A guide for your offer

What makes a good offer

Someone just took the mark next door. They're 500 feet away, on foot, on a whim. Your offer is what turns that into a walk to your counter.

Six things that make it work

  1. 1. Make it small and concrete

    A free cookie, a size up or an extra topping beats “10% off”. It costs you little and it's easy to hand over at the counter.

  2. 2. Attach it to a purchase

    “With any coffee” means every redemption is a paying customer.

  3. 3. Match the moment

    They're out walking right now. A drink, a snack or a scoop fits. “20% off your next oil change” doesn't.

  4. 4. One sentence, no fine print

    It's read on a phone, on the sidewalk. If it needs an asterisk, it's too much.

  5. 5. Use your slow hours

    An offer that runs from 2 to 4 in the afternoon fills tables you'd have empty anyway, and leaves your rush alone.

  6. 6. Cap it while you test

    Start with, say, the first 50 redemptions. You see what it costs before it costs much, and we raise the cap when you're ready.

Offers that work

Written the way they show up on someone's phone. Borrow one, or use it as a start for your own.

  • A drawing of a coffee cup

    Café

    • Free cookie, with any coffee
    • Free size up, on any latte
    • Free extra shot, with any drink
  • A drawing of a croissant

    Bakery

    • Free mini croissant, with any coffee
    • Second cookie free, when you buy one
  • A drawing of an ice cream cone

    Ice cream

    • Free extra topping, on any cone or cup
    • Free waffle cone, with any scoop
    • Free kids' scoop, with any large scoop
  • A drawing of a stack of books

    Bookshop

    • Free tote bag, with any book
    • Free gift wrap and a bookmark, with any book
  • A drawing of a gift box

    Gift shop

    • Free postcard, with any purchase
    • Free gift wrap, on anything in the shop
  • A drawing of a plate with a fork and knife

    Restaurant

    • Free side of fries, with any burger
    • Free lemonade, with any lunch
    • Free dessert, with any two entrées

When to run it

You don't set any of this up yourself. Pick the one that fits your shop, tell us, and we set it up with you.

  • On the big days next door

    Some days we feature the mark next door, and more people come out to take it. Tell us you'd like your offer to ride those days and we'll set it up.

  • In your slow hours

    Pick the hours you want busier, like 2 to 4 in the afternoon. The offer only works inside them, on your shop's clock.

  • For your opening

    New on the street? Run an offer for your first weeks only, capped at a number you're comfortable with.

What to avoid

  • Percentages off big-ticket items

    “15% off any bike” costs you real money, and nobody buys a bike on a whim.

  • Anything that needs fine print

    Exclusions, minimum spends, “not valid with”. If you have to explain it at the counter, it isn't working.

  • An offer you can't honor at your busiest hour

    If a free cookie would slow down the lunch line, keep the offer to your quieter hours.

  • Anything age-restricted

    Offers show to people 16 and up. No alcohol, no tobacco or vaping, nothing you'd check ID for.