A welcome offer for new customers is a small perk a guest gets the first time they use your loyalty program, so they have a reason to join and a reason to come back. Get it wrong and it teaches people to visit once for the gift and disappear. Here is what a good welcome offer is for, which kinds work, and how to stop it turning into a one-time grab.
The job of a welcome offer
The first visit is not the hard part. The guest is already standing at your counter. The hard part is visit two. Someone who has been in two or three times is far closer to becoming a regular than someone who has been in once, because a habit has started to form. That is the visit a welcome offer should be working for.
So "what gets people to sign up?" is the wrong question. Almost anything free gets people to sign up. The useful question is: what gets a new guest to come back in the next few weeks?
In the post on loyalty program sign-ups we advise against a big sign-up bonus, and that still holds. A large gift on day one attracts people who come for the gift. A small welcome offer that points forward to the next visit is a different thing.
Four kinds of welcome offer, and what each one teaches
Every welcome offer teaches the new guest something about your program. The question is what.
1. A head start on the card. The guest gets one or two bonus stamps on the first visit. If you give one stamp per visit on a ten-stamp card, they leave with two stamps instead of one. It costs you nothing today, only a slightly earlier reward later, and it turns the card into something they have already started. A card that is under way is easier to keep going than an empty one.
2. A small treat right away. A biscuit with the coffee, an extra topping, a free refill. It is visible and friendly and costs little. The catch is that it is used up by the time they leave, so it gives no reason to return.
3. A perk on the second visit. The guest joins today and gets something they can only use next time. This is the offer that works hardest for visit two, because the gift itself sits in the future.
4. A big discount on the first purchase. A percentage off the whole bill for joining. It looks best on a sign, but it is also the offer that attracts the most one-time visitors. It also tells the guest your normal price is negotiable.
Offer | Teaches the guest | Reason for visit two |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus stamps on visit one | You have already started | Yes |
| Small treat right away | This is a nice place | No |
| Perk on the second visit | Come back, something is waiting | Yes |
| Big discount on first purchase | Come when there is a deal | No |
The two that work best are the ones that give a reason to return. Plenty of businesses combine them: a bonus stamp today and a small perk next time.
What a welcome offer should never be
A few mistakes come up again and again:
- Bigger than the main reward. If the welcome gift is worth more than a full stamp card, you have taught guests that the best part of your program is starting over. Keep the welcome clearly smaller than the main reward. Choosing that main reward is covered in how to choose a stamp card reward.
- Open-ended. A welcome perk that is still valid in six months reminds nobody of anything. Give a second-visit perk a sensible deadline so it actually nudges.
- Hard to explain. Staff need to say it in one sentence at the counter: "Join now and you get a bonus stamp today." If it needs terms and conditions read aloud, it will not get said.
- Unlimited. A welcome offer must be usable once per member, or it is not a welcome but a standing discount.
When someone tries to get welcomed twice
A welcome offer is, in effect, an invitation to open a new account. Almost nobody does it twice, but a few people will try with a second email address. The best defence is not policing but size: a bonus stamp is not worth the hassle of cheating for, a big discount is. Keep the gift small and the abuse mostly takes care of itself. More ways to keep a program honest are in loyalty program fraud prevention.
How to set up a welcome offer
In MightyLoyalty, a welcome offer is an ordinary offer you create in the owner portal. You pick what the guest gets, such as bonus stamps, a free item or a percentage off, and who may use it. Three settings make it a welcome:
The offer works until the guest has been scanned for the first time.
A per-guest limit, so the welcome never becomes a standing discount.
So the offer does not sit there unused for six months.
If you would rather give the perk on the second visit, use a minimum number of visits instead: the offer unlocks once the guest has been in once, and the once-per-member limit means it can only be used one time. The guest sees the offer on their card, terms included, and knows it is waiting.
At the counter, staff scan the guest's card and see the offers that guest can use right now. The system checks the rules, so nobody has to remember whether this guest has been in before. Offers are included in Standard. The difference between an offer for everyone and an offer for members only is covered in member-only offers.
Say it at the counter
A welcome offer nobody knows about does nothing. Put it on the QR poster so it is the first thing a guest reads: "Join and get a bonus stamp today." Then teach staff the one sentence, so every new guest hears it, not only when the shop is quiet.
After a few weeks, check whether it works. The number that matters is not how many people signed up but how many of the new members came back. If lots of them came once and never again, the offer is too big or does not point forward. The full program a welcome offer sits inside is described on the free loyalty program page.
Frequently asked questions
Does every new member need a welcome offer?
No. A clear stamp card with a good reward is often enough to get people to join. A small welcome offer helps most when plenty of new guests sign up but do not come back, because then it is visit two that is missing a reason.
Which is better: bonus stamps or a free item?
Bonus stamps cost you nothing today and give the guest a reason to return, because the card is already under way. A free item is more visible but is used up before they leave. If in doubt, start with a bonus stamp.
Can a guest get the welcome offer if they have been in before?
Not if you chose "first visit only". The offer disappears once the guest has been scanned for the first time. If you also want to welcome existing guests into the program, an ordinary member offer with a per-guest limit is the right tool.
