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Frequently Asked Questions for Spark Loyalty
SnowShoe delivers Spark Loyalty, the leading loyalty and customer engagement program for independent retailers. Get 10 times better results than traditional email marketing with Spark Loyalty’s automated campaigns. Our smarter loyalty system works for you.
All About Spark Loyalty
We deliver smarter loyalty that works for you with leading customizable customer loyalty product. Here are some tips and tricks on how to get 10 times better results than traditional email marketing with Spark Loyalty.
Spark Loyalty® is a customizable, white-labeled retail customer loyalty solution. It features a simple and delightful customer interface, unlimited text message and email campaigns, and multi-location support. To help ensure retailer success, Spark Loyalty also provides you with a comprehensive dashboard and customer analytics.
SnowShoe has provided loyalty systems to global enterprises for over a decade. Some of our successful deployments have been with Shell, Red Bull, Merkle, Cedar Point, international hotel chains, and many more. SnowShoe provided the underlying technology for Spark Loyalty for over five years, and supported their efforts in delivering our system to over 1,000 independent retailers. SnowShoe’s acquisition of the entire Spark Loyalty system is outlined in this podcast.
SnowShoe is an independent business based in Portland, OR. We know how to serve local businesses because we are a local business. We are the only company focused solely on customer loyalty, not on upselling other solutions.
Our customers love Spark Loyalty because it is easy, simple, inexpensive and effective. Unlike other platforms, such as Clover or Fivestars, Spark Loyalty is:
✔ Locally-owned with US-based customer service
✔ Simple to use with only one counter tablet
✔ Contract-free – we don’t ever require a monthly or annual contract
✔ Fully customizable so your brand is the name seen by all your customers
In Spark Loyalty, SnowShoe has created the leading customer loyalty platform for independent retailers all over the world. The Spark® system has registered more than 25 million check-in events in 1,000 locations worldwide with deployments in 14 countries. We are the preferred loyalty system for independent coffee shops, salons, boutiques and many other local businesses. Our enterprise clients include Shell, Red Bull and Cedar Point. SnowShoe is also the long-time trusted loyalty partner for Merkle, the global performance marketing engagement leader. Learn more about many of our customers in these customer spotlights.
Customers sign up for free with their phone number, and they use this same phone number each time they enter your business to check in on your tablet. Your staff member will then touch your Spark Stamp to your tablet to securely award points and redeem rewards for your customer. You can also set up automatic marketing campaigns directly through your system to connect with your customers outside of your store, reaching your customers via text messaging and email. Keep your customers coming back for more!
Support
Our Customer Success team is always available to answer your questions. We want your retail business to be successful!
You can reach our Customer Support team via email at support@snow.sh or by calling 707-79-SPARK (EXT 1).
Our Customer Support team is available Monday through Friday from 6am-5pm (Pacific Time). Messages left after hours will be answered the morning of the next business day. We value your business, and we are here to support you. It is our goal to provide you with immediate and excellent support for all of your business needs.
Yes. We offer English- and Spanish-speaking support from real Customer Success agents based in multiple time zones within the U.S. We pride ourselves in offering outstanding and immediate customer support from real people with real names when you need it most.
Just go to app.sparkloyalty.net/mypoints/ and enter your phone number to login to your account and check your points.
Just go to app.sparkloyalty.net/dashboard/ and enter your email and password to login to your account and check on your customer activities and plan and schedule your campaigns to customers.
How Our System Works
The Spark Loyalty system is a complete customer loyalty solution, delivered to you in a box all pre-configured for your business. It is easy to set up and use, and simple for customers to accumulate points and receive rewards.
The Spark Loyalty system is a complete customer loyalty solution. Hardware includes two Spark Stamps®, one tablet, and one tablet stand. The easy-to-use application comes completely installed on your tablet and is fully customizable, allowing you to feature your brand and choose your own points and rewards levels.
The Spark Stamp is a small, easy-to-use hardware device. Place the stamp (black side down) on the center of your tablet screen for one second to let our equipment register the Stamp. If you are awarding more than one point or stamp at a time, repeat the steps accordingly. If you are awarding points per dollar spent, a window will pop up along with the keyboard on the screen where you will type in the number of points you’d like to award to your customers. You may also choose to limit the number of points per transaction for added security. For example, if a customer typically does not spend more than $100, they will be unable to receive more than 100 points per visit.
