Years ago, I was second on the team that built and rolled out True Value Rewards nationally. We spent a long time getting the program right: the enrollment process, the rewards structure, getting stores to actually ask for it at the register. What I learned watching that rollout has stuck with me ever since. Getting someone to sign up for a loyalty program is the easy part. What a store does with that data afterward is where the real value lives, or doesn’t.
I still see this play out today. A store has a loyalty program, sometimes a good one, and enrollment numbers look fine. But nobody’s really looking at what’s inside it. If you’re collecting customer data but never doing anything with it, you don’t really have a loyalty strategy. You have a database.
It starts with leadership, not the register
If you don’t believe the program matters, your team won’t either, no matter how good the rewards structure is on paper. This can’t be something mentioned once at a staff meeting and then handed off to the cashiers to figure out. Program health needs a regular seat at your team meetings: how enrollment is going, whether you’re hitting your goals, what’s working and what isn’t.
Celebrate the wins when you hit a goal, out loud, so the team feels it too. And designate a rewards person, someone who actually owns the program: keeps everyone trained, makes sure the whole team knows the current promotions, and can answer a customer’s question about it on the spot. This isn’t a cashier-only job. It’s an all-hands effort, from whoever’s at the register to whoever answers the phone.
Ask for it, every time
The card or account doesn’t do any good sitting in a customer’s wallet or missing from your system entirely. Asking has to become part of the cashier routine, the same way “did you find everything okay” became automatic. Don’t assume customers will sign up on their own; most won’t unless someone asks them directly, every single time, at the register.
It helps to explain why you’re asking, too. Customers are often more willing to participate once they understand it helps their locally owned store compete with places like Home Depot and Lowe’s, and lets you offer rewards that are actually relevant to them instead of generic.
Capture information you can actually use
An enrollment isn’t worth much without usable contact information. Do you have their email? Their mobile number, with appropriate permission to text them? Without that, you’ve got a name in a system and not much else. Get in the habit of checking whether you’re actually capturing something you can use to reach this person again.
Use the database for more than promotions
Once you have real contact information, email becomes one of the more useful tools in the store. Not just for sales, but for events, seasonal reminders, helpful information, new products and services, and honest reasons to come back in. The same goes for text messages, where customers have appropriately opted in; use it for something timely and relevant, not just because you can.
Loyalty data is also how you find your best customers and invite them to things: an event, an early look at something new, a simple thank-you. It’s a much better use of the list than sending the same message to everyone in it. Your most engaged customers are also often the easiest, most natural people to ask for an honest Google review, without ever offering anything in exchange for it.
Segment it
Not every customer in your database behaves the same way, and treating them all the same wastes the data you worked to collect. Someone buying birdseed and garden supplies is a very different customer from a contractor buying thousands of dollars in building materials, and they shouldn’t get the same email. Don’t forget your Pro and B2B customers here either; they can represent significant sales and behave nothing like your DIY shoppers.
Look past enrollment numbers
The number that actually matters isn’t how many people are signed up. It’s what percentage of your total sales you can associate with a known customer. That’s the real measure of whether the loyalty program is working or just existing.
At HSME, the practical target we work toward with clients is identifying at least 50% of sales through a loyalty or customer account. That’s our own guidance based on what we’ve seen work, not a published industry number, and it’s genuinely hard for a lot of stores to reach. Higher is better, but even moving that number in the right direction tells you the program is doing its job.
One thing to check this week
Pull up your loyalty numbers and ask one question: what percentage of our sales this month can we actually tie to a known customer? Whatever that number is, it’s your starting point. The card was never the point. Knowing your customer well enough to build a stronger relationship with them was always the point, and that only happens once you start using what the data is already telling you.
Thank you for reading! We hope this post inspires you to see new opportunities to strengthen your marketing strategy. At HSME, we’re here to support local hardware stores in navigating today’s marketing challenges and helping you connect with your community, both online and in-store. If you have any questions or want to learn more about how we can support your business, feel free to reach out to us in any one of our channels or send us a message.
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About Renee C Gray and HSME
Renee C Gray is the founder of Hardware Store Marketing Experts (HSME) with over 25 years of experience helping local hardware stores thrive in the digital age. Dedicated to bridging the gap between tradition and technology, Renee understands the unique challenges of small business owners and provides practical, authentic marketing solutions that resonate with your community.