A client doesn't come to a service location every week. They cleaned their sneakers in spring, dropped off a down jacket in autumn — half a year easily passes between visits, and in that time they move to the place next door simply because they forgot where they liked it. A loyalty program and segments aren't “for marketing”. They exist so that the location remembers the client before the client forgets the location. Here is how it works in CRM.Knopka — on mechanics that run every day in the SneakNFresh network.
why “a discount for regulars” doesn't work
The most common loyalty program in service is a verbal one: “you've been here before, we'll make it cheaper”. It has three problems.
First, nobody keeps count. The administrator recognizes twenty people by sight, and all the other regulars are new to them. Second, the discount goes to someone who would have come anyway and gives nothing to someone who is hesitating. Third, it doesn't remind anyone of itself: the client learns about the “discount for regulars” only at the register, that is, after they have already decided to come.
A working program does the opposite: it accumulates a benefit for the client between visits, shows it to them on their phone and tells the location whom it is time to write to. Why points alone aren't enough for this was covered in the article loyalty in a service business: why points are not enough. Here we cover how it is built in the CRM.Knopka club.
the club: who is in it and what earns points
The club is not “all of a location's clients”. A client joins the club themselves: through the location's link (a form and consent to data processing), or an employee registers them from the client card. This matters both legally and in practice: points and messages go to a person who has agreed to them.
After that everything happens without people getting involved:
- cashback is credited when the order is picked up, not at intake. Until the work is done and handed over, there is nothing to credit for — so a client can never receive points and then cancel the order;
- the credit base is configurable: from the order amount or from what was actually paid. The SneakNFresh network calculates from what was paid — so points aren't credited on a discount or on an unpaid balance;
- only for orders after joining. Old orders don't earn points retroactively — otherwise the club would give away a year's revenue on its first day;
- a welcome bonus — optional for the location: a few points for joining itself, so the client has a reason to return right away.
A club client is visible at once — a crown stands next to the name in the card and in lists. The administrator doesn't need to ask “are you in our club?”.
levels: why a client should want to grow
Cashback that is the same for everyone is just a discount stretched over time. Levels turn it into a clear goal.
In CRM.Knopka the location sets the levels itself: a name, a purchase-amount threshold and a cashback percentage. A typical scale is Bronze, Silver, Gold, with the percentage growing from level to level. The level is calculated from the client's total purchases and recalculates on its own when the client crosses a threshold.
In the client portal the client sees their level, their balance and a line like “5,000 ₽ more to spend to reach the Silver level” (the amount is illustrative). That is the return mechanic: a person who is one and a half orders short of the next level is more likely to bring their next pair to you rather than to the place next door.
The same place holds the club card with a QR code and a member number. At the register there is no need to look the client up by phone: the administrator scans the QR and credits or redeems points.
how points are spent and how they expire
Points have two limiters, without which the program turns unprofitable.
- Redemption limit. Points can pay for a part of an order, not the whole of it — up to 30% by default. The limit is calculated by the same formula on the intake screen, in the order card and on the server: the administrator sees exactly the amount the system will accept, with no “why was less deducted for me”.
- Lifetime. Points are valid for a limited time from the moment they are credited (365 days in the SneakNFresh network). Expired points are written off with a button in the “Club” section — with a confirmation and the numbers: how many points will expire and for how many clients.
The expiry is not greed but a reason to talk. It makes sense to remind a client whose points expire in a month — and that is the most honest message a location can send.
auto-segments: five client states
The club answers the question “what does the client get”. Segments answer “what should the location do with this client now”. In CRM.Knopka every client automatically falls into one of five segments — by how long ago their last visit was, the number of orders and the purchase amount:
| segment | rule | what to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| VIP | purchases of 15,000 ₽ or more, or 6 or more orders | look after them: personal attention, early access to promotions |
| new | one order, a recent visit (within 60 days) | bring them to a second visit |
| active | more than one order, a recent visit | don't interfere, support them with the club |
| at risk | last visit 60–180 days ago | remind them of yourself now, before they leave |
| lost | no visit for more than 180 days | win them back with a separate promotion or let them go |
The key word is “automatically”. Nobody maintains segments by hand: a client moves from “active” to “at risk” on their own when two months pass without a visit, and back when they bring a new order. The thresholds are the same for every screen: the “Segments” report, the filter in the client list and the choice of a mailing audience all count by one rule, so the numbers don't diverge.
