Success means your customers win the reward
With paper cards, customers lose them and almost no one ever completes the card. That is why many businesses unknowingly believe it is better if few people reach the reward. It is exactly the opposite.
Every completed card is proof that you won every visit in that cycle: the customer chose you, not the competition, time and time again.
The free reward is not a cost: it is the commission you pay for having captured those visits. If many customers redeem their reward, you are on the right track. If almost no one redeems it, you are losing money, not saving it.
How many stamps to require?
The question is not how many times a customer visits you, but how to design the card so you keep all of those visits:
Pick a time horizon
For example, 6 or 12 months.
Estimate the visits
How many times does a typical customer visit in that time? A barber shop, around 6 haircuts in 6 months.
Capture them all
If they get 6 haircuts in 6 months, "buy 5, get 1 free" means you were their only barber for those months.
Before fixing the number, check these two limits:
The discount you can afford
"Buy N, get 1 free" equals a discount of 1 over (N+1). Buy 5 ≈ 17%; buy 10 ≈ 9%. It must fit within your margin.
That the reward arrives in time
It must be reachable within that horizon, not after. If it is too far away, it stops motivating.
What condition to set for earning a stamp?
The condition decides when a customer earns a stamp. Its one job is to be crystal clear: the customer must instantly understand what to do to get one.
- ·The most common: one stamp per purchase or visit.
- ·If your tickets vary a lot, set a minimum spend so a stamp is not too cheap.
- ·Avoid conditions with exceptions or fine print: if the customer is unsure when they earn a stamp, they lose trust in the promotion.
💡 Rule of thumb: one stamp = one visit you want repeated. Write it as a short sentence your team can apply without thinking.
How to choose the reward?
The reward is the reason customers collect stamps. It must be desirable and, at the same time, sustainable for your margin.
Give away more of the same: a free coffee after several coffees. It reinforces the habit you want and costs you your cost, not the sale price.
Make it concrete and appealing: "A free coffee" motivates more than "a discount". Free pulls harder than a percentage.
Match the reward to the effort: many stamps call for a generous reward; few stamps, a more modest one.
Work out the cost: you give away 1 in every N+1, and you only pay it once the customer has already bought N times.
⚠️ Avoid promising a reward you cannot always honour: a customer who reaches the reward and does not get it is the worst possible outcome.
Examples by business type
Coffee shop
Almost daily visits
Condition
For every coffee
Stamps
10
Reward
A free coffee
Completed in ~2 weeks: the reward arrives quickly and motivates.
Barber / nail salon
≈ once a month
Condition
For every haircut
Stamps
5
Reward
A free haircut
With 5 stamps the reward arrives ~twice a year and reinforces the habit.
Restaurant
Variable ticket
Condition
For every meal of €15 or more
Stamps
8
Reward
A free dessert or menu
The minimum spend stops a coffee from counting as a meal.
📌 The less frequent your business, the fewer stamps you should require. The reward should never be so far away that it stops motivating the customer to come back.