They are a great idea for the business and the customer. People appreciate the idea of being rewarded for their ongoing patronage.
Some businesses have cards that are stamped and while this is easy for both parties I know so many people who loose the cards, have multiple in their wallets/purses or simply forget.
Some more sophisticated organisations ask you to register your card online and thereafter have it scanned at purchase and you are able to track your rewards online, automatically and with ease. Loss of card is not an issue as your rewards are online.
While this seems like a wonderful option there are 2 issues that we have encountered.
1. The system has to make it easy to register in the beginning. People will only try so many times and if it does not work as stipulated or is a difficult or asks way too many questions, they will give up.
2. Not everyone wants to go online to register or completely understand the process. This means you are not always successfully rewarding your patrons.
Think the offering through and if online please ensure you test it before releasing it. By the way, you can’t test a system yourself, you need independent people to do that for you.