If you'd like the big picture first (which types of programme exist and which to choose), read customer loyalty programmes: a guide for local businesses. Here we go step by step.
1. Decide what you want to achieve
Before choosing a reward, choose a goal. The three most common ones in neighbourhood businesses are:
- Getting them to come more often. The customer who comes twice a week comes three times.
- Stopping them from leaving. Spotting who's dropping off and winning them back.
- Filling slow hours or days. Moving some customers to quiet times.
Each goal calls for a different mechanism. For the first, a stamp card with a close reward. For the second, notifications to those who haven't been in for a while. For the third, double stamps in those time slots.
2. Choose the type of programme
- Stamp card: each visit adds a stamp. The simplest and most used in hospitality and services.
- Points card: each euro adds points. Useful when spend varies a lot.
- Club or tiers: perks based on loyalty or spend (Bronze, Silver, Gold). It makes sense once you already have very loyal customers; how to set it up in VIP tiers in a loyalty programme.
If in doubt, start with stamps. We explain it in points card or stamp card: which to choose.
If you sell session packs, also see the digital prepaid pass card.
3. Define the reward and the rules
The reward has to be something your customer wants and that you can afford. There's a list by sector in reward ideas for your card, and how to set the number of stamps in how many stamps your card should have.
Write the rules in one sentence and make sure the whole team knows them: «One stamp per visit, free coffee at 8». If there are exceptions, keep them few and clear.
A worked example: a café
A neighbourhood café wants to stop its morning regulars drifting to the competition. Goal: more repeat visits. Type: stamps. Reward: a free coffee. Rule: one stamp per visit and a welcome stamp when they save the card. Number: 8 stamps. If the customer comes twice a week, they fill the card in a month.
Every month, check how many customers saved the card, how many came back and how many redeemed. If few reach the reward, lower the number of stamps or change the reward. (Illustrative example; the numbers depend on your business.) More in cafés and in how many stamps to put on a coffee card.
4. Choose the format: paper or digital
Paper is cheap at first, but it gets lost, faked and tells you nothing. A digital card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet solves those three things and lets you talk to your customers. The full comparison is in paper vs digital.
If you already have paper cards and want to switch, the full route is in alternative to the paper stamp card.
5. Launch it properly
- Place the QR code where people pay and where they wait (bar, counter, tables).
- Have the team actively offer it during the first weeks: «Shall I save you the card? The first stamp is on us».
- Announce it on your social media and your Google listing.
- Give the first stamp or use a small game on sign-up so saving it has an instant reward.
Once you have happy customers, ask them for a review naturally: how to ask for Google reviews without being pushy.
6. Measure whether it works
A programme that isn't measured gets abandoned. Review at least these figures every month:
- Customers who have signed up.
- How many come back (repeat rate) and how often.
- Rewards redeemed.
- Customers who haven't been in for a while.
With a digital card this data comes automatically. At Rondafy, the dashboard and analytics (Standard and Pro plans) show you segments, repeat visits and peak hours.
7. Keep it alive
Change the reward now and then, tell cardholders about news and wish your customers a happy birthday. Loyalty isn't a campaign: it's a habit of the business.
If you notice someone has stopped coming, act early: how to win back customers who don't return.
If you work in hospitality or services, see how to apply it to your case in our guides for restaurants, cafés or hair salons, or browse all industries.
Template: your loyalty programme on one page
Before opening any tool, fill in this table. If it doesn't fit on one page, the programme is too complicated. Two illustrative examples (made-up businesses):
| Decision | Café | Barbershop |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Stop the morning regulars going elsewhere | Keep the gap between haircuts from growing |
| Programme type | Stamp card | Stamp card |
| The rule in one sentence | "One stamp per coffee; after 8, one free" | "One stamp per cut; the 6th is free" |
| Welcome | First stamp when the card is saved | First stamp when the card is saved |
| Messages | "1 stamp to go" and birthdays | Reminder to anyone who hasn't come in for 5 weeks |
| Who offers it | Whoever takes payment, at every sale | The barber, after the cut |
| What's measured | Sign-ups, visits per customer and redemptions | Days between visits and customers who don't return |
| When it's reviewed | Once a month | Once a month |
Your first week, day by day
- Monday: decide the goal, type, reward and rule (the table above).
- Tuesday: design the card with your logo and colours. With Rondafy you can do it for free in design your card, without creating an account.
- Wednesday: test it yourself: save it on your phone, add a stamp and redeem a test reward.
- Thursday: explain it to the team in five minutes and rehearse the line for the till.
- Friday: print the poster with the QR code and put it where people pay.
- Saturday: launch it: offer it at every sale and post it on your social media.
- Sunday: check how many sign-ups you've had and what questions came up.
How much it costs to create a loyalty programme
- With paper cards: whatever it costs to print the cards and the stamp. Cheap at first, but it gives you no data and no notifications.
- With a spreadsheet: free, but someone has to note every visit and the customer sees nothing.
- With a digital tool: the ones we've compared range from free plans with limits to about €50 a month per venue (see best loyalty apps in Spain, in Spanish). Rondafy: Standard €24.99/month and Pro €39.99/month, excl. VAT, with a 14-day free trial.
- With your own app: custom development and maintenance; it makes sense for large chains, not for a single venue.
More detail in how much a digital loyalty card costs and in what a customer loyalty app should include.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to create a loyalty programme?
A goal, a reward your customers want, a rule that fits in one sentence and somewhere to keep count: a paper card or, better, a digital card. With a card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, a QR code on the counter and a phone to add stamps are enough.
How can I create a loyalty programme for free?
With paper cards or with a tool that has a free plan with limits. With Rondafy, designing the card is free and the trial lasts 14 days; after that, Standard €24.99/month + VAT.
How much does it cost to create a loyalty programme?
Rondafy's digital card costs €24.99/month + VAT on the Standard plan and €39.99/month + VAT on Pro, with a 14-day free trial.
How long does it take to see results?
It depends on how often customers visit your business. In frequent-purchase businesses you see sign-ups and first redemptions within a few weeks.
Do I need my own app?
No. A card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet works without the customer downloading anything.
Which loyalty programme is best for a small business?
For most, a stamp card: it's easy to explain and to measure. If tickets vary a lot, points; if you sell sessions, prepaid packs.
Can I start with paper and move to digital?
Yes. The usual approach is to do it over a few weeks, accepting half-filled paper cards. It's explained in alternative to the paper stamp card.
