In a tough economy, consumers are more careful about when and where they spend their money. When a business gives them a little incentive, it helps cut down on their expenses and increases traffic to the store or merchant. One way to do this is through membership. Frequent patrons of a business are rewarded for their loyalty with discounts and special deals when they present their membership cards. This benefits both the customer and the merchant.
Savings
When customers use discounts cards, they have more money to spend on other things. This either prompts the customer to make purchases in the store they would not have otherwise made, or spend more because they saved more. Membership loyalty cards are one way of rewarding frequent customers. If they have memberships cards, they can present them at the register and pay less. One common way to remind them is to have a cash register receipt print out how much money they saved that day by having their membership card scanned.
Environment
Discount cards are now more earth friendly than they used to be. Businesses can use ones that are made from recycled and repurposed materials. Trb system are more likely to either be recycled again or will spend less time in a landfill than previous types of membership cards. They can be made from materials that are compostable, biodegradable and otherwise environmentally-friendly.
Cost-Effective
They are printable from the store’s location. This means that large quantities of pre-printed card product do not have to be ordered in advance. The blank stock can be ordered, then printed on-site with whatever message or logo the merchant sees fit. When one promotion is over, another can be printed on the exact same card stock. This saves the company money and allows it to run different types of promotions with different membership cards.
Marketing
One of the most important parts of distributing these loyalty and membership cards to frequent customers is for marketing purposes. The merchant now has the name, address, telephone and e-mail address of each customer. This makes it possible to send them marketing materials. It also makes it easier for businesses to get a handle on the demographics of their customers. Sending marketing materials to potential customers by zip code is nice, but it is nicer when the business knows which zip codes harbor the majority of their clients. This is where they are likely to find more loyal customers. These are helpful marketing tools and they also help the customer feel more special. Limited offer in-store specials and coupons can be sent to customers when the different types of items they purchase are recorded on their account. This creates an incentive for them to come back and purchase something the merchant knows they like.