Food Truck loyalty programs are a great idea for any food truck business. Loyalty programs ensure that your customers will keep coming back, always looking forward to their next reward for eating with you!
Traditionally, loyalty programs come in the form of punch cards or swipe plastic cards. However, today you can partner with loyalty apps that make it easy for users to food truck eaters to get loyalty points and punches via their mobile phones!
Today we’ll be discussing various loyalty apps and how they might fit your food truck loyalty needs.
LevelUp
Overview:LevelUp is a truly awesome payment processor and rewards program, rolled into one easy-to-use and insight-packed app. LevelUp rewards customers with points each time they buy your food with the LevelUp app.
Price: The LevelUp rewards program is pay-per-performance for campaigns. LevelUp charges 25% of the incentive you offer, only on redemption.
So you pay 25% for campaign performance + a hardware cost.
Hardware Fee. In order to use LevelUp, it will require a one-time hardware fee of either a:
- LevelUp Scanner: $50. Plugs into most POS systems or can be used with the LevelUp tablet. The scanner reads the customer’s account QR code, which passes information to the POS system and charges the user.
or
- LevelUp Tablet: $100. Grab the LevelUp tablet if your POS system doesn’t support LevelUp, or if you use a cash register. If you don’t have WiFi, LevelUp will even help you out with a data plan.
When users first sign up for LevelUp, they connect their account to a credit card or bank account. From then on, customers can pay with the LevelUp app, which then charges the customer’s bank or credit card account. LevelUp is a payment processing and rewards program, rolled into one!
- Run Campaigns to Attract Customers. Campaigns are used to attract new customers and incentivize existing customers to visit again with a dollar discount. LevelUp offers +20 kinds of campaigns, from birthday rewards, referral rewards, happy hour awards, rain day rewards, and more. Merchants can also set up rewards to pay off according to visit frequency or following a certain amount of spend. For example, a Loyalty Campaign rewards customers with a credit after they surpass a specific spend threshold (which can be across several visits). For example, when users spend $50, they earn $5 credit.
- Unique Reward Programs. LevelUp allows you to get pretty specific with your reward programs. The LevelUp software will even recommend certain loyalty strategies that it thinks will be best for your biz.
- Analytics & CRM. LevelUp boasts some pretty fantastic analytics for partners. LevelUp gathers and shares great customer data on your customer demographics, buying habits, number of visits, and more, allowing you to deliver special offers you know your customers will love. Since LevelUp is a payment processing and loyalty rewards system, you get to track entire customer interactions from point of impression to point of sale, plus see how customers interact with you in the future.
- Pay Per Campaigns. LevelUp charges you based on your campaign performance. LevelUp charges you 25% of the incentive you offer upon customer redemption. You aren’t obligated to run campaigns if you don’t want to.
- Dollar Off or Meal Off Rewards. Most LevelUp discounts involve dollar off rewards. However, if you also use their POS integrations, you can also do meal off campaigns.
- POS Integration. Integrates with over +40 POS systems and other e-commerce ordering systems.
Bonus:
- Supports a Variety of Mobile Tech. LevelUp is compatible with Android, Apple, Windows, NFC, QR Codes, iBeacon, smart watches, Apple Passbook, and Google Wallet.
- No Charge-Back Guarantee
- Next Day Payments to Your Bank Account
Pros:
- Cheap Processing Fees. LevelUp offers highly competitive credit card processing rates, and having the rewards program seamlessly built into the payment processing makes for a smooth and easy system.
- Tremendous Number of Campaigns. LevelUp makes it easy to set up campaigns, allowing you to choose from over 20 fun and creative reward campaigns.
- Established Reputation. LevelUp works with over 14,000 businesses.
Cons:
- Not As Much Design Customization. If you want a super stylized loyalty app customized for your food truck, LevelUp may not be the best choice.
Square
Square is primarily a credit card processing system, but their platform also includes a great food truck loyalty program.
- Everything in One System. If you already use Square for mobile credit card processing, then using their built-in loyalty program is a no-brainer. While there are several great mobile credit card processing systems that are excellent choices for food trucks, no others can offer the huge array of bonus features that Square has (connect with printing kitchen tickets, manage inventory, etc.)
- CRM-Integrated Software. Square’s platform comes with sophisticated CRM software, providing rich data about your customers.
