What is an Apple Pay loyalty program, and what does it take to create one?
To start, the term Apple Pay loyalty program is a bit of a misnomer, but its the type of phrase that people search for on Google or Bing, when they are trying to figure out how to use Apple Wallet or something similar to manage their loyalty program. And managing your loyalty program could not be easier when you use Apple Wallet to manage the technology.
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It’s also a way to potentially see what’s out there when you want to be able to tie your Apple Pay to your loyalty program rewards if you’re a merchant who accepts Apple Pay or has a rewards and loyalty program.
The basic premise of the Apple Pay loyalty program could be adjusted to work two different ways:
#1 – running a rewards program for those using Apple Pay to make a purchase (this is truly an Apple Pay loyalty program, in the truest sense of the word)
#2 – using Apple Wallet to manage your in-store (online, in person, on mobile, etc) loyalty program or rewards program
Is there a difference in an Apple Pay loyalty program and an Apple Wallet loyalty program?
Our first example assumes that you’re only going to reward those customers who are buying something from you AND using Apple Pay to make a purchase.
You could do this (one of our competitors has software that seamlessly enables this between Apple Pay and the Apple Wallet loyalty program functions) but why you would want to do it is another matter entirely.
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You’re not a bank, or a credit card issuer, and other than the percentage you pay for a transaction, you really shouldn’t care how someone is paying you for goods or services. That’s up to the customer – and the top reason we always suggest that you give customers as many payment options as you possibly can; that way the “oh, you don’t take AMEX,” or “I only want to use my credit card to get the airline points,” is completely out of the equation.
Our second example involves using the Apple Wallet to store the rewards and loyalty points for the customers – regardless of how they pay for an item or a service.
This is a much easier setup, vastly more simple (and enjoyable) to explain to your prospective customers and club members, and so much easier for your employees – especially the cashiers – to handle while processing the transactions.
Rather than trying to teach customers to use Apple Pay for the first time (which would mean adding their credit cards and so on), you or your staff will only need to show the customer how to find their Apple Wallet (or download a compatible, generic Android wallet from Google Play) and start collecting points or punches for their purchases made in your business.
So perhaps the idea of an Apple Pay loyalty program is better served for your business as an Apple Wallet loyalty program.
This offers you the opportunity to disengage payment methods from your loyalty, points, or rewards program, and means that your sales staff doesn’t need to learn to teach (nor learn to convince) your prospects and existing customers how to use Apple Pay in order to collect loyalty points.
If you’re looking for more information on how to create your loyalty program – or perhaps to start small by offering discounts or promotions via Apple Wallet, we’re happy to answer any questions you might have, and you can request a demo by clicking here.