10 Questions to Ask about Gift & Loyalty

Ten questions to ask before implementing a gift & loyalty program.

1.Are there fees?

2.Is it gift, prepaid and loyalty?

3.Do I have to buy cards from you?

4.Who owns gift data?

5.Is the gift data encrypted?

6.Is it multistore capable?

7.Are the cards re-loadable?

8.Can you design the front and back?

9.Pooling (Franchise only)?

10.Mobile Option?

Posted in Gift Cards Tagged with: gift, gift cards, loyalty

Gift Card Methods

We get asked a lot about the Pros & Cons of Gift & Loyalty.  Here are some thoughts based on what we have seen from customers:

Credit Card Company

• Pro: Reliable, POS integration usually available, Advantages to using with web page.
• Cons: Almost always fee based, Hard to leave once you sign up, Who owns the data?

3rd Party Gift Card

• Pros: POS integration usually available, Advantages to using with web page, Not tied directly to the credit card company.
• Cons: Hard to leave them, Contract based, Fees can be excessive, Who owns the data?

APP Based

• Pros: Downloadable, Phone based, Good statistics and marketing features.
• Cons: Loyalty usually based on visits, Not really a gift/prepaid option, Generic app and not branded, excessive costs

Touch Screen on Counter

• Pros: Marketing features and they can be simple to use.
• Cons: Expensive, More equipment on counter, Loyalty usually based on visits, Not really a gift/prepaid card option.

Paper Punch

• Pros: Easy to understand, Can be cost effective.
• Cons: It’s not 1995!  Easy to steal and fraud is issue, Customers lose them.

And then we come to the POS side of things.  Want to know more about how we can help with that?  Visit  http://www.selbysoft.com/Gift-and-Loyalty-ideas-for-coffee.html

Posted in Gift Cards Tagged with: gift card, loyalty

MobileGift App

Why should you look at adding Mobile Gift through SelbySoft?  In 2013 Starbucks processed 16% of its transactions through Mobile Gift!    Read more about that here.  With our Mobile Gift solution, you will make more money.  Customers LOVE cool in the coffee industry and we are helping you bring that to them.

Think about this . . . Customers can be reloading their gift cards when you are not even open!   This is a custom branded Apple and Android app that will all you to compete with Starbucks in the mobile gift market.  This app allows your customers to find YOUR STORE in the iTunes marketplace (Android coming soon)!

With this app, your customers will simply load their gift card information into the system and then have the ability to

• Pay for their order from the phone (requires scanner).
• Check their gift card balances .
• Reload their gift card system (requires Vantiv Integrated Payments for security reasons).  They even have the option to receive a discount when loading the card.

All of this right from their smartphone!

First, this is a CUSTOM BRANDED app for your store.  SelbySoft will only be shown as the developer in the app store and not the actual app.  This is why this is so different than the other apps out there.

Give me a call and we can look at setting up YOUR Mobile Gift Solution. Why let Starbucks have all the fun?

MobileGift App

Posted in POS Features Tagged with: gift, loyalty, mobilegift, ordering

3 GREAT Gift Card Ideas

Gift and prepaid cards can be one of the best ways to promote your coffee shop.   Here are 3 GREAT gift and prepaid card ideas we have gathered from customers of our cafe, coffee & pizza point of sale solution.

1)  Buy a card, get something free.  The key to this is to really push this with customers that pay with a credit card or cash.  Those are the customers of your coffee shop that don’t have a card already.  If I don’t pay with a prepaid card, then you are missing out!  This could be $30 and your drink is free or $50 and you get bread sticks free.

2)  Offer a VIP discount for paying with the card.  It’s simple really.  If they use the card, they get sort of VIP bonus. Offer a free extra shot of espresso, a free flavor shot or topping on a pizza.  This pushes the customer to always have money on their card in order to get the reward. 

3) Offer a cash back reward system.  Instead of working with buy 10 get 1 free, use our percentage cash back system.  This method of loyalty/rewards, allows you to push a percentage (think 5-10%) back to the customers gift card.  The customer then always has a balance on their gift card!  It is a great way to “train” customers to use their cards on a regular basis.

Want more ideas?  Check out more of our blogs on gift cards.

Posted in Gift Cards, Marketing Tagged with: gift cards, loyalty, rewards

New rewards method

SelbySoft has added two new options to our already robust rewards system.    Currently SP-1 supports the following:

Buy X get 1 Free:  This is a simple method.  For example:  Buy 10 coffees get 1 free.

Points:  In this system you earn points per dollars and then can redeem them at one to five different levels.  For  example:  Every $1.00 spent earns 1 point.  You can then redeem 35 points for a free 16oz or 50 points for a small sandwich.

The new method of rewards involves earning a percent of your ticket as a reward.  For example:  You offer 10% back on all coffee purchases.  SP-1 will then automatically keep track of that and give them the ability to apply that as a discount on the ticket!  In the example below, the customer already has $4.12 in rewards that can be applied to this ticket.

Of course, like all reward methods, you can specify if they earn points, punches or dollars when a discount is used, limit this by menu categories and sized etc.

