Salon loyalty card: paper, LINE OA or software points?

Choose the card by what you want to know about your clients. A paper card is enough to reward visits. A LINE card adds a chat with each client. Software points come with a full client file, with visits, spending and the next appointment.

LINE offers two tools. The reward card is free in every LINE OA. MyCustomer is a separate membership system from LINE, at 369 baht a month excluding VAT, with points based on spending and member levels. The table compares the four options.

A paper card is the fastest start: print it, stamp it at each visit, and give the reward when it is full. It costs only the printing, and every client understands it.

The limits show over time. Clients leave the card at home or lose it, and staff can stamp twice by mistake. Above all, the card stays in the client's wallet, so you do not know who is close to a reward, who stopped coming or which services they buy.

Make a paper card harder to misuse

• Use a stamp or a stamp design only your salon has, never a pen mark.
• Write the client's name on the card, so it is not passed around.
• Note the date next to each stamp, which also shows how often the client comes.

Before you print, work out what the reward really costs. The example below shows the maths.

The reward card is built into every LINE OA, at no cost. If your salon has no account yet, create a LINE OA first, then follow these steps in the LINE Official Account app.

1. 01Open Home, then Reward card, then Create reward card.
2. 02Choose one of the 10 card designs, or upload your own background.
3. 03Set how many points fill the card, up to 50.
4. 04Set the main reward, which is required: a reward voucher the client gets when the card is full. You can add extra rewards too, such as a discount.
5. 05Set the card validity, an expiry reminder, a welcome bonus and limits on the points a client can earn.
6. 06Save, or save and activate the card.

Check everything before you activate, because a live card only lets you change its validity. Never suspend a card that clients use: it resets all settings and every client's points, it cannot be undone, and you can make a new card only one day later.

How clients get their points

Clients earn points when they scan a QR code with LINE. Your team can show a one-time QR code on the app screen, or you can enable a printed QR code for the counter. Each QR code has its own settings: points per scan, an expiry date and a location limit, which needs your shop's exact location.

Share the card through your rich menu, a card link or a QR code. In the rich menu, a tile can open the card directly if you choose the action type Reward card instead of Link. Clients then find their card at the bottom of your chat. Your results are in Insights, under Reward card.

A LINE card counts points, but it does not know what the client booked. In salon software, points sit in the client file, next to visits, spending, favourite services and the next appointment.

With SeeU, every visit earns points, scanned at the counter or earned online. You choose the rewards, such as a free treatment, a discount or a product, and your best clients become VIPs. Clients see their points in the SeeU app, which gives them a reason to come back. These salon loyalty points are included from ฿990/month + VAT, with a 30-day free trial.

Clients do not need to create an account. Their file is created from the first booking, online or at the counter, and fills itself from there. At the counter, search by name or phone number, and the file opens with the next appointment, membership balance and points.

To sell sessions in advance, use packages and memberships (Premium): a 10-session package, a credit wallet or a monthly plan. The client pays once, and the balance shows in their file.

Whatever card you choose, these rules matter more than the tool. They are the SeeU team's advice for salons.

1. 01Give a head start. In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research in 2006, car wash customers given a card with 2 free stamps completed it more often than those given an empty card that needed the same number of washes. In LINE, use the welcome bonus.
2. 02Keep the reward close. Choose a number of visits a regular client reaches within a few months.
3. 03Reward with a service. Offer a free treatment or an add-on rather than a small cash discount.
4. 04Set an expiry. A clear end date reminds clients to come back, and you do not carry old points for years.
5. 05Ask at every checkout. Train your team to offer the card when the client pays. A card nobody mentions stays empty.

Points reward visits, not reviews. To get more Google reviews, ask every client the same way, with nothing in return.