should be able to run it on day one.
It's tempting to add more: double stamps on Tuesdays, bonus points for certain products, a different reward for each season. Each extra rule is something to explain at a busy counter. Start with one reward and one rule. You can always change the reward later; on Rewardtree the change goes out to every card already in customers' wallets, and nobody loses their stamps.
Pick a reward they actually want
Our advice: make the reward something from your own menu, and make it free.
- A free item is clear. "Free coffee after 9" needs no maths. "10% off" makes people stop and work it out.
- It costs you less than it looks. A free coffee costs you the beans, milk and cup, not the menu price, and to the customer it's worth the menu price.
- It's certain. A reward they know they'll get beats a chance to win something bigger.
- Dollars off can suit bigger tickets. For a salon or restaurant, a dollar amount off ("$20 off your 6th visit") can work well, because it's still one clear number.
Ideas by business
Every idea below is a single reward. Pick one as your main reward. If you like a second one, it can be a smaller treat partway along (more on treats below).
Cafés
- Buy 9 coffees, get the 10th free
- Free large coffee after 8 visits
- Free pastry with your 6th coffee
A daily coffee habit is exactly what a stamp card is made for. Rewardtree for cafés and the café guide cover the details.
Barbers
- 9 cuts, 10th free
- Free beard trim after 5 visits
- Half-price cut on your 8th visit
Clients come every few weeks, so keep the count short enough to finish. See Rewardtree for barbers and the barber guide.
Nail salons
- Free nail art add-on after 5 visits
- 10th manicure free
- $20 off your 6th visit
An add-on costs you little and feels like a treat. Rewardtree for nail salons and the nail salon guide.
Restaurants
- Free main on your 10th visit
- Free dessert after 5 dinners
- $25 off when you reach 500 points
Bills vary a lot, so points often suit a restaurant better than stamps. Rewardtree for restaurants.
Car washes
- 9 washes, 10th free
- Free interior detail after 6 washes
- Free upgrade on your 5th wash
A wallet card beats a faded card in the glovebox. Rewardtree for car washes.
Juice bars
- Buy 9 juices, get the 10th free
- Free booster on your 5th smoothie
- Free acai bowl after 12 visits
Frequent visits at similar prices are exactly where stamps work hardest. Rewardtree for juice bars.
Bakeries
- Free loaf after 9
- Free coffee with your 6th visit
- Free doughnut for the kids on visit 5
The Saturday regulars you know by face become a list you can see. Rewardtree for bakeries.
Not sure whether stamps or points suit you? Read stamp card or points. On Rewardtree you run one program at a time, so pick the one that fits most of your sales.
Head-start stamps
Start every new member with a stamp or two already on the card. The join page tells them their card comes with stamps already on it, so the first visit feels like progress rather than a blank card. It's the goal-gradient idea in plain words: people try harder the closer they are to a goal, and a card that's already started is closer.
On Rewardtree, set it in the setup under Head-start stamps. It's free on every plan and works on stamp cards.
A small treat along the way
A 10-visit card is a long wait for someone who comes every three weeks. A treat partway keeps it moving: a free cookie at stamp 5, a free hand treatment at visit 4. On Rewardtree you can add up to three treats before the main reward. Each can be used once per card, and they all come back after the main reward.
Make the reward moment count
The reward is the moment the whole card was building towards, so make it feel like one. Say "this one's on us" and mean it. (The Rewardtree Merchant app says the same line when a reward is confirmed.)
It's also the best moment to ask for a Google review, face to face, while the customer is happy. You can put a link to your Google reviews, your booking page or your Instagram on the back of the card, up to four links, free.
Bring paper-card regulars across
If you have regulars on paper cards, don't make them start again. Once they join, staff can add their paper stamps by hand in the Merchant app: open Members, tap Award a stamp manually, look them up by mobile and enter the number of stamps, plus today's stamp in the same go (by default a customer can collect once every 4 hours; you can change that in Settings, under Hours between visits). Adding stamps by hand needs an owner or manager, or a staff member's own PIN, and every one is recorded under that person's name. The digital stamp card guide walks through it step by step.
Ideas to skip for a small shop
- Rewards a year away. If a regular can't picture reaching it, the card stops working.
- Tiers. Bronze, silver and gold levels make sense for an airline. For a café, they're rules to explain at the counter.
- Spend-anything discounts for members. A standing discount on every sale quietly lowers your prices for your best customers, and doesn't give them a reason to come back sooner.
- An app to download. Asking customers to install an app for your shop puts people off at a busy counter. A wallet card needs nothing installed.
- Long sign-up forms. A first name and a mobile run the whole card.
See if it's working
Loyalty shouldn't be a guess. On Rewardtree you get, free:
- A member list showing when each person joined, how many visits they've made, when they last came in, and how close they are to a reward.
- A spreadsheet download of your members, any time.
- A monthly email report on the 1st: total members, new members, visits, customers who came back, rewards used and your repeat rate. You can turn it off in Settings.
Give it a month, then look. If lots of people joined but nobody is close to a reward, the reward is too far away. If people join and never come back, check the reward is something they want.
Getting started
A Rewardtree stamp card is free forever, with unlimited members, locations and staff, and setup takes about 5 minutes. Set up your free card, or read the full plan in how to set up a loyalty program in Australia.
Questions, answered#
What makes a good loyalty program for a small business?#
One reward people want, close enough to see, with nothing for the customer to download. A digital stamp card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet does that: one stamp per visit, a free item at the end, and a card that's always on their phone.
What rewards should a small business offer?#
A free item from your own menu works well: the 10th coffee, a free cut, a free wash, a free loaf. It's easy to understand and costs you less than its menu price. A small treat partway, like a free cookie at stamp 5, keeps cards moving.
How many visits should a loyalty reward take?#
Enough to reward regulars, few enough that they can see the finish. For daily or weekly visits, 8 to 10 stamps is the usual shape. For visits a few weeks apart, 5 to 8 keeps the reward within reach. A monthly client should reach it within 6 to 9 months.
Is a discount or a free item better?#
A free item usually reads more clearly: free coffee after 9 needs no maths, while 10% off makes people work it out. A dollar amount off, like $20 off your 6th visit, can suit higher-priced services. Pick whatever your customers will understand in one second.
Do customers need to download an app?#
No. On Rewardtree the card goes into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet from a QR scan at your counter, in about 20 seconds. Only your staff need an app: the free Rewardtree Merchant app, to scan cards.