Marketing automation
Marketing automation means messages that send themselves when something happens, such as a first visit, a birthday or a long gap since the last purchase. You write each message once and set the trigger, and it reaches every customer at the right moment.
What marketing automation is
An automation has three parts: a trigger, an optional wait and the message. For a local business the useful triggers are few and clear. In Rewardly they include a welcome message for new card holders, a birthday message, a follow up after a number of days without a visit, an automatic review request and a reminder before a reward expires. They are push messages on the Advanced and Professional plans, with a 90% read rate on wallet messages.
How it works for a café, salon or restaurant
- A café welcomes every new card holder with a thank you and a hint about the first reward.
- A salon asks for a review after an appointment, while the visit is still fresh.
- A restaurant sends members a birthday message with a dessert on the house.
What to watch
Start with two or three automations and read what they send as if you were the customer. Several triggers on one card add up, so check how often a regular would hear from you in a busy month. Review the texts each season, because a message written once keeps going out until someone changes it.