If you have a local savings or punch card to incentivize people to shop local in your town, you know how great they are.
If you don’t have a local savings card but are thinking about one, there are a number of different types. Selecting the right one for your community is crucial to its success.
Types of Local Savings Card Programs
Punch Cards
These cards provide shoppers with a stamp or punch every time they spend a specified amount (or buy a certain item) at a local merchant. After completing the card, a prize or additional discount is given.
Percentage Off
Some savings cards provide a specified savings at each member merchant. These cards can be used as often as desired until the expiration date.
Point Collection
This is a loyalty program that gives the buyers a number of points for each purchase. These points can then be saved up for discounts or other merchandise.
Per Merchant
These types of loyalty cards offer unique specials at each merchant.
Why Loyalty Cards and Local Currency Programs Are Complementary, not Exclusionary
A loyalty card makes customers feel valued while a gift certificate makes purchasing easier. You need both.
Cards and certificates are great low-cost advertising for merchants. Their names are on a card in the shopper’s wallet and listed on the website of the hosting organization (like the chamber, economic development council, or the shop local business association).
Both programs can provide good insight into buying patterns of shoppers if you work with a software vendor designed to support it.
No matter what type of local savings card you choose, or have in place, a local gift certificate program is a natural addition and source of non-dues revenue. With a local currency program you can entice more buyers to use your loyalty card because when they purchase the gift certificate it’s a guaranteed spend, while many people sign up for loyalty cards but don’t actually use them.
Conpoto works with lots of organizations that are already using loyalty cards. We can show you how to maximize their potential together. Contact us today.
Image credit via: morgueFile
