How Winmark Corporation Added 19+ Million Customers to Their Database

The Fivestars Loyalty Program puts the power of customer retention in your hands. Your unique program helps drive return traffic to your business, as well as attract new customers. Whether you have one location or hundreds, you can easily manage your loyalty marketing with Fivestars by SumUp.

In fact, Winmark Corporation added over 19 million customers to their collective database using Fivestars Loyalty. A nationally recognized franchising business, Winmark specializes in buying and selling quality used products under five different brands: Plato’s Closet, Once Upon a Child, Style Encore, Play it Again Sports, and Music Go Round.

Customer retention is crucial to growth

As a multi-channel franchised resale retailer, Winmark knew that turning one-time customers into repeat shoppers was critical to franchisees’ success. Its franchises were already using email and digital channels to communicate with customers, but Winmark also knew that customers were spending significant time on their phones each day and wanted to capitalize on this engagement.

Winmark needed a tool that would meet the following requirements:

“The more touch points we have, the more brand awareness that we have, the more top of mind we will be with our customers.” - Sarah Broadwater, Director of Winmark Marketing

A single, flexible tool for marketing automation and loyalty

The goal for many businesses is to retain customers while growing their databases. The case was no different for Winmark’s franchises. Here’s a look at a few key loyalty features Winmark took advantage of in order to dramatically increase their customer base. 

Flexible Control Settings

We set up flexible control settings where loyalty points could be shared across multiple Winmark stores of the same brand. Plus, it gave each franchised store the ability to change the special promotions that it runs.

Fivestars Promotions

With the Fivestars Promotions feature, Winmark franchises can now use SMS marketing, giving them the power to reach thousands of customers in a matter of minutes with a 95% read rate on their SMS. 

Plus, franchisees can tag customers and send them targeted messages. For instance, the Once Upon A Child brand has a New Mom Club, and customers in this segment are sent specific offers that relate to a child’s first year. This hyper-specific engagement keeps their brand top of mind and creates a positive experience for customers.

Love Local Network

Our immense network of over 60 million consumers helps anyone easily find businesses in their area with a simple search. Winmark stores were able to leverage this network and turn interested shoppers into paying customers across their stores. 

Loyalty Customer Touchscreen

By using the Loyalty Customer Touchscreen, Winmark customers have a consistent brand experience across all stores. This customer-facing tablet allows customers to control their experiences (signing up, checking in, and redeeming rewards) at Winmark stores.

Fivestars Loyalty Dashboard

The Fivestars Loyalty dashboard allows Winmark’s franchises to view important customer data, helping to identify preferences and interactions that lead to more effective messaging and improved ROI.

The power of Fivestars’ Loyalty Program

Using these tools to attract new customers while retaining existing customers, Winmark’s loyalty program now has 19 million unique customers across Plato’s Closet, Play It Again Sports, Once Upon A Child, Style Encore and Music Go Round. 

As an additional win for Winmark’s franchised locations, they’ve also acquired 1.6 million new customers through Fivestars’ Love Local community. Within six months of joining the program, customers who receive Fivestars Loyalty messages are 2x more likely to return to a store than those who don’t.

“Fivestars Loyalty is a multi-pronged tool. It allows you to engage quickly with customers when they’re spending time on their phones. They’re able to use the technology that customers are used to and are comfortable with. It’s an easy-to-use platform.”

Loyalty and your business

No matter what size of business you run, loyalty is an important factor in long-term growth. On average, 60% of customers don't return to a business after their first visit, so offering an easy way for customers to track their rewards will give them an incentive to return to your business again and again. 

Plus, with Fivestars Loyalty automated marketing, you can create campaigns that are unique to your business and require minimal time from you and your staff. 

Quick transactions with seamless signups 

The all-new SumUp POS + Loyalty brings efficiency to your brick and mortar. Our POS allows you to effortlessly take orders, manage sales, and accept payments with easy-to-use software and reliable hardware.

Best of all, with our built-in loyalty features, you can do all the things you need to do, while also building your customer base with ease. Keep track of customer rewards, send automated marketing emails, and so much more. 

Learn more about POS for storefronts

Start growing your customer base

Read to learn how Fivestars by SumUp can help your business market more efficiently and grow with ease? Whether you need a reliable way to track loyalty, an easier way to market, or a convenient way to take payments while growing your database, we can help.

SumUp Team