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StoneCo
How does StoneCo win merchants and grow revenue?
StoneCo redefined payments in Brazil with local Stone Hubs and a merchant-first model, expanding into banking, credit, and ERP after acquiring Linx. Its green brand and high NPS signal trust while cross-selling boosts lifetime value as the fintech scales across South America.
StoneCo pairs field sales, data-driven digital marketing, and vertical software bundles to convert merchants, reduce churn, and increase transaction share. See product-focused strategy in StoneCo Porter's Five Forces Analysis.
How Does StoneCo Reach Its Customers?
StoneCo’s sales channels blend a dense physical Hub network with a scalable digital channel, enabling rapid merchant reach across Brazil and self-service acquisition via Ton; by Q3 2025 this omnichannel approach supported >4.5 million active clients and an annualized TPV run rate above R$ 500 billion.
Hub distribution model
Localized Hubs staffed by sales and service teams operate within the same communities as merchants, reducing response times to minutes or hours across nearly every significant municipality by 2025.
Ton digital channel
The Ton brand targets micro-merchants through a self-service e-commerce platform and mobile app, driving low-touch acquisition and complementing Hub-driven MSMB sales.
Omnichannel integration
Integration of Linx software transformed direct sales offerings into integrated business management suites, increasing wallet share and raising barriers to competitor entry.
Partner and embedded channels
ISV and marketplace integrations embed StoneCo payments into third-party platforms, creating an indirect channel that materially contributed to TPV growth.
Channel outcomes and metrics
Control over lead generation, hardware logistics and technical support reduces churn and optimizes customer acquisition cost, while channel diversification fuels revenue and TPV scale.
- Active clients: >4.5 million by Q3 2025
- Annualized TPV run rate: > R$ 500 billion in 2025
- Coverage: Hubs in nearly every major Brazilian municipality by 2025
- Sales mix: high-touch Hub MSMB sales + low-touch Ton micro-merchant self-service
For detail on geographic and merchant segments aligned with this sales strategy, see Target Market of StoneCo.
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What Marketing Tactics Does StoneCo Use?
StoneCo's marketing tactics combine data-driven digital campaigns and community experiential efforts to generate leads and boost brand awareness across Brazil's merchant landscape.
Hyper-personalized Segmentation
Advanced analytics segment merchants by vertical and geography to tailor messages for a pharmacy in São Paulo versus a boutique in Recife.
Content via Stone Academy
Educational content on finance, tax and digital transformation builds trust and feeds the top of the funnel before sales engagement.
SEO and Organic Growth
Aggressive SEO supports long-term discovery; content marketing drives organic traffic and merchant education at scale.
Social Commerce & Influencers
Ton leverages micro-influencers in the gig economy to push app downloads and hardware purchases through social commerce campaigns.
AI-driven Email & Predictive Models
By 2025 StoneCo increased investment in AI email and predictive analytics to surface churn risk and credit upsell opportunities.
POS as a Marketing Channel
Payment terminals deliver targeted promotions and feature updates, turning hardware into a direct merchant touchpoint and digital billboard.
Marketing Tactics emphasize measurable ROI, seasonal traditional media and partner-led growth to sustain brand saliency.
Key Tactical Elements
StoneCo aligns sales and marketing to optimize acquisition, retention and monetization across product lines.
- Data segmentation drives personalized campaigns and improves StoneCo customer acquisition rates.
- Stone Academy and content marketing increase trust and reduce cost per lead versus paid channels.
- AI predictive scoring targets merchants for credit product cross-selling and churn mitigation.
- Event-focused traditional media (e.g., Black Friday, World Cup) preserves brand share during peak purchase windows.
Performance metrics cited internally in 2025 showed conversion uplifts: targeted email campaigns improved engagement by 22% and predictive churn interventions reduced small-merchant attrition by 12%.
Operational Details
Execution blends in-house analytics, agency partnerships and merchant-facing hardware to maintain a competitive edge.
- Channel mix optimized weekly using performance dashboards tied to StoneCo sales strategy KPIs.
- Influencer programs focus on micro-influencers with high conversion rates in underserved regions.
- Hardware UI experiments A/B test promotional placements, increasing add-on sales per terminal.
- Cross-functional sprints align marketing campaigns with StoneCo sales team structure and effectiveness.
For context on business model and revenue implications of these tactics see Revenue Streams & Business Model of StoneCo
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How Is StoneCo Positioned in the Market?
