If you have ever visited Las Vegas you may have come across Harrah’s casino — it’s hardly a standout against the palatial Venetian and the Wynn buildings. But it has consistently been one of the top earning casinos on the Stip. So how have they managed to keep up business in an era of billion-dollar competition and what can a florist learn from them?

The secret of Harrah’s success has been its Total Gold loyalty program. The program was launched in 1997, against the backdrop of tremendous investment, spurred by more relaxed gaming laws. Harraha’s was about to be made obsolete by huge competitors with deep pockets creating glitzy buildings and luring in brand name celebrity performers.

Harrah’s realized they could try to invest in infrastructure to lure in new customers — or they could invest in their existing customers. Instead of following the lead of the competition, they developed a loyalty program powered by sophisticated IT. The results? Billions of dollars in extra top line revenue over the subsequent five years, and hundreds of millions in additional profit.

Every local florist has thousands of customers — but what are they doing to lure them back every month? Carefully targeted marketing emails and loyalty points should be at the heart of any small businesses arsenal to compete against larger, better funded competitors. When thinking about customer loyalty, think about how they do it in Las Vegas.