- Feedback Features. Discounts can be integrated with customer feedback requests, so you can give customers rewards for leaving feedback, or a “sorry” treat when they have a bad experience.
- Personalized Promotions. Square is packed with an array of targeting and reward options, helping you reach your customers with their perfect offer.
Cost: Square has a free version of their loyalty program that comes with their service, or a more advanced service with more options for $15/month (in addition to Square service, which is 2.75% per swipe plus extras for optional specialty devices).
Pros: Built into one of the most popular mobile POS systems. If you’re already using Square, rewards are already integrated, and it’s easy to upgrade to even more advanced reward and marketing features.
Cons: The best features require an upgrade.
Belly Rewards Program
Belly is an online rewards app program that allows users to check-in and earn points each time they visit your food truck.
With Belly, food trucks set up an iPad near the point of sale location. While customers pay, they can tap around on your iPad and check in via Belly.
Customers can check in with Belly by scanning their Belly app QR code on their phone, using their physical Belly card (which Belly provides for you to hand out for free) or by simply typing in their e-mail address. The more they check in, the more points they earn, which can be exchanged for free rewards!
- Create Custom Rewards. Craft your own custom rewards – 30 points might earn a free coffee, while 100 might earn a free deluxe taco!
- Email Campaigns. Belly makes it easy to run sophisticated email marketing campaigns using customer data. Send out announcements, target specific customer segments, notify customers of special promotions, and even send customers tailored incentives to get them back at your truck.
- Analytics. Review your customer analytics, segment by demographics, study customer activity, and more.
Price: Belly varies in price depending on your account.
- Basic: $100/month. 1 Campaign a year + Belly Loyalty Program
- Core: $120/month. 24 Campaigns per year + Loyalty Program + Marketing Tools
- Complete: $200/month. Unlimited Campaigns per year + Loyalty Program + Marketing Tools + Customer Aquisition (send offers via Belly’s huge network)
Note: Each plan (except the Complete plan) also requires a one-time $150 for the Belly iPad installation. For each additional iPad it’s an added $50/month.
Pros:
- Dedicated Merchant Success Manager. Every Belly account comes with a Merchant Success Manager who can help you out with understand new features, running e-mail campaigns, etc.
- Social Media and Yelp Integration. Belly encourages customers to share their check ins on Facebook and Twitter, helping spread your social reach. Belly also encourages customers to review you on Yelp, spreading awesome reviews that can win you more business.
- Customer Acquisition with Belly Bites. Belly’s Complete plan provides merchants with the Belly Bites option. Belly Bites lets you send out an offer to new customers from across Belly’s large consumer network, providing some unique access to new customers.
Cons:
- Difficulty Positioning the iPad. Since check ins are conducted with an iPad stationed near the point-of-sale, trucks may have a difficult time placing the iPads in a convenient spot for customers (depending on the size and height of your truck’s counter). This also could result in a bottleneck during rush hours.
- No Visual Customization. Similar to LevelUp, you aren’t able to create a customized visual experience that matches your brand. You simply use Belly’s existing structure and style.
Punchh
Punchh is a mobile loyalty platform that allows businesses to craft uniquely styled private-label loyalty apps, customized just for them.
Price: Punchh ignored my several requests for pricing info. :/
- POS integration. Punchh integrates with most POS systems.
- Tailored Offers. Segment customers based on interests and purchases, letting you send them deals that are prefect just for them.
- Encourages Social Word of Mouth. Built-in sharing activity encourages customers to share information about your truck on their favorite food truck fan social networks.
- Customizable. Make your loyalty app look and feel unique to your food truck brand.
- Gaming Time. Punchh helps you create themed games for customers’ mobile devices (like Taco Tower), where they can earn loyalty points that are redeemable for snacks.
- Surveys and Reviews. Send surveys for customer feedback, and let customers sing your praises with review capabilities.
- iBeacon Technology. Punchh uses iBeacon tech to send customers special deals when they’re in your area.
- Friendly Referrals. Customers get bonuses for referring friends, and you’ll even see who your power ambassadors are. You can then make sure you keep them and their friends happy.
Pros:
- Extra Ways to Pay. Punchh supports Apple Pay, Google Wallet, NFC, digital gift cards, and employee comp cards.
