Punchh, The Virtual Stamp Card That Connects A Restaurant’s Cash Register To A Customer’s Smart Phone

Punchh is a CRM platform for the brick-and-mortar business world that takes the old punch card that you get at a coffee shop or restaurant and makes it an app that a restaurant can hook into its point of sale (POS) system.

Today, the company has launched a new customer segmentation tool that allows a restaurant to explore customer sales information down to a granular level. This allows a restaurant owner to segment customers that like tequila, for instance, and send them a discount on their next margarita. With the new service, customers get a dashboard view of their customers that they can use as a foundation to build their campaigns.

The small business needs better CRM capabilities but it has been a difficult task to use digital marketing technologies effectively. Until recently, people went online in their homes. Today, they stand in line for a cup of coffee, a computer in their hands, plugged into the Internet. That opens a new world of marketing but the question still becomes one about actually engaging customers with the service.

Punchh provides restaurants with a virtual stamp card that integrates with POS systems so customers can scan their receipts and get the card stamped. With each stamp, customers may get a reward. In turn, the owner can ask the customer for a review that will be posted to a social network. The service engages customers with games, campaigns and survey — again, often tied to a loyalty program. Here’s a screenshot from a demo the company did last week with me.

Getting restaurants signed up is a problem for a service like Punchh. I downloaded the app through Facebook and was provided with a list of restaurants, including one that is now closed. None are part of the Punchh service. Instead, I was asked to tell the business to sign up for the Punchh service.

I do believe that mobile and ubiquitous connectivity means that there will be more services for brick and mortar businesses that make sense for them to use. Punchh’s challenge is getting small businesses to use the service so customers see a rich resource as opposed to a list of restaurants that the customer has to request be a part of what Punchh offers.