Sending Messages to Customers
This guide covers manual broadcasts — messages you send on demand. For scheduled or triggered messages (birthday, win-back, welcome), see Messages and Campaigns.
How messages work
Messages in Passtastic are push notifications delivered through Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. They appear on your customer's lock screen — not as SMS or email.
Messages are plain text only (max 160 characters for best delivery). Links, images, and formatting are not supported by Apple/Google Wallet.
Sending a message from the dashboard
1. Open Programs from the sidebar and pick the program you want to message.
2. Click Send Message on the program page.
3. Write your message (max 160 characters recommended).
4. Send. The message is delivered to all customers who have this card installed.
Sending to a specific segment
You can target messages to groups of customers instead of everyone.
1. Open Customers from the sidebar.
2. Click Send Message to Group.
3. Choose your target audience:
- All Customers — everyone with the selected card
- Customer Segment — a specific group
4. If you chose a segment, select one from the list. You'll see a preview of how many customers will receive the message and the estimated delivery rate.
5. Write your message and click Send Message.
Smart segments (built-in)
Passtastic automatically creates these segments for you:
- All Customers — everyone who installed the card
- Inactive (7+ days) — haven't visited in a week
- Inactive (30+ days) — haven't visited in a month
- Frequent Visitors — 10+ visits
- New Customers — joined recently
- Ready to Redeem — completed their stamp/point card
- Never Scanned — installed the card but never used it
- High Value Customers — high purchase value
- Low Engagement — minimal interaction
These are available on all plans.
Custom segments
On Multi-Location and Groups & Brands plans, you can build your own segments using combinations of criteria (visit count, inactivity period, card type, custom fields, etc.).
Create custom segments from Customers → Create custom segment.
Tips for effective messages
Keep it short. 160 characters or less delivers best. Think of it as a text message, not an email.
Be specific. "Free coffee this Friday" works better than "We have a special offer for you."
Create urgency. "Today only: double stamps on all drinks" drives immediate action.
Use for the right occasions:
- New promotions or seasonal offers
- Reminding inactive customers to come back
- Announcing events or schedule changes
- Rewarding loyal customers with exclusive deals
Don't over-send. Too many notifications and customers will delete the card. A good cadence is 1–2 messages per week at most.
Manual messages vs. Campaigns
Passtastic has two ways to reach customers with a push notification:
| Manual message (this guide) | Campaign | |
|---|---|---|
| When | You send when you decide | Fires automatically when a trigger condition is met |
| Audience | All customers or a segment | Customers who match the trigger (e.g. birthday today) |
| Reward | Notification only | Notification, plus optional stamps/points or staff-side discount |
| Use for | Promotions, announcements, one-off pushes | Birthday, win-back, welcome, milestones, calendar dates |
| Plan | All plans | Birthday on all paid plans; all 14 triggers on Multi-Location and Groups & Brands |
See Messages and Campaigns for how to set up campaigns.