Your tablet works right out of the box and will be ready to use as soon as you receive it. Simply place your tablet within the stand on your countertop and plug in the power cord. Your business will be provided with a login. Simply log into your dashboard to access your various screens: Points, Dashboard Analytics, and Campaigns. Our Customer Success team is always available to walk you through the application.
Spark Loyalty is built on a rock-solid cloud-based system that utilizes the latest web technology, including micro-services and advanced privacy protection. Our kiosk application running on Apple iPads and other proprietary tablets is used to collect shopper information, such as phone number, name, birthday, as well as visit points and sends that data to our servers for secure storage. Our merchant dashboard then allows businesses to view this data and operate their business-specific loyalty program, including text messaging and email messaging services. We do not resell consumer data of any type and we do not send our own marketing to customers.
Spark Loyalty was developed using industry standard best practices in security. Your private data is encrypted while in transit and at rest in the Spark Loyalty database. If you suspect that your system has been hacked or if you believe points in your system were fraudulently awarded, please contact our team at support@snow.sh
If your equipment does not yet have Spark Loyalty stickers, SnowShoe will supply you with a sheet of stickers to affix to your tablet and Stamps. Take one of the horizontal stickers and place it over the Loyalti logo on your tablet. Then take one of the small purple square stickers and place it on the top of the handle on each of your Stamps. You can watch a video with detailed instructions here.
You’ll need to set up the tablet to add stamps/points for the customer, redeem customer rewards
See our how-to videos for how to set up the tablet here:
Doing Business with Us
SnowShoe aims to make business arrangements as simple and straightforward as possible. That’s why we publish our pricing, provide the real names for our U.S. based customer service agents, and help in every way to make working with our team a delight.
No, SnowShoe does not require a long-term contract to sign up for Spark Loyalty. Your membership is always month-to-month. We believe you’ll love our system so much, that we don’t require a contract to “lock you in.” If you don’t love our system, please tell us and we’ll be happy to help you out.
As a Spark Loyalty merchant, you will be locked into your price from the date you start service. SnowShoe believes in being transparent and clear with our merchants, so we don’t raise rates arbitrarily on our customers. Our current public pricing is $99 per month. If you sign up at that price, you can keep that price forever.
Merchants can cancel at any time, and there is no fee associated with canceling. Please contact our Customer Success team via 707-79-SPARK (EXT 1) or atsupport@snow.sh and they can assist you with your request.
SnowShoe recommends having one tablet and two Stamp per POS location. There is a $20 charge for each additional tablet or Stamp.
Billing begins the day you start using the system, billed the same day one month from then (i.e. installed and billed on Jan. 9, next billing will post Feb. 9)
If you have a trial agreement, then your billing begins one month after the trial period ends.
Troubleshooting
SnowShoe does our best to understand your problem and fix your problem immediately. We don’t out-source our systems to any other providers or rely on other providers to fix things. If something goes wrong, we fix it ourselves — usually in record time!
To reset your password, select “Forgot Password” and enter your email address for the account. Then select “Reset Password” to choose a new password for your account.
Please contact Customer Success to obtain this information. If needed, we will reset the credentials for your account.
Please contact our Customer Success team via 707-79-SPARK (EXT 1) or at support@snow.sh and they can assist you with updating your billing information on file.
We will email you a personalized link to enter your new form of payment.
To restart your tablet:
- Press and hold either volume button and the top button until the power off slider appears.
- Drag the slider, then wait 30 seconds for your device to turn off.
- To turn your device back on, press and hold the top button until you see the Apple logo.
To restart your router:
- Press the power button or unplug the power cord to your router.
- Wait 30 seconds.
- Turn it back on or plug it back into the electrical outlet and wait 30 seconds for your router to reconnect.
To clean your Stamp, spray with rubbing alcohol and wipe dry with a cloth rag. The Stamp contains no electronics nor batteries and will not be damaged by water or alcohol.
To return or replace any Spark Loyalty hardware, contact SnowShoe Support. Based on the request, we will provide tailored instructions for the return or replacement.
