How to promote a loyalty card: a plan for the first 30 days

How to promote a loyalty card: where to start

Promoting a loyalty card means making it known to the customers who already come back, at the moment they are standing in front of you. The first channel is the person at the till: a one-sentence invitation to someone you recognise as a regular is worth more than a sign nobody reads. The other channels, from the window to social media, are there to bring customers to the counter already aware of it. The card is only one of the ways to retain customers: service, remembering preferences and invitations matter as much as the reward.

Before offering it to the first customer, check three things: that the rule and the reward can be said in one sentence, that every member of staff knows how to record a visit, and that the counter QR code is on display. How to choose the reward and the number of stamps is explained in how to create a loyalty card; where to put the QR code and how to print it is in the guide QR code loyalty card. This page is about the launch: who offers the card, with what words, on which days, and how to tell whether it is working.

Staff briefing: what does the person at the counter need to know?

A loyalty card is promoted by the people working the counter, not by the owner alone. Ten minutes before opening on launch day is enough to get everyone giving the same answers: a customer who hears two different explanations from two people in the same shop trusts the card less.

Have each person try the full journey on their own phone, from joining to the stamp. Whoever offers the card should also know how to answer the three questions that always come up: do I need to download an app, what details do you ask for, and when do I get the reward.

1. The line to say

   Just one, the same for everyone, with the reward in it. Variations by sector are in the table below.

2. When to say it

   When the customer pays or waits, not while they are ordering: at a café with the receipt in hand, at a hair salon when paying, in a shop while you wrap the purchase.

3. Answers to the usual questions

   There is no app to download and no box to tick: by adding the card, customers accept the card Terms and confirm they have read the privacy notice; name and contact details are optional; the reward comes after the number of visits shown on the card.

4. The stamp for the first visit

   Joining on its own gives no stamps: record the visit in which the customer joined straight away, so the card does not start at zero.

5. What to do with a no

   Say thank you and do not push. Anyone who says «next time» should be asked again once only, on their next visit.

What should you say at the counter to offer the loyalty card?

The line that gets customers to join carries three pieces of information: no app is needed, which reward they earn, and that today’s visit already counts. The shorter it is, the more often staff actually repeat it at busy times. The examples below are to adapt to your reward and your tone: formal or informal depends on your shop, not on the card.

The first 30 days: a week-by-week launch calendar

Launching a loyalty card is not a single day but a month: in the first week your most frequent customers join, in the second the first returns with the card arrive, and from the third you widen the circle with the window, social media and word of mouth. A written calendar stops the card from being forgotten once the excitement of the first few days has passed.

The weeks below are an example for a business whose customers come back several times a month; for a business with less frequent visits, such as a salon or a florist, stretch each phase.

Window, social media and messages: how do you let people know about the loyalty card?

Away from the counter, a loyalty card is promoted through channels that cost little and say one thing only: there is a card, it opens on your phone, here is the reward. Use the same line and the same photo of the real reward everywhere, so people who arrive from a post recognise the sign at the till. Avoid promising figures or benefits that are not written on the card.

Messages to cardholders are the most direct channel, and also the one to use with the most care. Promotional ones can be sent only to customers who have given specific consent: in Iterum that is the answer «Yes, I want them» to extra rewards and offers, a separate and optional choice. In Iterum the messages you write are 2, 4 or 8 a month per location depending on the plan, and under «Automazioni» (automations) you can switch on ones that go out by themselves, such as «Benvenuto» (welcome) for new members. The rules on consent and offers are in the guide loyalty card GDPR.

Link in bio, Google profile and website: where to share the card link

The counter QR code is not the only way in: the card also opens from a link, which you can put in your Instagram bio, in a post, on your website or in a reply to someone asking for information on WhatsApp. It reaches people who follow you online but have not visited yet, or who said «later» at the counter.

In a phone browser the card is created at once. If the link opens inside another app, such as Instagram, or on a computer, a short sign-up page comes first, with no box to tick (creating the card accepts the card Terms): it is one extra step, so at the counter the QR code remains the fastest way in.

Online, do not promise a stamp to people who join from home: a stamp confirms a visit, and staff record it at the first visit to the counter. Say instead what the reward is and after how many visits, with a photo of the real reward, as on the sign.

• Instagram bio: one line with the reward and «no app», then the link.
• Post or story: a photo of the reward and the line your staff use, so people recognise the sign when they come in.
• Website: the link on the contact page or next to the opening hours, where people look before visiting.
• Messages to people asking for information: the link only when they ask or when it is relevant, never bought lists or cold sends.

Can you give a stamp in exchange for a Google review?

No, not for a review on Google Maps. Google’s user-contributed content policy does not allow merchants to «offer incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services - in exchange for posting any review»: a stamp or a card reward in return for a review falls under that ban. The same policy says merchants «should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises».

You can, however, invite customers to share a genuine experience, without offering anything and without asking for a particular rating or content. So keep the two invitations apart: the loyalty card rewards visits, and a review stays the customer’s free choice. The source is given at the end of this page.

After 30 days: what to measure and what to change

After a month the useful question is not «how many sign-ups do I have» but «how many of my regulars use the card and come back to show it». The Iterum dashboard shows visits, customers and rewards: compare them with the regulars you recognise at the counter, not with a target taken from elsewhere. If you also want to see what the reward costs you, redo the sums with the reward cost calculator.

The most common mistakes when launching a loyalty card

Almost every launch mistake starts at the counter, not on the card: an invitation made badly once can be fixed, but an invitation nobody makes any more after the first week cannot.

• Offering it to everyone in the longest queue of the week: better a few regulars, calmly.
• Forgetting to stamp the joining visit: the customer leaves with an empty card.
• Talking about an «app»: the word suggests a download; say it opens from the QR code, with no app.
• Promising conditions out loud that differ from those written on the card.
• Sending messages every week with no news: customers can withdraw consent at any time.
• Linking stamps or rewards to online reviews.
• Changing the reward or the target after a few days, before seeing a full cycle.

Launching your loyalty card with Iterum

With Iterum you prepare the card before paying in the card designer, then print the counter QR code from the dashboard. For the briefing you can create a test card: it is a real card marked as a test, and the visits and rewards you record on it stay out of your results. Staff use the counter app on a phone or computer, and you can create accounts for the whole team, with roles and permissions.

Customers open the card from the QR code or a link and install nothing: in a phone browser the card is created at once, while inside another app or on a computer a short sign-up page comes first, with no box to tick; on supported devices they save it to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Promotional messages reach only customers who have answered «Yes, I want them» to extra rewards and offers, within the plan’s limits; each plan’s new customers a month and cards are on the pricing page, with unlimited total customers.

To try it in your business there is a 7-day free trial: you pay €0 today, a payment card is required and, unless you cancel, the selected plan continues after the trial. The set-up steps are in how Iterum works.

Sources and method

The rule on reviews comes from the page «Prohibited and restricted content» of Google Maps’ user-contributed content policy, read on 11 October 2026, sections «Fake engagement» and «Ratings manipulation».

The lines, the calendar and the signals are working examples, not results measured in real businesses. The information about Iterum describes the product as of 15 October 2026, as shown on its public pages and in the dashboard, and does not promise a number of sign-ups, visits or sales.