ShopKeep POS loyalty

As a small business owner, one of the most important parts of your marketing plan should involve a powerful loyalty program that will maintain your current customer relationships as well as attract new ones.

Entrepreneur.com’s Jed Williams and John Swanciger write that coffee-chain franchise Starbucks as well as electronics retailer Best Buy created customer loyalty programs that gave each company a competitive edge, but boosted sales as well.

This strategy can work for well for small businesses too. Rewarding frequent customers with a diverse series of discounts is guaranteed to keep them coming back. Also, new shoppers may become interested in your store if they learn you give out certain incentives for increased patronage.

In addition, you’ll gain valuable marketing insights. Loyalty programs provide a treasure chest of important data that will help your company grow. You can use this system to identify things like purchasing trends and other information. This can aid you in creating more targeted promotions in the future.

Now, you just need the right tools to get this started.

Previously, most merchants implemented this system in the form of a plastic or cardboard loyalty card. Customers would come in, buy something, and have a hole stamped in the card in order to reach a discount that was promised.

These cards tended to get lost or easily destroyed which could inhibit customers from achieving their goals.

Fortunately, the rise of mobile apps has simplified this process. A bevy of these pint-sized programs have been created, which enable merchants to quickly reward customers with a few simple clicks. Also, these apps enable you to track spending habits, making it easier to adjust your strategy as time goes on.

If you are starting a new business or looking for ways to keep your current one thriving, we rounded up the best loyalty program apps you can use.

Check them out below.

LevelUp is a free mobile payments app available for iPhone, Android, and Windows. It lets customers pay for things with their phones at a variety of businesses nationwide. All it takes is the creation of a registered account and syncing any credit or debit card to a unique QR code found within the program.