To make a return, please notify Customer Success of your plans. We will provide you with the necessary instructions. We currently do not provide return labels in shipments. Returns need to be addressed to:
SnowShoe
1050 SW 6th Ave
Suite 1100
Portland, OR 97204
Shopper Engagement
Spark Loyalty includes a number of features that allow you to reach your shoppers via unlimited text messaging or email. Here are some details on how to use these systems correctly.
Customers input their mobile phone numbers to sign up for your loyalty program for free. Over time, some customers will opt to share their email addresses and birthdays with you as well. You can use this information to reach out to customers even when they are not in your store. Your Spark Loyalty system enables you to communicate with your customers via SMS text messages and email messages. Try sending a Happy Birthday message with an offer for a free item or a two-for-one offer to customers who haven’t stopped by recently. You can also reach out to let your customers know if you’ll be closed due to weather or some other event. Communicating with your customers outside of your store helps to build relationships and incentivize your customers to come back sooner.
To direct messages to them so they do not come across as spam, good for opt-in to confirm correct account info.
Custom campaigns are a way for merchant’s to reach their shoppers with scheduled, ad-hoc SMS and/or email marketing communications. The communications are branded with the merchant’s logo, signature, and custom content that they specify. The communication can also include an “offer,” such as a discount coupon, that the shopper may redeem.
Automated campaigns are marketing communications sent to customers, triggered by preset conditions. These campaigns are not enabled by default for all merchants as they require advanced configuration by our customer success team. They include, but are not limited to, emails to shoppers on the week of their birthday, when the shopper has reached a merchant-specific point milestone, or when the shopper has not been to the business in a while.
- Birthdays
- Lapsed
- Recall
- Milestone
Custom Campaigns are a great way to get more customers in the door, incentivize them to spend more, and push sales for certain items in your store. To get started, log into your Spark Loyalty dashboard here and select “Campaigns” from the left hand menu bar and navigate to “Custom Campaigns.”You can Read our 6-step Guide to Creating a Custom Campaign or Watch our Step-by-Step Tutorial for Creating a Custom Campaign to learn how to create and send a custom campaign straight from your dashboard.
Your Spark Loyalty system allows you to send SMS text messages directly to your customers mobile devices. Text messages can be a great way of reaching your customers any time they are near their mobile device using a casual and personal means of communication. Try sending a thank you message for checking in at your store recently, and let them know about new inventory and services you are offering.
Email campaigns are a great way to send more information to your customers than would be appropriate for a text message. Emails are also a great way to include multiple links to engaging content. Perhaps you are running a social media contest and you want to send a link out to your customers encouraging them to enter. Maybe you have new service providers at your business and you want to send out their photo with a bio about them. Your Spark Loyalty system helps you design and send emails to all of your customers who have opted in with their email address.
No. There are no limits to the number of email campaigns that you can send. Your system includes unlimited text and email campaigns to your customers. Keep in mind that sending out emails too often (more than 3 per week) can start to feel “spammy” to your customers, and that can lead to more opt-outs. Typically we recommend sending out anywhere from one or two campaigns a week.
You will not pay any additional costs to send campaigns. Your monthly subscription includes unlimited text and email campaigns.
Merchant Dashboard
The Merchant Dashboard provides a number of useful tools to retailers who wish to improve their outreach to customers, understand customer behavior and provide great service to your existing loyal shoppers.
In your Loyalty-Admin app, select “Customers” in the left-hand menu. Then select “Recent Checkins” from the dropdown menu. This will pull up a list of your recent customers in chronological order starting with the most recent checkin. You can also search for a customers using the search bar.
To edit the points awarded in case of a mistake or if you want to give extra points:
- Open the Loyalty-Admin app on your tablet.
- Select the “Customer” tab on the left.
- Select “Recent Checkins.” This screen will show your most recent customer checkins at the top, but you can also search for a customer by name, phone number, checkin date and time using the search bar.
- Once you find your customer, you can then go into the customer page. Use the + or – symbols to add or subtract points. Once you’ve finished editing your customer’s points, click the “Update” button to save this activity.
To access your customer data, please contact Customer Success and specify what data you are looking for. We can run reports as needed, and send over your customer’s data. For more details, please contact our team at support@snow.sh
There are two different views of your dashboard accessible to you as a merchant. Your Admin dashboard view is used to create campaigns, edit points, business settings and view analytics. Your Cashier dashboard view can be used by your staff and kept on the iPad for easy access. Your staff will be able to check points, make edits and see recent check ins.
