What is a Loyalty Card Marketing Campaign?

Loyalty Cards are what the name implies. They are used in marketing campaigns which are designed and utilized to maintain a loyal customer to your business.

The best way to explain Loyalty Card Marketing is to use a few campaigns that you would be familiar with.

1. The Discount Card Campaign

A good example of the "Discount Card Campaign" is the membership card that Costco uses. The customer pays an annual membership of around $50 dollars to be able to shop at the Costco Store having access to discount prices. Barnes and Noble has a similar program where the customer pays for a $25 dollar annual membership card that gives the customer a 10% discount on all purchases made in the store.

2. The Point Card Campaign

Second Cup Coffee Houses have had a "Point Card Campaign" for years, it is a variation on the old punch card system, where for every purchase of a coffee the customer receives a stamp or punch in the card and after a certain number of punches the customer receives a free coffee. Today's version is simply swiped across the card terminal that records the number of visits or coffees purchased.

3. The Money Card Campaign

Shoppers Drug Mart has an excellent example of the "Money Card Campaign". This is where every purchase receives points that then tally up to amount of money that can be used to purchase goods and services. Canadian Tire has had a variation of this program for years, with their Canadian Tire Money that is handed out to customers after a purchase is made.

When it is all said and done, these concepts are interchangeable and are really just variations on gift cards. Instead of swiping a dollar amount across a card, loyalty cards are swiped with visits, oil changes, hair-cuts, massage sessions, items purchased, or whatever assigned amount you choose to encourage your customers to return to your business.

A huge benefit of Loyalty Card Campaigns are they act as walking billboards. A word of caution, owners must remember to keep loyalty marketing strategies simple (KISS).

If your staff struggle to understand the benefits of your loyalty strategies then chances are greater that your program can easily fail. Make the rewards attainable for customers, where the benefits are easily identifiable. This will help increase sign-ups.

Although, Loyalty marketing campaigns can be extremely successful, from personal experience in helping many owners implement card marketing campaigns, the real profits in card marketing is in gift cards. To learn the critical success factors in marketing Gift Cards - Click Here

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