A brand rooted in the Partner of the Merchant promise, StoneCo positions itself as the anti-bank for Brazilian merchants, using a vibrant green identity, colloquial Portuguese and a customer-first experience to signal growth, reliability and empowerment.
Brand Promise
StoneCo markets itself as the merchant's ally against high fees and poor service, emphasizing in-person support and a 5-second phone pick-up promise that contributed to multiple Reclame Aqui awards through 2025.
Visual & Voice
The visual identity centers on a vibrant green palette symbolizing growth; the tone is empathetic, transparent and colloquial Portuguese to resonate with small business owners.
Market Differentiation
Positioned as an anti-bank, StoneCo focuses on B2B merchant experience unlike Mercado Pago's consumer ecosystem or PagBank's unbanked emphasis, creating a clear StoneCo competitive advantage.
Software Integration
StoneCo is perceived as the operating system for merchants by integrating payments with business software, enabling cross-selling and upselling via POS, software modules and working capital offers.
Operationalizing the brand requires internal alignment and measurable outcomes.
Stone Way Culture
The Stone Way enforces consistent merchant-first behavior across thousands of Hub employees, aligning sales and service scripts to reinforce trust and reliability.
Customer Acquisition
Merchant acquisition blends field sales, digital ads and partner channels; public disclosures show a focus on scaled merchant growth with product-led adoption and targeted promotions.
Retention & Service Metrics
Service KPIs such as rapid call response and local Hub presence support retention; these operational choices contributed to improved Net Promoter trends observed through 2025.
Go-to-Market Focus
Go-to-market efforts prioritize merchant verticals and software integrations, optimizing the sales funnel and pricing strategy for small businesses to maximize lifetime value.
Measurement & Performance
Marketing performance tracks CAC, activation and cross-sell rates; financial performance marketing targets ROI on campaigns while lowering churn among high-value merchants.
Evidence & Further Reading
For a deeper look at strategy and growth metrics, see the piece on the company's market approach Growth Strategy of StoneCo.
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What Are StoneCo’s Most Notable Campaigns?
Key Campaigns highlight StoneCo’s shift from payments to a full financial ecosystem, using multi-channel creative that connected product cross-selling with merchant success stories to drive deeper client relationships and measurable portfolio growth.
2024-2025 Integrated Growth
The Integrated Growth campaign promoted banking and credit products to existing acquiring clients, using merchant case studies that showcased expansions funded by Stone credit and inventory management via Linx.
Multi-channel Activation
Channels included targeted LinkedIn ads for business owners, localized radio in Hub territories and in-app notifications, aligning StoneCo sales strategy and marketing tactics to increase product penetration.
Quem tem Stone tem tudo
This branding series positioned Stone as a one-stop shop through partnerships with Brazilian entrepreneurs and influencers, reinforcing StoneCo business model credibility among SMEs.
Fortalecendo o Varejo (2025)
During 2025 economic and climate disruptions, StoneCo offered temporary fee relief and free consulting to affected merchants, boosting customer retention and social sentiment versus traditional banks.
Campaign outcomes included a 40 percent year-over-year increase in the credit portfolio and a higher average products-per-client metric, reflecting effective cross-selling and upselling techniques tied to the sales funnel optimization process.
Performance Metrics
LinkedIn and in-app channels delivered above-benchmark engagement, contributing to a measurable lift in customer acquisition and product attachment rates.
Customer Segmentation
Focus on acquiring merchants with existing POS volume enabled targeted credit offers and Linx upsells, improving lifetime value in priority segments.
Channel Mix
Localized radio supported regional trust building while digital ads optimized CPA for business-owner cohorts, reflecting careful marketing budget allocation.
Brand Positioning
Influencer partnerships amplified credibility, translating into improved Net Promoter Scores and social sentiment during crisis-response periods.
Financial Impact
Credit portfolio growth and higher product per client metrics contributed positively to recurring revenue streams and StoneCo financial performance marketing indicators in 2024–2025.
Reputation Management
Crisis relief actions during 2025 improved public perception and differentiated StoneCo competitive advantage from traditional lenders.
Key Takeaways
These campaigns illustrate how StoneCo aligns sales and marketing to convert acquiring clients into multi-product customers while preserving brand trust during macro shocks.
- Integrated Growth drove a 40 percent YoY expansion in credit exposure
- Cross-selling increased average products per client
- Localized and digital channels optimized customer acquisition costs
- Crisis campaigns strengthened retention and social sentiment
Further context on corporate priorities and values is available in the article Mission, Vision & Core Values of StoneCo
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- What is Brief History of StoneCo Company?
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