How To Use Plastic Membership Cards To Boost Customer Spending

Membership cards are a staple of many businesses these days – with plastic cards of all colors and varieties filling the wallets and pocketbooks of America. For many consumers, keeping a membership card can be a hassle – it’s just one more thing to carry around, and there’s not much value attached to it.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have your business’ membership cards become something that your customers love to carry around and bring to your cash register again and again? You can – all you have to do is get a little creative when it comes time to get your plastic membership card printing done. Here are a few tips to help you along.

• Spice up your membership cards by making it a special offer card, with a different discount or bonus for every day of the week. Little perks like “5% Off Fridays” or “Double Coupon Weekends” can encourage shoppers to come by your store over and over during the week. Place your deepest discounts on the days where you do the least business and you can get business flowing on what otherwise would be a dry day.
• Use your plastic membership cards as a way to trigger customer visits via a loss leader. For example, if you are a gas station, consider printing an offer on your membership card like “Present this card to get a free 2 liter soda with every purchase of 8 or more gallons of gas.” If you are a grocery store, offer a free magazine of the customer’s choice every visit. Since customers who come in for something “free” tend to make significant impulse purchases at the same time, giving away a low-value item can reap a bevy of increased sales.
• Take advantage of thermal printing technology and create a barcoded plastic card that is tied to your customer’s member account. Have it scanned each time that they make a purchase and store their customer data for marketing purposes. As your customer database grows, you can get a feel for what kind of products sell best, as well as what kinds of products tend to be bought at the same time. You can use that data to craft special offers for combinations of products, tempting your customers to come in for an irresistible deal (and naturally, buy plenty of other items while they’re around).

Membership cards don’t have to be boring or inconvenient – it isn’t too difficult to come up with unique and effective ways of turning them into marketing tools that call out to your customers every time they reach into their pockets.

All it takes is a little creativity, some knowledge of your customers’ needs, and access to plastic card supplier to create a sales tool that transforms an occasional customer into a steady source of revenue. Add a dash of marketing know-how to your plastic membership cards and see how much it can improve your sales year-round.