The most valuable segment to work with is “at risk”. These people still remember the location but no longer come. One timely message works better here than advertising to new clients.
mailings: to whom, when and without repeats
A segment without action is just a report. That's why a mailing in CRM.Knopka starts with choosing an audience: by segment, club level or a list of clients. After that, mechanisms work to keep the mailing from doing harm.
- Channels. SMS, WhatsApp* or Telegram — the channel is chosen in the mailing itself, and the client card shows which is more convenient for them.
- Gradual sending. A large mailing can be sent in batches through the day rather than in one volley: the channel isn't overloaded, and the administrator has time to answer clients.
- Repeat check. Before launch the system shows who has already received a mailing in the last 7, 14 or 30 days (the location chooses the window) and offers to exclude them. A client who was written to yesterday about a promotion won't get a second one today.
- “Do not disturb”. Clients with this mark never get into a mailing at all — the icon stands next to the name in every list.
- Text variants. A template can hold several variants of phrases — the messages come out different, rather than one copy sent to a hundred numbers. Before sending you can preview several variants.
- Duplicate and edit. A successful mailing can be duplicated and adjusted for a new segment without typing it again.
After sending, the mailing card shows how many messages went out, how many were skipped and why.
a birthday is a reason of its own
A birthday greeting is the warmest reason to write to a client and the most frequent reason for awkwardness if the greeting reached the wrong person or arrived twice. That's why in CRM.Knopka it doesn't go out “by itself”.
The mailings section has a “birthday in 3 days” block: a list of clients whose birthday is coming up, with “Send” and “Don't send” buttons for each. The administrator decides in a second, and the decision is remembered: the same person won't come up in the list again, and a greeting that was sent won't go out a second time. When the block has birthday people, the “Mailings” item in the menu shows a dot.
how to launch it at your place: five steps
- Set the club program: the credit base (from payment or from the amount), the percentage, the welcome bonus, the redemption limit, the points lifetime.
- Configure the levels. Two or three levels with clear thresholds. A rule: before the first promotion the client should be one or two ordinary orders short.
- Hand out the joining link: a QR at the counter, a link on the receipt and in the messenger. Joining takes a minute and immediately opens the portal with the card.
- Look at “at risk” once a week. It takes about ten minutes: choose the segment, check the repeats, send a short reminder with a reason — a new service, expiring points, the season.
- Answer the birthday block every day. Three days' notice is enough for the greeting to arrive on time.
No spreadsheets: crediting, levels, segments and the repeat check work without employees' involvement. What is left for people is deciding what to say and to whom.
typical mistakes
- A first threshold that is too high. If reaching Silver means spending a client's annual budget, the level turns into decoration. The first step up should be close — within one or two visits.
- Cashback on everything and with no limit. When points are credited on the full amount, including the discount, and spent without restriction, the program eats the margin. The “from what was paid” base and the redemption limit solve this without manual control.
- A mailing to everyone. The same message for VIPs and for the “lost” annoys the former and doesn't move the latter. A segment is not a filter for the sake of a filter, but a different reason for a conversation.
- Repeats. Two promotions in a week to one person is the fastest way to an “unsubscribe”. The repeat check before launch takes a second — don't skip it.
- Forgotten points. Points the client doesn't know about don't work. A portal with the balance and a reminder about expiring points turn them from a line in the books into a reason to come.
The club, segments and mailings work in the SneakNFresh network: 712,321 orders since 2021, 175,834 clients, 70+ locations in 6 countries — across the SneakNFresh network, including locations that keep their records outside the CRM.
frequently asked questions
can points be credited to all clients, not only those who joined the club?
No, and this is deliberate. Club points and messages go only to those who joined themselves and gave consent. For other clients, segments and mailings work through the channels where the client has allowed contact.
what happens to points if the client cancels the order?
Nothing is credited: cashback appears only when the order is picked up. If the order is closed unsuccessfully, there are no points for it.
how often are segments recalculated?
Constantly: a segment is calculated from the client's order history at the moment you open the report or choose an audience. There is no separate “synchronization”, so a segment is always up to date.
can the segment thresholds be changed for your own niche?
For now the thresholds are the same for all locations: 60 and 180 days, and for VIP — 15,000 ₽ or 6 orders. They were chosen from the history of a service network. If your niche has a different visit cycle, say so in your request: the thresholds are changed in one place and for all screens at once.
does the client see their points?
Yes, in the client portal: the level, the balance, the history of credits and redemptions, how much is left to the next level, and the club card with a QR code.
