Almost every service business thinks about a loyalty or membership system at some point, and gets stuck on the same questions. What should we give? How much? Will we lose money?
This post answers them one at a time. First a comparison of the four common kinds: stamps, points, coupons and member tiers. Then a worked example with a nail salon’s numbers, so you can see what a reward really costs. Last, the two coupons that bring customers back best: the birthday coupon and the we-miss-you coupon.
Loyalty system or membership system?
The two are used interchangeably, but they’re slightly different:
- A membership system means the shop knows who the customer is: a card, a name, a history.
- A loyalty system is the rule that rewards them for coming back.
Membership without rewards doesn’t interest customers much. Rewards without knowing who’s who means you can’t reach anyone. A good system has both, and if it lives in LINE, customers have no app to download and no card to carry (more in CRM in LINE).
The four common kinds
| Kind | How it works | Suits | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stamps | Come N times, get a reward | Shops whose services cost about the same | The simplest; progress is easy to see |
| Points | 1 point per X baht, traded for rewards | Shops with a wide price range, say 300 to 3,000 baht | Fair to big spenders; the rate needs thought |
| Coupons | A discount or gift at the right moment | Every shop | Work well alongside stamps or points |
| Member tiers | Spend enough to move up to Silver, Gold, Platinum | Big brands and chains | Need lots of customers and clearly different perks |
About member tiers
Tiers work very well for airlines, hotel chains and department stores. They have huge numbers of customers, a wide spread of spending, and perks people clearly value, like lounges and room upgrades.
For a small shop, tiers often add more complexity than they return. Customers have to remember their level, staff have to remember what each level gets, and anyone who drops a level tends to feel bad about it. A small shop already has something big brands don’t: it can remember every customer. Stamps, points and well-timed coupons usually do the same job without levels.
Rewards that don’t lose money: a nail salon example
The numbers below are for a made-up salon. Swap in your own.
- Main service: gel manicure, 500 baht
- Cost per session: materials 50 baht + technician’s pay 150 baht = 200 baht
One principle matters most: a reward costs what you actually pay, not its price. A free gel manicure costs the salon 200 baht, not 500. (If the day is fully booked, the slot it takes has value too. Keep that in mind.)
- 1Find the real cost of the serviceGel manicure 500 baht; materials 50 + technician 150 = 200 baht.
- 2Work out what the customer pays before the rewardA buy 10, get 1 free card: 10 × 500 = 5,000 baht.
- 3Compare the reward's cost with salesThe reward is worth 500 baht but costs the salon 200 baht: 4% of sales.
- 4Ask three questionsCan a regular reach the first reward within a few months? Can your margins carry it? Is it worth wanting?
Option 1: a stamp card
| Rule | Customer pays before the reward | Reward value (price) | Real cost to the shop | Cost as share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 visits, 1 free | 10 × 500 = 5,000 baht | 500 baht | 200 baht | 4% |
| 8 visits, 1 free | 8 × 500 = 4,000 baht | 500 baht | 200 baht | 5% |
| 6 visits, free nail art (cost 40 baht) | 6 × 500 = 3,000 baht | 150 baht | 40 baht | 1.3% |
Look at the last row. A low-cost extra as the reward means customers get there sooner and the shop spends less. Good for shops where customers come every few weeks.
Option 2: points on spend
Say 1 point per 25 baht, so one gel manicure (500 baht) earns 20 points.
| Reward | Points | Customer spends | Real cost to the shop | Cost as share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 baht off | 100 | 2,500 baht | 100 baht | 4% |
| Free gel manicure | 250 | 6,250 baht | 200 baht | 3.2% |
| Hand and foot spa (price 900, cost 300) | 400 | 10,000 baht | 300 baht | 3% |
Money off costs its full face value (100 baht off costs you 100 baht). A service as the reward costs only what it costs you, so for the same spend it feels worth more to the customer.
What’s the right number?
There’s no single right number for every shop. Ask three questions:
- Can a regular reach the first reward within a few months? Too long and people give up.
- Can your margins carry the reward’s cost as a share of sales? Shops with a higher margin per visit can give more.
- Is the reward worth wanting? Nobody collects ten visits for 20 baht off.
The coupons that bring customers back
Stamps and points reward people who already come. Coupons help at the moments a customer might not.
Welcome coupon, given when someone becomes a member. Keep it small, such as free nail art next time. The goal is the second visit, which is the hardest one to get.
Birthday coupon, given in their birthday month, like 20% off within 30 days. In the example above, used on a 500-baht gel manicure, that’s 100 baht off for a visit you might not have had that month. It’s also the best reason there is to message a customer without it feeling like a sales pitch.
We-miss-you coupon, given when someone has been away longer than usual. Set the days at about twice your regulars’ rhythm, for example:
- A nail salon whose regulars come every 3–4 weeks: about 45–60 days
- A hair salon with 6-week regulars: about 75–90 days
- A studio whose members come weekly: about 14–21 days
A short “we miss you, 150 baht off if you come back this month” beats a promotion everyone sees.
Rules every coupon should have: an end date (without one, nobody hurries), one use only, and clear terms such as “not combined with other offers”.
Free loyalty options
If you’re not ready to pay, free options exist:
- Paper cards: just the printing cost. Templates to download in Stamp card templates.
- The reward card in LINE Official Account: ready now, good for one simple card.
- A spreadsheet: you write down the points. Works while customers are few.
What free systems usually cost you is time: someone has to remember to stamp, to record, to message customers. And the points often sit apart from your bookings and customer records. More in Free CRM, Excel or a real CRM.
Loyalty and membership in Tellfox
Tellfox is a booking system in LINE with membership, stamp cards, points and coupons built in, all tied to the same customer and their real bookings.
- Stamp cards of 2 to 50 stamps: choose which services, classes or packages earn a stamp, a coupon as the reward, and how long a card lasts.
- Points: set how many baht earn 1 point, earned on completed bookings, attended classes or packages bought.
- Rewards for points: set a points price; customers redeem right in their card and the coupon lands in their wallet.
- Coupons: an amount off, a percentage off, a free service or a gift, valid for a number of days after it’s given or until a set date.
- Automatic coupons: welcome, birthday and we miss you (after 14 to 365 days, your choice), plus Give to all members for a one-off.
- At the counter: staff scan the member QR and tap Add stamp or Use on a coupon, or tell the AI assistant in LINE, “Som used her birthday coupon”, and tap Confirm.
- Customers see it all in LINE under My cards: stamps, points and coupons with their end dates.
See the details on the Tellfox stamp cards and coupons page.
Try it
Send a photo of your price list to Tellfox in LINE and see your booking page in seconds. Try it now