- Customized, Private-Label Loyalty App. The Punchh platform enables food trucks to create and design a loyalty app unique to their brand
Cons:
Possibly pricing and lack of larger network to link into for further promotion.
LoyalTree
Overview: Setup a rewards program through the LoyalTree app, or create your own personalized app for customers to download.
Price: Merchants can choose to be on the LoyalTree app for $65-$100 a month. If merchants want their own private label app, pricing increases depending on the features desired. All LoyalTree merchants have access to the LoyalTree dashboard, with provides sales and reward program data.
- POS Integration. LoyaltyTree integrates with most existing POS system.
- Targeted Offerings. Target specific customer segments with offers built to appeal just to them. Create personalized, intelligent offers that can be segmented by demographics, spend, location, purchase history, etc.
- Set up Bonus Points. Turn on bonus points and reward customers extra points for coming during slow hours, for special events, purchasing new menu items, and more.
- Analytics. Realtime sales and analytics dashboard lets merchants view sales activity, compare with other locations, and measure customer trends
- ROI Assistance. LoyaltyTree helps you determine which marketing efforts work with easy ROI tools.
- Extend Your Reach. Use LoyatyTree’s larger network to expand your reach and get in front of new customers.
- Fraud Proof. LoyaltyTree rewards and programs come with 100% fraud and theft protection guarantees.
Pros:
- No new hardware needed. All customers need to do is install the LoyalTree app and scan their receipt QR codes. Also can put QR codes through Facebook, email, and more
- Sleek Looking App. The LoyalTree app looks clean and sleek, and your own food truck rewards page can look quite sophisticated as a result.
Cons:
Most users will be setting up their program through the LoyalTree app. If there aren’t many other restaurants in your area using LoyalTree, some users might decide it’s not worth it and uninstall the app.
LoyalBlocks
Overview: A mobile punchcard packed with tons of bells and whistles. Set up your own “loyalty club” that operates out of the larger LoyalBlocks app, or create your own app through the LoyalBlocks platform. With your LoyalBlocks dashboard, you can customize and design your loyalty club and create your own digital food truck punch card.
Price:
- Pro Package (Most Popular): $69/month. Includes 500 digital punch chards, 500 push messages, plus iBeacon checkins and a full-time account manager, with no commitment or cancellation fee.
Special Deal: LoyalBlocks is running a summer promotion currently where you can get unlimited members and unlimited push notifications with a 3-month commitment for $150 (equating to $50/month). Do a 6 month commitment for $240 ($40/month) or an annual plan for $420 ($35/month).
- Unique Earning Offers Through Tokens. Welcome tokens, punch card rewards, happy hour tokens, friend referral tokens, lottery-style tokens, VIP tokens, and many more.
- Mobile Punch Card. Choose to reward customers after a certain number of visits or a certain number of dollars spent through QR codes.
- Custom Push Notifications. Send users push notifications to get then back at your truck, to advertise new dishes, or for any other reason you desire.
- Quick and Easy. Set up a loyalty club in just a few minutes.
- Harness Social Power. LoyalBlocks is connected with various social media networks, allowing users to share news about your truck. You also have the option to set up Facebook referral rewards and Facebook checkin rewards.
- Fully Customizable. Option to design your loyalty app with your own style, logo, and graphics, all without code.
- Automatic Interaction. Set up LoyalBlocks to automatically interact and send out offers when your customer walks towards your truck (with LoyalBlocks’ mobile beacon device).
- Analytics. Keep track of customer actions and offer responses. Also try out LoyalBlock’s ROI wizard to determine the impact of your loyalty club.
- Support. Every LoyalBlocks customer gets a dedicated account representative to help you out.
- Style Design. The LoyalBlocks app looks sleek and stylish.
Pros: Most unique feature is the automatic interactions, allowing your loyalty app to automatically engage with customers the moment they step towards your truck.
Cons: Like LoyalTree, you’ll be operating out of the LoyalBlocks app, so if users don’t find the app worthwhile, you’ll get kicked to the curb.
Of course you don’t have to go through the LoyalBlocks app – you can create your own app using the LoyalBlock platform as well.
Do you have any experience with food truck loyalty apps? Any apps you want to recommend? Share your thoughts in the comments!
