Preferred Patron

What is Preferred Patron

Preferred Patron is a comprehensive customer loyalty program software designed for businesses of all sizes. Its core purpose is to help companies cultivate stronger relationships with their customers, leading to increased visits, higher spending, and better retention. The platform provides tools to create, manage, and track customized loyalty programs, including rewards, promotions, and gift cards. Preferred Patron Loyalty, LLC. is a US-based company that has developed its platform over many years, incorporating extensive customer feedback to build a robust and user-focused solution. It serves a wide range of industries, from retail and restaurants to service-based businesses, helping them turn casual buyers into loyal patrons.

Preferred Patron Features

Preferred Patron offers a suite of features to build an effective loyalty system.

• Customizable Rewards Programs: Create flexible rewards based on points, visits, or spending. You can set up tiered loyalty levels, offer cashback, or provide exclusive products and discounts to members.
• Targeted Promotions: Segment your customer base using data like purchase history, visit frequency, and demographics. This allows you to send personalized offers and promotions to specific groups for better engagement.
• Multi-Channel Communication: Reach your customers through various channels, including email marketing, SMS text messages, and push notifications via a branded mobile app.
• Integrated Gift Card System: Manage both physical and digital gift cards seamlessly within the same platform. This helps attract new customers and provides an additional revenue stream.
• Automated Marketing Campaigns: Set up automatic triggers for communications. Send welcome emails to new members, birthday rewards, or messages to customers who have not visited in a while to encourage their return.
• Point of Sale (POS) Integration: The platform connects with many popular POS systems, allowing for smooth customer check-ins and transaction tracking at the point of purchase.
• Analytics and Reporting: Access a detailed dashboard with key performance indicators. Track program growth, customer engagement, redemption rates, and overall return on investment to make data-driven decisions.

Preferred Patron Pricing Plans

Preferred Patron offers several pricing tiers designed to fit the needs of different business sizes. The plans are typically structured based on the number of locations, the number of active customers in the program, and the level of features required.

• Starter Plan: Aimed at single-location small businesses, this plan usually includes core loyalty features like point tracking, basic rewards, and email marketing.
• Professional Plan: Designed for growing businesses or those with multiple locations. It often includes advanced features like customer segmentation, automated campaigns, SMS marketing, and more in-depth analytics.
• Enterprise Plan: A custom solution for large chains or franchises. This tier provides the full suite of features, dedicated support, API access for custom integrations, and advanced security options.

Preferred Patron Free Plan

Preferred Patron does not offer a permanently free plan. However, they provide a free trial or a personalized demo for businesses to explore the platform's capabilities. This allows potential users to see how the software works, understand its features, and determine how it can be integrated into their existing operations before committing to a paid subscription.

How to use Preferred Patron

Getting started with Preferred Patron involves a few key steps to launch your loyalty program.

1. Request a Demo: Contact the Preferred Patron team to schedule a demonstration and discuss your business needs. They will help you choose the right plan.
2. Configure Your Program: Once you sign up, you will define the rules of your loyalty program. Decide how customers earn points (e.g., 1 point per dollar spent) and what rewards they can redeem.
3. Integrate with Your Systems: Connect Preferred Patron to your Point of Sale (POS) system. This is a critical step for tracking customer purchases automatically.
4. Enroll Customers: Begin signing up customers at your business. This can be done at the checkout counter using a phone number, email address, or a physical loyalty card.
5. Promote Your Program: Announce your new loyalty program to your existing customers through email, social media, and in-store signage to encourage sign-ups.
6. Engage and Analyze: Use the platform's marketing tools to send promotions and rewards. Regularly check the analytics dashboard to monitor the program's performance and make adjustments as needed.

Pros and Cons of Preferred Patron

Pros

• Comprehensive Feature Set: Offers a wide range of tools beyond basic points, including gift cards, automated marketing, and customer segmentation.
• High Customization: The platform is flexible, allowing businesses to tailor the loyalty program to their specific brand and customer base.
• Focus on Customer Retention: The tools are specifically designed to increase customer lifetime value and encourage repeat business.
• Multi-location Support: Well-suited for businesses with more than one branch or franchise location.

Cons

• Potential Complexity: With many features, there can be a learning curve for new users to master the entire platform.
• Integration Dependent: The effectiveness of the program relies heavily on a smooth integration with your existing POS system, which can sometimes be a technical challenge.
• Pricing Structure: The cost may be a significant investment for very small businesses or startups with limited budgets.

Preferred Patron integrations

Preferred Patron is designed to work with various business systems, especially Point of Sale (POS) platforms. This ensures that loyalty transactions are captured seamlessly at the time of purchase. Common integrations include:

• Clover Integration: Connects with Clover POS systems to automatically track sales and award points.
• Lightspeed Integration: Works with Lightspeed Retail and Restaurant POS for streamlined loyalty management.
• Shopify Integration: Allows e-commerce stores on Shopify to offer a loyalty program to online shoppers.
• Mailchimp Integration: Sync customer data with Mailchimp for more advanced email marketing campaigns.
• QuickBooks Integration: Helps in reconciling financial data related to gift card sales and loyalty program expenses.

Preferred Patron Alternatives

• Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals: A great alternative, especially for e-commerce businesses. It combines loyalty programs with product reviews and user-generated content to build a strong community around a brand.
• LoyaltyLion: Focused primarily on e-commerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento. It offers deep customization options and is known for its powerful analytics.
• Annex Cloud: An enterprise-level customer loyalty solution for large businesses. It provides a very extensive suite of tools, including loyalty programs, user-generated content, and referral marketing.
• Kangaroo Rewards: A comprehensive loyalty marketing platform that serves both retail and online businesses. It offers features like contests, branded apps, and advanced automation.

Preferred Patron API

Yes, Preferred Patron provides a developer API. The API allows businesses to create custom integrations between the loyalty platform and other software systems, such as proprietary e-commerce websites, mobile applications, or third-party marketing tools. This enables a more unified customer experience across different touchpoints. To get access to the API and receive an API key, developers or businesses typically need to be on a higher-tier plan (like an Enterprise plan) and contact the Preferred Patron support team. The documentation, available to customers, provides the necessary endpoints and instructions for making API calls.

Example API Call (Conceptual):

{
  "apiKey": "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "action": "lookupCustomer",
  "customerIdentifier": "customer@email.com"
}

Preferred Patron Affiliate program

There is no publicly advertised affiliate program for Preferred Patron on their website. Businesses or individuals interested in partnership or referral opportunities are encouraged to contact the company directly through their sales or support channels. They may offer a partner program or referral bonuses on a case-by-case basis for agencies, consultants, or technology partners who refer new clients to their platform.