Last month we launched Fivestars Acquisition, a powerful new tool to reach and automatically engage the best kind of new customers—those who love local, and aren’t afraid to show it. If you’re making use of it already, you’re seeing your business showcased on our website, mobile app, and on the Customer Touchscreens of your neighboring Fivestars businesses. You’re probably also starting to see your database growing. When we tested out the program we found that an average of 170 customers a month and around 2,000 a year are added to our merchants’ databases.

So how to make sure your business gets the most out of Fivestars Acquisition?

It starts with the rewards

Finding the perfect reward can make a huge difference transforming Fivestars shoppers into regular customers. The best rewards follow these simple guidelines:  

• • The reward should be as generous as possible, but cover your gross margin
  • No minimum purchase requirements, as they make deals less appealing to customers
  • Creativity is great, but simplicity works, too. Some tried and true staples include: a free item (with no restrictions), 50% off one item (or minimum of 20%) or BOGO
  • Promotion expiration should be 30 days because we know customers need some extra time before they try out a new place

With Fivestars Acquisition, it pays to create an especially generous reward to ensure more Fivestars shoppers grant you a first visit. Once they’re in, they’re very likely to return—Fivestars shoppers on average visit up to 5 times in the first year they follow a new business. Multiply these visits by your average ticket cost, and you’ll see just how valuable it is to win your first visit with a compelling offer.

Don’t forget promotions

Once your new customers save your reward, they’re in your database, ready to receive all sorts of enticing offers. We do the heavy lifting forward you by automatically retargeting customers based on their behavior and sending them messages to keep your business top of mind – like when they haven’t visited in a month.

The Promotions tool is a great next step to keep those customers engaged. With segmentation, it’s easy to set up a promotion specifically for your prospective customers and encourage them to visit. When you’re creating your promotion, just select ‘Prospects’ and we’ll only send the promotion to customers who haven’t visited your store.

Here’s some inspiration

Take a look at how different Fivestars businesses are making the most out of their acquisition reward.

Food & Beverage
This business scored a great visit rate of 6.9% with a generous offer: one free burger.

Keep it simple and offer the same item for free as opposed to a discount off i.e. buy one, get one 20% off

Beauty & Spa
This nail salon made sure not to restrict their 20% discount to any one service.

And that’s it! Getting new customers in the door with Fivestars Acquisition couldn’t be simpler. Update your acquisition reward today by visiting your dashboard.