In a Nutshell
pros
- Automatic text and email campaigns for customer outreach
- Segment your customer base to target promotions
- Compatible with your existing POS
cons
- Pricing available by quote only
- Other businesses are marketed to customers on your display
Ideal For
- Small businesses looking to grow their customer base
- Business owners who need a new POS
- Businesses that want to establish a customer rewards program
Why Go With Fivestars
Fivestars is more than just another POS for small businesses. What makes this platform unique is that it combines payment processing with multi-channel marketing for your small company. You can acquire new customers by appearing on the Fivestars local business directory and on the POS tablet at nearby small businesses that also use Fivestars. You can also encourage visitors to become repeat customers by signing them up to a rewards or loyalty program. Fivestars can send things like marketing emails and alerts about new promotions to your customers automatically, so it’s a good option for small business owners who don’t have much time to spend on marketing campaigns.
What’s On Offer
- Free touchscreen tablet and credit card reader
- Use your current POS or process payments with Fivestars
- Appear on the Fivestars app and on the Fivestars POS at local businesses
- Tag and segment your customers to create targeted marketing campaigns
- Set up customized rewards and loyalty programs for your business
- Automate emails and SMS messages to new and inactive customers
- Suggested promotion feature helps you craft messages to customers
- Will match your existing payment processor’s transaction fees
Ease of Use
To get started with Fivestars, you’ll need to talk with a sales representative about your business and provide information about your current customer volume. During this call, you can determine how many promotions your business needs per month and whether you need to use Fivestars for processing payments in addition to marketing.
When you sign up with Fivestars, the company will send you a customer touchscreen and credit card reader at no charge. The touchscreen is the primary device you’ll use to configure your business’s rewards program and promotions, as well as to manage payments and track your performance over time. That said, you can also manage your Fivestars account from the company’s mobile app or online dashboard.
There are a few requirements to keep in mind when getting started with Fivestars:
- Your business must have a WiFi network
- You must provide sales and revenue data
What’s Unique About Fivestars?
What makes Fivestars unique is that it flexibly combines payment processing and marketing for small businesses.
Fivestars makes it easy for company owners to set up rewards and loyalty programs that can attract new customers and retain existing ones. For example, with Fivestars, it’s possible to set up a rewards program that gives customers store credit or a free item after 10 visits. You can also create promotions like 10% off a product category that will be automatically applied when customers check out at your shop. The software can also encourage repeat business by sending rewards to new customers after their first visit or targeted messages based on personal events like an upcoming birthday.
Even better, Fivestars ensures that your rewards programs and promotions don’t exist in a vacuum. Your company appears on the Fivestars local business directory and can be featured on the Fivestars POS at nearby local businesses, helping potential shoppers find out about your brand. The software will also send automated email and text messages to your customers, letting them know about a new promotion and encouraging them to visit your store.
Fivestars also works to prevent your business from losing touch with customers. The software keeps track of when your customers last visited and can automatically send promotional messages if they haven’t returned within the year. You can even segment your customer base with Fivestars and target coupons or other rewards specifically at past customers who haven’t visited your store in a while.
On the payment side of things, Fivestars is flexible. You have the option to process payments using Fivestars or to keep your existing POS if you’re happy with it. If you do want to switch to Fivestars, the company will match the transaction fees charged by your current payment provider. Fivestars can accept all major credit cards and mobile wallets, and you’ll get a credit card reader for free along with your customer touchscreen.
Customer Support
Fivestars offers customer support by phone and live chat, seven days a week. Chat support is available from 6 AM to 11 PM (PT), Monday to Friday. Phone support is available from 4 AM to 7 PM Monday to Friday and 6 AM to 5 PM Saturdays and Sundays.
Fivestars also has an online support center where you’ll find articles covering how to configure your POS and how to set up marketing campaigns.
Pricing (Software and Hardware)
Fivestars offers pricing by quote only. You must enter information about your business and sales volume, and a sales representative from the company will then call you. Pricing will vary based on how many customers your business has and how many promotions you need each month.
For payment processing, Fivestars charges 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction. If your current payment provider offers a lower rate, Fivestars will match it.
Fivestars does not charge anything for your customer touchscreen or credit card reader.
Contract Terms
Fivestars offers month-to-month and annual plans. And you have the ability to export customer data to alternative marketing services, so you don’t lose information if you decide to leave the service.
About Fivestars
Fivestars was founded in 2011 with the goal of making the same marketing technology that Fortune 500 companies use available to small businesses. In the past decade, the company has expanded to serve 14,000 small businesses in the US and Canada and has a network of more than 60 million customers.
Physical Address
Fivestars, 321 11th St, San Francisco, CA 94103
