Can I run a loyalty program and email or SMS campaigns from my bakery software?
Yes. In ibakepro, Marketing (email and SMS campaigns, journeys, discount codes and a loyalty program) and Automation workflows are on every plan, with 150, 1,000 or 5,000 marketing emails a month on Essentials, Growth and Business, and SMS on pay-as-you-go credits. What matters more is which messages to send, because a bakery's best marketing is timed to dates its customers already have.
Five messages worth setting up first
Set these up once and they run every year
- Balance reminder, 7 days before the event. Polite, with the amount and a pay link. It stops once they pay.
- Birthday or anniversary rebook, about five weeks before the date comes round. "Lily turns six next month - want to book her cake?" is one of the easiest repeat bookings a bakery can get.
- Christmas, Easter or Mother's Day pre-order (gingerbread, hot cross buns, a cookie box) to everyone who ordered for that occasion last year, 4 to 6 weeks out.
- Win-back at 90 days for regulars who have gone quiet, with a small reason to come back.
- Quote follow-up, 3 days after sending. Most unanswered quotes are forgotten, not declined.
Loyalty that suits a bakery
A stamp card (buy nine sourdough loaves, the tenth is free) suits a counter, a market stall and weekly regulars. Points or order-count rewards suit custom order customers who order a few times a year. Keep the reward simple: money off, free delivery or a free bag of cookies with the next order. In ibakepro, customers see their card and rewards on their order page, and discount codes work at the online shop and on orders you build.
SMS
SMS runs in Australia, the US, the UK and Canada on credits. Use it for what is urgent, such as a balance due tomorrow or a pickup ready, and email for everything else. Two-way SMS, with replies in the Social Media inbox, needs a dedicated number, available in Australia, the US and Canada.
Marketing only goes to customers who have opted in. More on Marketing and Automation, and on reward design in loyalty programs for bakeries.