VivaPoints

You ever walk into a café and get handed a punch card like it’s 2003? “Buy 10 coffees, get your 11th free.” Wow. Revolutionary. What’s next, a flip phone and a MySpace invite?

This paper—The Science of Loyalty by Priyanka Taranekar (2022)—makes one thing loud and clear: loyalty programs are no longer just retention tools. They’re strategic, money-making machines—if you stop being lazy about them.

Let’s take your average neighborhood café and apply the loyalty makeover magic step-by-step. Ready?

1. Know Your Customers Like You Know Your Regulars’ Orders

Old way: You give everyone the same punch card.
Modern way: You use VivaPoints to see who comes in for what. Maybe Sarah swings by every morning for a latte but never on weekends? Guess what—you send her a weekend-only “Double Points on Saturdays” deal. That’s how you nudge her habits.

2. Align the Program With Your Café’s Real Goals

Old way: "We want more loyal customers."
Modern way: "We want our lunch menu to get more love.” So you run a promo: “Earn 3x points when you order lunch between 12–2 PM.” Boom—your panini sales just doubled. That’s loyalty aligned with actual business goals.

3. Make It Stupid-Simple

Old way: Complicated tiers, fine print, app downloads that crash.
Modern way: “$1 = 1 point. 100 points = Free Drink.” That’s it. You print a little QR code on the receipt that says, “Track points here.” No mess, no confusion, no grumpy customers.

4. Personalize, Like You’re a Coffee-Slinging Psychic

Old way: Everyone gets the same boring email.
Modern way: You notice Joe always buys oat milk and a muffin. On his birthday? "Hey Joe, grab a free oat milk latte on us—and 20% off any pastry this week." You’re not just a café anymore. You’re a vibe.

5. Gamify It. Make Loyalty a Game, Not a Chore

Old way: Basic “buy stuff, get stuff” model.
Modern way: "Complete the Coffee Challenge: Buy 5 different drinks this month, get a surprise reward." People love mystery. They love streaks. They love chasing badges like it’s Pokémon Go. Even grown adults.

6. Be Everywhere: App, Email, Counter, Smoke Signals

Old way: “Ask for the card at checkout.”
Modern way: “Check your points on the app, on your receipt, or just ask us.” VivaPoints lets you link it all. Send text updates. Let them check their balance on your café’s little iPad screen. Be omnipresent like a caffeine-fueled ghost.

7. Track the Damn Results and Tweak Like a Mad Scientist

Old way: Hope for the best.
Modern way: You see that nobody’s redeeming those “Afternoon Espresso” bonuses? Cool—ditch it. But that “Free Cookie Friday”? Huge hit. Double down. A loyalty program without data is like making espresso without beans—pointless.

What This Means for Your Small to Medium Sized Business™

If you run a café, boutique, bakery, dog spa—I don’t care what it is—you cannot afford to run a loyalty program that’s boring. It’s not just about giving stuff away. It’s about building a customer experience so good, so sticky, so addictively rewarding, that your customers don’t even look at the place across the street.

With VivaPoints, you’re not just giving points. You’re building strategy. You’re nudging behavior. You’re creating a game they want to play.

So yeah—ditch the punch card.
Grab the data.
Gamify the hell out of it.
And watch your revenue perk up like a double espresso.

Reference:

Taranekar, P. (2022). The Science of Loyalty: Redesigning Programs to Maximize Engagement and Revenue. International Journal of Leading Research Publication, 3(11).
https://www.ijlrp.com/

Your Loyalty Program is Boring—Here’s How to Fix It (with Coffee)