Chalkboard Customer Loyalty Program..

Chalkboard Customer Loyalty Program

I was headed out early last Saturday morning to have breakfast with some school mates. I called in to a coffee shop on the way and saw something that impressed me about their unique loyalty program.

On the cement wall of the shop were customer’s names written in chalk, with dash’s highlighting how many coffees they had had in their pursuit of a free cup of coffee under the shops loyalty program. A customer, clearly known by the owner, came in and ordered a coffee. After ordering an extra mark was put along side their name in coloured chalk.

In today’s fast paced technology world with computers, mobile phones and apps for everything imaginable, here was a business using a chalkboard to operate their loyalty program. Here are my thoughts on the benefits of this simple approach;

1. Have confidence in your service offering

This business was willing to show all customers how many people were involved in their loyalty program. It was up there on the wall for all to see and comment on. When they started it would have been only a few names and looked funny, but they had confidence in their product and their ability to deliver it well, so they shared it right from the start. Do you have the confidence in your businesses product or service offering to share it with everyone? I know myself, Melanie and our team have confidence in our service offering.

2. Get to know your customers

How many Kylie’s, John’s, Paul’s or Olivia’s do you know? I bet plenty. Knowing your customers and the coffee they drink is something all coffee shop owners / employees should know. With such a unique loyalty program, knowing where Kylie S or Paul R’s name was on the wall would be imperative so you can record their purchase quickly and get on with your next order. Getting it wrong and marking off the wrong John or Olivia wouldn’t develop customer loyalty. I believe it is imperative that you get to know your customers really well, what they like and why they use your business over your competitor.

3. Dare to be different and or unique

The busier and more computer driven our modern society becomes often the more structured and similar everything becomes. We all love technology and how it can save time and improve our lives. However, sometimes we get carried away with technology and forget that simple things work just as well and often get noticed more. I have had thousands of coffees at hundreds of coffee shops, but rarely have I noticed or commented on their loyalty program, but I certainly remembered this one. It might be worth taking some time to study your business’s service offering and processes. Are they getting noticed, are they working and can they be simplified and improved to get better customer satisfaction?

At Hamilton Taggart’s we are always striving to improve our customer service offerings both online and in the cloud, as well as helping out our clients with computer bookkeeping. I also know we have a great service offering for our clients and provide exceptional customer service.