{"id":17038,"date":"2025-11-17T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/were-too-small-for-a-loyalty-program\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:00:00","slug":"were-too-small-for-a-loyalty-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/were-too-small-for-a-loyalty-program\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe\u2019re too small for a loyalty program.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(And other bedtime stories for small entrepreneurs.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re big and don\u2019t want to become bigger \u2013 you can skip this article. If you\u2019re small and have ever said to yourself, \u201cThis isn\u2019t for us. Loyalty is for the big ones.\u201d \u2013 keep reading. It\u2019s time to say some things without sugarcoating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the corner of my street there\u2019s Maja\u2019s hair salon. One chair. One sink. A hairdryer that has seen three generations of prom hairstyles \u2013 not because of Maja, but because of her mother, who was also a hairdresser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Maja has a line: \u201cA loyalty program? Gift cards? I\u2019m too small. I know all my clients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maja is a \u201cone-woman band.\u201d She cuts hair, orders colors, posts on Instagram, answers the phone \u2013 if she manages to, because that\u2019s not exactly easy when you have foil in one hand and a brush in the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you know what? Maja is partly right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best loyalty program is the one where you know every customer by name. Where appointments are fully booked a week or two in advance. Where the relationship works without a system.But that\u2019s usually where the story stops. And it stays there, because you\u2019re convinced you\u2019re too small to offer a loyalty program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going back 20 years<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before the financial crisis of 2008 \u2013 in Slovenia realistically 2009\u20132010 \u2013 what was the most common sentence? \u201cWe don\u2019t need a loyalty program. We can barely handle all the work we have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was work. Phones were ringing. Calendars were full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came the moment when entrepreneurs, small and large, realized they didn\u2019t even know who their customers were. They had no contacts. They couldn\u2019t send them a message. They couldn\u2019t give them a reason to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when you don\u2019t know who your customer is, only one option remains: big discounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s how mass discounts appeared, countless coupon platforms, campaigns without strategy. Short-term visits. And who are the people buying those offers? Discount hunters. Are they loyal customers? Not at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excuses I\u2019ve been hearing for 20 years<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you run a small business, you\u2019ve probably said at some point that a loyalty program is too expensive, too complicated, or too big of a challenge. That it\u2019s for centers with reception desks and marketing and IT departments. In reality, most of these thoughts stem from a single fear \u2013 that it will mean extra work, that it\u2019s too expensive, that it\u2019s complicated\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then comes the sentence I hear most often: \u201cWhen we grow bigger, we\u2019ll introduce it.\u201d Along with many other excuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is simple. Big companies didn\u2019t become big because they waited to grow<\/em> or for ideal conditions. They became big because they didn\u2019t wait \u2013 and one of the reasons is that they started building relationships while they were still small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reality<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can have one chair and still think strategically. You can have ten regular customers and still build a system. There\u2019s only one problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A loyalty program today is no longer a technical project. It\u2019s a decision to start collecting data, building contact, and creating reasons to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need perfection. You don\u2019t need a complex system. You need just one thing: the decision to take control of your relationship with your customers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In more than 20 years of experience, I\u2019ve heard countless excuses. At the same time, I understand the concerns and the pain \u2013 and even some of the excuses, to a certain extent. That\u2019s why we adapted Smartgifty to fit different basic modules and small businesses as well. Simple. Transparent. Affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gift cards: the fastest win<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s leave Maja for a moment and take the flower shop next to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valentine\u2019s Day. Mother\u2019s Day. Birthdays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I always ask: \u201cDo you have gift cards?\u201d In most cases, they offer paper vouchers, redeemable once, without software support. The difference isn\u2019t in the technology. The main difference is in the user experience. It\u2019s much easier to store a gift card in a mobile e-wallet and, if needed, spend the balance gradually.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\u201cWe\u2019re<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That way, the customer returns multiple times. A digital system means control, transparency, and the opportunity for someone to come back \u2013 and in most cases, to spend more than the original value.A gift card isn\u2019t just revenue received in advance. It\u2019s the beginning of a new relationship, because it\u2019s usually given to someone else \u2013 and the giver is your satisfied customer, who becomes your ambassador. With a single gift card, you can start building a relationship. And no, you don\u2019t need to order 1,000 pieces of plastic \u2013 simply offer an e-card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to start<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need perfection. You need a start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fastest start is a gift card and a basic loyalty module \u2013 which can already be as simple as signing customers up to a mailing list. The next step is that with every visit, they receive \u201csomething.\u201d What exactly? That depends on your idea, but you don\u2019t have to reinvent the wheel \u2013 the basic modules are usually already prepared. From there, you build step by step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t look at the big players and search for reasons why you can\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, ask yourself: \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I be one of those small businesses that think big?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest cost isn\u2019t the solution. The biggest cost is stagnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally \u2013 no myths<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not writing this from theory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m writing it because I\u2019ve been hearing the same sentences for years. Because I\u2019ve seen small businesses grow \u2013 and others quietly close their doors. Because I\u2019ve been involved in digitalization and loyalty projects, from the smallest craftsmen to large systems. Because I\u2019ve helped put companies back on their feet when there were no \u201cideal conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And honestly \u2013 I\u2019ve become impatient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because entrepreneurs don\u2019t know better. But because they\u2019ve been looking for \u201cwhy not\u201d excuses for too long \u2013 excuses that simply don\u2019t hold water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re small and want to stay small \u2013 that\u2019s legitimate. But if you want stability, growth, and control over your customers \u2013 then it\u2019s time to stop telling yourself bedtime stories. And start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Jurij Triller<\/strong>
Let\u2019s connect<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published in the Digital Disruptor newsletter #32.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(And other bedtime stories for small entrepreneurs.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":16915,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loyalty-programs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sos-sw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}