The second change that has been made to SP-1 is that you can now specify which group sizes you want to include instead of only excluding.  For example, in our current versions you can specify that a customer earns points on coffee drinks but exclude 8oz.  With this new method, you can have a different amount of punches or points you want the customer to earn based on the size of the drink.  So, you could have 12oz drinks earn a different amount of points than 16oz drinks.

Posted in Gift Cards Tagged with: gift cards, loyalty, points, reward

Rewards & loyalty in SP-1

As you might know, SP-1 has the ability, built in, to handle a rewards program.  Recently we have been getting more questions about  the ways this can be used.

Typically the rewards program  is used in conjunction with a plastic card that can be used as a gift or prepaid card as well.   There are two different  paths to setting up the rewards system in SP-1.

The first concept is a buy X get Y free.  This is typically setup on a specific menu group (coffee, pizza etc) and works by adding one point (or punch) to the customers account per item purchased.  So, in a buy 10 get 1 free scenario, the customer would buy 10 drinks and then get 1 free.   Essentially, this should work out to a 10% discount to the customer.

The upside to a Buy 10 get 1 Free?   It’s easy for your customers and employees to understand.  Everyone “gets” it when they see the promotion.  The downside?  It only works well with one menu category so you are limiting exposure.  Also, it’s tough to base it on the particular item the customer  orders and that can result in people taking advantage of the system.

The second concept is using a point per dollar system.  This is setup so that every dollar spent earns a set amount of points.  For simplicity sake, $1.00 equals 1 point.  Once the customer has earned enough points, they  can trade that in on a discounted item, a free item or even for  money added to their gift card.

The upside to this?  It’s very flexible and it opens the entire menu up for earning points.  You can also select up to five redemption rewards for the customer to earn.  The downside?  It can easily become too complicated for the average customer to quickly understand.

Common promotions that are used out there with these rewards programs include:

Buy 10 get 1 free.

Double point Tuesday.

Spend $1 get 1 point.

35 points for a free drink (up to $3.50).

50 points gets 50% off your next order (up to $5.00).

50 points gets you $5.00 on your gift card.

If you are a roaster or sell coffee / tea in bulk, then another way to treat the program is to offer to supply a certain amount of coffee or tea for home use after 10 drinks or a certain amount of points.  It’s a great way to help convert customers into drinking your product at home.

These are just a few ways people use the rewards program in SP-1.  Let us know what your ideas are!

Posted in Gift Cards, Order Entry, POS Features Tagged with: loyalty, rewards

Co-Brand your gift cards and maybe save a buck

Posted in Gift Cards, Uncategorized Tagged with: gift cards, loyalty

4 Loyalty Card alternatives

Not interested in doing a traditional “punch” card system?   Looking for something different than “buy 10 get 1 free”?   Try one of these alternatives that other SelbySoft customers have used and passed on to us. 


Buy a gift card, get a drink… Pretty standard but still a great way to get around doing a punch card at all.  If I buy a $30 gift card then I get a free drink (up to $3.00 value) right then and there.  This can be great because it eliminates a customer being “owed” a drink at a later time.  You get the money and they get the drink.


Surprise a customer… This actually IS a punch card system but you don’t tell anyone about it.  Instead of customers keeping track of points, your POS reminds the crew member that it is time for the customer to get a free drink.  The biggest catch is that it is not something that happens with the customers knowledge – you only track it internally so it is a surprise.  It’s a very effective way of saying Thank You to your existing customers.


Surprise a customer #2 (gift card) . . . Create a gift card account that you load every day or week.  Allow your employees to use this gift card to buy a drink for your customer.  This is a great way to help your employees feel empowered at the store.  Be careful that it is not only being used for friends or for the same customers and it can be an awesome way to make a customers day.


Surprise a customer #3 (lottery)… Keep track of the points for your customers.  When a customer has ordered 10 times, have your POS prompt to record the visit.  Every week enter all the customers that have ordered 10 times into a lottery for free or discounted product. 




There you go. . . A couple ways to reward customers without duplicating what you competitors might be doing.  If you have a different method you use, let us know! 






Contact us at:
SelbySoft
Mike Spence
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Posted in Gift Cards, POS Features, Uncategorized Tagged with: gift cards, loyalty

Tips on Gift Cards

Do you take tips? Over the last couple years we have been asked by people that take tips to allow those tips to be placed on a gift card as well as a credit card.

Well, that ability became possible earlier this year! We added the ability to have a gift card function almost identical to a credit card. So, to walk through this. . .

Customer orders something and you go to the Ticket Completion Screen.

Select Gift Card and swipe the card.

SP-1 will now print a slip with a tip line and signature line right away. When the customer hands that back, hit the tip button and add the tip!

Remember – Gift cards are no fee and no swipe charge when used through either SP-1, the Multi-store gift and loyalty corporate package or through our Mercury Payment (credit card referral partner).

Contact us at:

Mike Spence
SelbySoft, Inc
800-454-4434
Sales@SelbySoft.com
WWW.SelbySoft.com
8326 Woodland Ave. E
Puyallup Wa 98371

Posted in Gift Cards Tagged with: gift cards, loyalty, rewards