Aster
Chapter 10

Promotions

A promotion appears on every customer's card for the period you set. It is the only way in Aster to reach your customers without waiting for them to come back.

Aster communication screen: writing a new promotion, choosing the period, and the history of past promotions.
1

Write your message

The Promos tab gives you a text field limited to 90 characters. That limit is not an arbitrary technical constraint: the message has to stay readable on a wallet card, where space is tight.

  • One idea only. "25 percent off until June 5" is understood at a glance.
  • An end date in the text. It creates urgency far better than a vague phrase.
  • No jargon. The customer reads this between two notifications; they will not decipher anything.
2

Choose the period

You set a start and an end date. The message appears on the cards at the start of the period and disappears on its own at the end. You have nothing to remove.

You can schedule a promotion in advance: it is created now and published when the day arrives.

Only one promotion at a time Aster refuses two promotions that overlap, even scheduled ones. End the current one or choose different dates.

Saint-Louis Coffee

The 10th coffee free

7 stamps out of 10

25 percent off until June 5

Worth understanding

Who sees the message, and who gets a notification

They are not the same people, and the law is what decides.

Every customer sees the message

It appears on their card, in the browser and in their digital wallet, for the whole period. No exceptions.

Only some receive a notification

Those who ticked the optional box at sign-up. That is what Canadian anti-spam law requires, and Aster will not let you work around it.

What this means in practice Do not worry if the number of notifications is well below your number of customers: that is normal, and it is what protects you from a complaint.

How many promotions per month

Free plan

1 per month

Enough to announce a seasonal offer, not enough to communicate weekly.

Solo plan

4 per month

One a week, which matches the rhythm of an active business.

Testing phase

5 per month

For all testers, whatever their plan, for the duration of the test.

See pricing

Troubleshooting

What can go wrong

A promotion is already active or scheduled for this period. End it or choose other dates.

Your two promotions overlap. Aster allows only one at a time, otherwise two messages would compete for the same card. End the current one from the history, or shift your dates.

You have reached your limit of 1 promotion per month on the Free plan.

The quota is calculated on the calendar month and resets on the 1st. Wait for next month, or move to the Solo plan for four.

The promotion is not showing on the cards yet

If its start date is in the future, that is normal: it is scheduled and will be published on the day. If the date has passed, delivery to the wallets can take a few moments.