The Ber-months playbook
September to December is a third of the year and half of many shops’ revenue. Plan the bonus windows, the missions and the gift rewards before the first parol goes up.
Christmas in the Philippines starts in September and ends in January. A loyalty program that treats it as one long season, with a plan, outperforms one that runs a promo on the 20th of December because everyone else did.
01
September: fill the card before the rush
Run a bonus window on your slowest days so regulars arrive in December one or two stamps from a reward. A customer who is close to a reward chooses you over the shop next door without being asked. Two-times stamps on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through September is enough.
02
October and November: missions, not discounts
“Visit four times in November” costs you one bonus and buys three extra visits. A discount costs you margin on every visit including the ones you would have had anyway. Set one mission per month, name the bonus plainly, and put progress on the card where they can see it.
03
December: gifts, and the 13th month
Turn the reward catalog toward gifting: a reward a member can send to another member is pasalubong they do not have to carry. The 13th-month pay lands mid-December; a gift card with a small bonus (“load ₱500, get ₱550”) is the one promotion that brings in money rather than giving it away. Then stop. January is for the win-back.
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What the suki already knows
