big things happened last year. we built new product features, rolled out new programs, and even expanded internationally. more importantly, the merchants in our fivestars network grew their loyalty programs and increased their customer visits and spend with our tools.
fivestars launched three years ago in january and there’s no better birthday gift than the multiple customer success stories we’ve received. (check out one of our most recent here!) but before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s ask the age old question, “what were the numbers?” don’t worry. they were phenomenal.
- 800,000 rewards redemptions—this directly correlates to happy customers and increasing visits to your store
- over 20 million points—earned from over 7 million check-ins last year
- thousands of new businesses added—thanks to our lean sales team and your referrals!
- over 1 million new members—wow, just wow.
they say exponential growth is a good thing.
our new products and features
here comes the exciting part. those numbers up there are just for the fivestars loyalty original flavor.
over the last few months, we’ve added a few features that raised the bar so high that when one of our clients reported an 80% increase in customer retention, our marketing team didn’t believe it.
turns out the client was right.
fivestars autopilot – sending your marketing promotions for you, at just the right time
there are key tipping points in your customers’ lifecycle. critical times exist when a little push will turn a casual customer into a regular or save a customer from disappearing forever.
autopilot identifies those moments and automatically sends your customers messages to get them back in the door that extra time. we’ve got it down to a science and it works—the graph below shows the return rate of customers before and after autopilot at one of the businesses in our network if you want to see for yourself.
this specific merchant was able to almost double the rate that customers return to its store using autopilot. read that again my friends. doubled the rate customers returned.
the new fivestars point of sale software – a fresh new look and feel
the easier it is for you to get all of your customers plugged into the fivestars reward program, the better. so we stepped back and redesigned fivestars from the ground up to make the fivestars experience simpler and faster (and we made it look a lot cooler too).
are you a current client and don’t have it yet? don’t worry. we’re upgrading everyone in our network in the next few months. but if you want it early, call your account manager at (860) 578-2770.
new features and products coming soon
you may say, “i know there’s more! don’t hold out on me!” number one, there’s no need to raise your voice. number two, you’re right. many of these features are still in their pilot or beta phase, but what’s the harm of giving you a little preview?
- gift cards and prepay. with fivestars prepay, in return for a small incentive, customers pay in advance and in turn, spend more at your store. sounds like heaven.
- iphone app. yes, it’s finally here. download it here.
- new dashboard. we’ve all grown attached to the traditional fivestars dashboard, but what’s not to love about better data and easier access to your tools?
our international expansion
oh, canada! in addition to its exports of maple syrup and hockey, canada will now be offering fivestars (named vicinity).
but seriously, this is a huge opportunity. we partnered with rogers—canada’s largest cell phone provider—to launch fivestars in the great north. check them out here.
want to learn more or give feedback?
well, this has been a long post, but don’t blame me, we’ve had a busy year. if you do want to learn more about what we’re doing, or just get involved with our plans for 2014, reach out to us at info@fivestars.com.
before i say good-bye, let me say thank you. none of this could have been possible without your belief and support through the whole journey. last year was a success because of you. i can’t wait to see what we can do together in 2014!
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