Your dashboard shows you an overview of your entire loyalty program. On your dashboard you can see:
- Number of check-ins by month, week, day and entire history
- Number of emails and phone numbers in your client database
- Number of customers and loyalty category
- Number of rewards awarded in the last 90 days
- Menu options for Customer lists, Campaigns and Settings
- Insights
- Option to reach Customer Support
- Create Custom Campaigns – Email and text campaigns
- Edit home screen message
- Edit reward settings – Points levels and rewards
- Edit points for specific customers
- Review customer information
- Review and restrict flagged activity
- Set access roles. For example, you may want to restrict your cashiers from editing your business settings.
- Once a week, login to review loyalty program activity and note insights to help your business reach its strategic goals.
- If you receive a Flagged Activity email, be sure to check your Flagged Activity under Customers in case there is a problem that needs to be addressed.
- Before sending a campaign, review customer activity to select your target customer and determine your offer.
Unsubscribes; this I how many customers unsubscribed from their emails. We recommend sending no more than 1 campaign message per week to avoid customers getting burnt out from too many messages and choosing to opt out.
Ask your shopper to sign in with their new number, then in the dashboard search for the old number to find how many points they had and add them to the new number.
Block the old number from use if they no longer what that number associated with their account.
If the customer’s birthday is not already entered into the system it will usually prompt after the 5th or 6th visit, otherwise, the customer can log into their account and enter their birthday in here: app.sparkloyalty.net/mypoints/
SnowShoe do not allow this to avoid a customer changing their birthday just to receive additional rewards/offers
You are most likely not opted in to receive messages.
Search your texts for the opt-in text and respond Yes to the opt-in request.
Please also keep in mind that the campaign will send out 10 minutes after the hour scheduled.
Add/Remove through the Spark Loyalty tablet
1. Open App with your business’s logo to access the dashboard
2. Select Customers
3. Search for customer by name or phone number
4. Add points by selecting “+” or manually enter total number of desired points
Remove points by selecting “-” or manually enter total number of desired points
Add/Remove through Dashboard
1. Log in to your Spark Loyalty dashboard from an internet browser, such as Chrome or Safari.
2. Select “Customers” from the left tab
3. Search for the customer by name or phone number in the search bar
4. Add points by selecting “+” or manually enter total number of desired points
Remove points by selecting “-” or manually enter total number of desired points
1. Go into the Spark Loyalty dashboard through a web browser
2. Select “Customers” then “Recent Check Ins”
3. Search for the customer by name or phone number in the search bar and select
4. Toggle “Block Customer” to on
Blocked customers are not able to check in or log points through your business’s Spark Loyalty tablet
Those are redemptions. In the activity file negative points means customers redeemed a reward.
Go to the main dashboard login page, app.sparkloyalty.net/dashboard/ and click “Forgot Password?” below the log in button. An email will be sent to reset your password. If you don’t receive the email, please double check that you’re using the same email connected to your Spark Loyalty account.
Please contact our Customer Success Manager, Karen Jensen at support@snow.sh or call her team at 707-79-SPARK (EXT 1) if you have further difficulties with your password.
Security & Technology
Spark Loyalty includes a number of features that allow you to reach your shoppers via unlimited text messaging or email. Here are some details on how to use these systems correctly.
No, we don’t do that. SnowShoe has a strong commitment to consumer and business privacy. Your data belongs to you and will not be shared with third party vendors for any purposes, including marketing or datamining. SnowShoe will never contact your customers directly for marketing purposes. Your private data will be kept safe with the highest level of security available to our team.
SnowShoe’s unique technology, including the Spark Loyalty system, is highly proprietary and is protected by 32 patents in 18 countries.
Copying, using or re-selling our technology without a license to do so is a violation of federal and international law.
Spark Loyalty was developed using industry-standard best practices in security. Your private data is encrypted while in transit and at rest in the Spark Loyalty database. If you suspect that your system has been hacked or if you believe points in your system were fraudulently awarded, please contact our team at support@snow.sh
Customer data is not cached or stored on your tablet in any way. If your tablet has been stolen or goes missing, SnowShoe will sever the iPad’s connection to our API, removing access and protecting your personal data and your customer’s data.
Please reach us at support@snow.sh with additional questions.
