Loyalty Program

[thecoffeeoasis]

So I am wanting to hear from people, who are using, the monthly Loyalty Program. My company is interested in using it but we are unsure of the value. So a few questions...

1. If you are currently using it now, make were you using before and did the switch impact your business?

2. Is it easy to use?

3. What, if any were the negitive effects about the program?

4. How time consuming is the Program? Do you have one person focused on the program?

5. Do you feel it would work well in any business type or only certain types of business?

Thats a great start but if there is anything you think we should know before starting the program any and all information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much Square Community!!!

[#2]

Thanks for everyones thoughts and feedback. 🙏

We know how painful any change in pricing can be, and I know this was definitely taken into consideration (especially when comparing to competitors' pricing). We did make a few big improvement that we think will really add a lot of value, and improve your customers experience.

You can also find more deails about the updates on the Product Update Page for Square Loyalty. This should address some of your outstanding questions, as well as fill you into all of the new features and changes. 👍

Having said that, I'll definitely share your responses with our product liaison team!

[Sean]

To get started with the Square Loyalty Program, I'd suggest checking out this Support Center article. It has a ton of useful information, especially with regard to initial set up. 

@Vincent - Would you mind sharing a bit of your experience? I'd love to hear what has been working well for your business. I know that you shared your wish list with the community already. Thanks! 

[Ron]

To use the Loyalty Program when the customer uses a credit card is very easy and fast, however, for us we take just as many cash customers each day and in order to give them loyalty credit we would need to type in their telephone number or email address each time they visitied or at best ask their name and look them up on the Register. As a busy lunch counter we would make many people angry if we took that much time checking out customers in front of them so for that reason we use a punch card system that only takes about 3 seconds to punch and hand back to the customer.

[colorsofglass]

In order for our customers to receive a star the receipt needs to be sent via email, they need to provide that information, and that will leave you with a customer email list. You can set the dollar amount but only good for each visit and not amount spent. I have customers that will spend $10.00 and some that will spend $100.00s of dollars and they both get one star. I would like to give a star for each $10.00s spent but can not do that. Easy to set up but I would like to customize more. 

[NoirArts]

We are a retail sales shop and have used the program for over a year now.  It's been well received and it's easy for customers to use at the time of checkout.  It was great to not have to have them fumbling around to find their card in the purse/wallet.  However, with this new so called "upgrade" program we will discontinue using this "feature" through Square.  We were very disappointed to find that the upgrade doesn't mean that can keep our existing free program, it means choose our new paid program or lose all your customer loyalty data.  We will go back to the punch cards to reward our loyal customers.

[ambikaherbals]

Is there a fee with the updated loyalty program?

[MichaelJMutch]

Yes. Use their system and pay $25 a month per location, or lose your loyalty data. Can't decide if I should call it "The Old Bait and Switch" or go for broke and refer to it as "Extortion". Either way, it sure feels unethical. Square has seldom dissapointed me, but this one is a tough one to swallow and still be a Square fan. 

Maybe an admin could clarify?

[Sean]

Thanks for everyones thoughts and feedback. 🙏

We know how painful any change in pricing can be, and I know this was definitely taken into consideration (especially when comparing to competitors' pricing). We did make a few big improvement that we think will really add a lot of value, and improve your customers experience.

You can also find more deails about the updates on the Product Update Page for Square Loyalty. This should address some of your outstanding questions, as well as fill you into all of the new features and changes. 👍

Having said that, I'll definitely share your responses with our product liaison team!

[MichaelJMutch]

Sean, thank you for the response. Could you detail the improvements that make it worth the expense? So far, I do not see additional value outside of being able to assign multiple stars to a single purchase.

Also, When you include a product in a package, then make a customer dependent on that product in any way, then, after making sure that it would be significantly detrimental to a customer to stop using that product that used to be included in a package, you tell your customer that they can now start paying for that product that used to be included or lose the benefits, you are a con artist, not a value added partner.

If I had understood that the loyalty program that was included in what I was already paying for would soon have a seperate fee attached after I had emmersed my customers in it, I would have been able to make an informed decision. I would be fine right now if I had understood that what I signed up for was temporary. But Square did not do that.

I fear that the other products and upgrades I have bundled with Square (payroll, customer engagement, employee management) will see similar treatment. 

[DBRMPizza]

I am under the impression that if I was already using Customer Engagement Pro that I am grandfathered in and will not be paying extra. Is this the case?

Also I have tried several times to upgrade but nothing seems to happen. Is this a known issue?

Thank You.

[Sean]

Thanks for the patience everyone! If you wouldn't mind checking out the Product Update Page for Square Loyalty, this should address any outstanding questions, as well as fill you into all of the new features and changes. 👍

[superiorcoffee]

I'm not thrilled at the extra $275 I have to take out of the till for this this program upgrade when in theory it should only encourage more sales, which in turn should mean more money square is making on its 2.65% (or more) earnings.  I think Square would be well advised to simply encourage merchants to use this tool (vs. a punch card or nothing at all) and NOT nickle and dime us for this, or any of their merchant tools that are computer program driven.  It has me very concerned they're going to turn people off who might be thinking of going with Intuit or other better value oriented companies. Are the employees at Square not being paid enough....???

[roscoepm]

Hi,

How do I get my loyality screen to pop up before or after I complete a sale? Mine alwasy pops up after and covers the screen.

Thanks

[Sean]

@roscoepm - To enable this permission, from the Square App, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings

2. Go to Customer Management

3. Make sure Collect Information Before Checkout and Collect Information After Checkout are enabled. 

Hope this helps! 

[hogholley]

I emailed support and got nothing in response, two questions -- 

(1) My billing card expired, causing my loyalty to unsubscribe. I updated my billing info and it will not let me reactivate loyalty program. I figure if I'm paying $25 monthly to utilize this program, it should allow me to restart instantly once I've corrected the information. Now I have to listen to customers complain that they aren't receiving stars, when my hands are tied until you update on your end. And if it's on a weekend (such as now), I apparently have to wait until Monday for a response (?) even though I'm open on the weekend. 

(2) If I setup a second system/location under the same square dashboard/account, why should I have to pay a second loyalty program fee? It's the same database, and same account...

Admin? Anyone else (especially with #1)?

[Sean]

@hogholley - Sorry to hear about the trouble! It definitely sounds like a frustrating situation. Once you update your payment information, you should be good to go. Have you tried pausing your program, and then resuming it? You can do this from the Loyalty tab under Actions. As for the pricing, I've definitely heard some feedback from other sellers. I'm happy to share yours with our product liaison team. 

[steven]

We will be transitioning back to paper cards and stamps or punches. I always liked the idea of a physical card in my customers wallet or purse and the fact that every time they look in said wallet/purse they think of my company and about the urgency to get back and fill up that card. 

[Midtownvape]

So, do they get stars based on purchase amount?  We only do rewards to certain items they buy, does square have the capability?

[EJ_]

@Midtownvape With our new Loyalty Features, you now have the option to offer your customers rewards by the visit or by the dollar amount spent, allowing you to find the best fit for your business.

[Marcial]

Hi, I'm new here and dont write english very well, but i dont know if i miss something in loyalty program, but i have been enter cell phone numbers of all my client so I can use text sms campaign, but whats happens is that all data that I have collected in my business with my clients is somewhere in square but I cant find it. Can someone help me?

[Spenser]

Hi @Marcial, you can find them in your Customer Directory. There is a group specifically for your "Loyalty Participants." Hope that helps!