Alternative Loyalty programs

[cupzcoffeeaz]

Hi All, 

I wanted to see if anyone is using any loyalty programs different that square? If you are which one and is there any integration with square?

Square loyalty is too expensive for what they offer. Meaning they charge per transaction and you don't get marketing included. You basically get a digital punch card and that is about it.  Even if you pay for marketing you can only do emails, which is not acceptable in year 2018. 

I've spoken with multiple loyalty program providers and most of them have flat fees and different packages for SMS messaging which makes sense. But I was wondering if anyone has come accross any program that has an integration with square? 

I spoke with tapmango and they seem to have some integration, but I wasn't able to get any details of what degree of integration they have with square. 

[nahohman]

I'm in the same boat - we are using the Square Restaurans system, yet square loyalty is unavailable for restaurants (?!), and is such a rudimentary program that it isn't worth it. I have a call with Tap Mango today, and I will let you know if I find anything further into the square integration. If you hear of any other loyalty programs, please share!

[cupzcoffeeaz]

I signed up with Tapmango. I will be getting my device and training on Monday. It seems like the best choice so far. I'll update the group once I have more feedback on using their loyalty with square

[nahohman]

Hey there! Wanted to reach out to see how the implementation of TapMango went, and to see if you are satisfied with their features. Let me know!

[cupzcoffeeaz]

I launched on Monday so it is early to say. But so far the integration is decent. The user needs to check in before you ring them for the points to make it to their account. The only challenge is that the customer needs to end the session by themselves or you can set a timer to end the session. In my case, that is not good enough as there are times of high traffic and my next customer comes into an already login user.

The tapmango team so far has been great. They are working to see if they can end the customer session, once the points are assigned to the account. Square API doesn't push events, it only allows third parties to read. So I am guessing Tapmango has an asynchronous process checking every few seconds for a transaction update. Because of this,  It might take a couple of seconds but It would be a fluid experience once implemented. 

Once I have more learning on conversion rates on SMS campaigns, I'll share them with the group.

Best, 

[jennietewell]

Thanks for posting. I'm looking into this as well. We haven't taken the plunge yet with Square, and their loyalty program is the one thing holding us back. I feel like it is way too overpriced. I'm curious as well about Tap Mango. I have a call into them to get some more info. Hoping it will integrate well with Square.

[ChampionGourmet]

I also recently signed up with Tapmango hoping to use with Square in the near future. I'm still decicing between the different POS. I'm too spoiled using a old windows POS with alot of freedom. 

After using both Fivestars and now Tapmango, consider how much they both charge, Square loyalty is actually reasonably priced. But the inability to export customer loyalty data out of Square is what stopped us from using Square's loyalty system. That is something to consider if been able to export loyalty data is important function for you.   Is important for me because it give me the freedom to switch providers as well as run my own data analyiss in excel.

[cupzcoffeeaz]

Hi All, 

I wanted to share with everyone my learning so far with Tapmango. I would hold on signing up with Tapmango. I have been working with them to fix the integration. As of now, I would say a high percentage of the transactions get the points assigned, but there is still a 5-10% of the transactions for which the points don't get assigned. As a result, we have ended up with some very upset customers.

The tools to send campaigns are ok, not as intuitive as Square loyalty. In addition, we have seen an increase of 30-40 seconds per transaction, compared to our old fashion method of using punch cards. We have sent out 3 campaigns and the conversion rates have been extremely low about 0.8% of customers receiving the text have redeemed. I believe is given that the front facing tablet is not very intuitive to the customers. I have had to train my staff to remind customers to redeem their vouchers. For example, we sent a $1 off for our smoothies and customers were paying full price for the smoothie. After we told them about their voucher on the tablet the got super excited.

In addition, I've asked for assistance from our account manager to help us improve our campaigns or for tips on how to make things work and it hasn't been a great experience. I have begged for the help and finally, after escalating, I get a response with a new excuse. 

During the sales call, we were promised many things to be customizable. For example, we were supposed to be able to register customers with the phone number only and then they would get a text message to complete their profile. On day one, we learned that registration on the table and profile available through the link sent on the SMS are dependent on each other. So if you only register with a phone number, your customer portal will only have a phone number, which doesn't make any sense.  My plan was to allow customers to register with their phone number and add their name and DoB on their portal if they wanted any birthday specials.

Also, be aware that the gift card capability is not integrated at all. People can load money into their tapmango account, but every time they walk in you have to register the transaction in square and then run the transaction in the tapmango tablet to deduct the money. Same thing goes for the mobile app. So if you have high traffic, you would be looking at an increase per transaction of about 60-90 seconds. 

I hope other people signing up have a better experience than I've had. I will keep trying tap mango for the next 6 months and see if they fix the integration and deliver any of the promises. 

I will keep people posted on progress from tapmango fixing the integration with square and any improvements in service.

Best,

[ChampionGourmet]

Hi Cupzcoffeeaz, I'm trying it out as well, using it independently without Square integration for the time being.

For the tablet and sms registration data independent of each other.  I just tried doing this, I checked in on the tablet with a new phone, and after receving SMS and filll in name/dob/email on the web link, the customer data does get updated in the database.  There is a option  to look into, under "Settings>Advanced Settings>Security>Auto Merge Imported Customers on online registration(Check)"

Here are my thoughts so far:

Pro:

-Cheaper and have few more features than FiveStars which I was using. Such as customer review request which 5Star lacks.

-Check in with QR code scan can be faster than type in phone number if enough customer starts using it.

-Customer are independent from each business and won't share ads from other 5Star businesses 

-Integration with Square and other POS.

Con/Need improvement

-When name/dob fields are hidden on tablet it is also hidden in the online registration form. 

-During on site tablet check-in, when all fields are hidden except phone number, still need customer check full screen of consent to complete rigistration. Which takes up extra time at the counter and many more times requires further explaination to the customer. 

-Customer can't update info/opt-in choice through the Tap Mango app. which makes it almost useless. (can read TapMango app reviews for details)

-Both Customer/Business UI and UX have many rooms for improvement.

-There seems to be some issues with email opt-in.

[Cwkjk]

Hello, I was just wondering it there are any updates about your tapmango experience? Thanks in advance

[ChampionGourmet]

I'm looking for another alternative from TapMango, might go back to 5Star if the price is right. there's not a major software improvement since day 1. The UI design needs some minor improvement but never seen one coming.

The problem is been not easy for the customers, so it's taking up additional wait time for a customer to input and becomes a major issue when there is a line forming.