Discount cards
These can be plastic cards or cards made of cardboard or laminated paper. These are quite often used by employees or business partners. They can be disposable, for one time use, or authorise discounts every time the holder shows the card. They encourage people to shop at a certain place or use a particular service, as they will feel they have a ‘better deal’ than at others.
Loyalty cards
These are great for employers, as they can see when they have returning customers or new customers. They can offer a reward for those who return often, by introducing offers like ‘get your tenth coffee free’ or, ‘half price haircut after your fifth appointment’.
Loyalty cards are most often made of printed card, and the business or organisation will stamp this when a product is bought or a service used. The number of the stamps then usually add up to a certain reward.
Membership cards
These are usually made of plastic and are similar to identity cards. They can store information, such as the holder’s membership package, name, contact details and date of renewal. They can also be printed with photographic ID on the card, as well as having barcodes, microchips or magnetic stripes to automatically scan and send over the information.
With the mention of plastic cards, the first thing that would probably enter our thoughts is a credit card. But apart from credit cards, there are many more plastic cards available which are of great use to us.
An identification card is the most commonly used plastic card and the most important one too. It is a means of being recognised and a sure confirmation of what our identity is. The important information displayed on our identification cards like our name, phone number, address and name of the organisation we work for are of course vital. Even schools have prioritised the use of embedded bar code signatures in identification cards to make their establishments much safer. People without identification cards cannot enter schools without approval from relevant authorities.
Another type of plastic card is a loyalty card. This is clearly visible in department stores, cinemas and grocery stores. These cards are methods to reward customers for their loyalty. You can get great discounts and rewards with these loyalty cards when shopping for certain products. The technique of keeping and rewarding loyal customers can really keep your business growing.
On the other hand, membership cards are similar to loyalty cards. These are a mix of identification cards and loyalty cards. They are given to members of certain organisations, thus granting the member specific rights and privileges in the organisation. Relevant information which is essential to the organisation is contained on the card for identification purposes.
All these types of plastic cards have established their effectiveness in society today. In fact we can say that such technology can lead to a safer and more efficient way of doing business.
Card printers are becoming increasingly popular among businesses in the UK. These card printers can be used to print anything from employee ID cards, loyalty cards, discount cards and membership cards. There are a lot of benefits of installing a card printer in your organisation.
Firstly, card printers enable you to print cards quickly. This means that your employees will not have to wait to procure their identity cards after they have joined the organisation. Moreover, even in the event of the card getting stolen or lost, you will be able to replace the card instantly as all the data regarding the employee’s personal details will be stored on a computer.
Card printers have a lot of benefits for businesses that utilise them. Moreover, these ID cards are of a very high quality and can combine both text and design in an attractive manner. Magnetic strips and other such access related details can also be included in an ID card. A good quality card printer will be able to seamlessly print all these details on the plastic card.
Outsourcing your card printing requirements will make the process of procuring ID cards time consuming. With the help of a card printer, you will be able to meet this requirement almost instantly and in an inexpensive manner. Thus, a card printer is an excellent investment for any business in the UK.
The London Borough of Hillingdon is introducing a multi-application resident card as part of their plans to give local residents access to services at preferential rates.
Consultants from Smartran have had a key role in planning and implementing a residents’ privilege card for the Borough and in June Hillingdon Council issued more than 147,000 resident cards.
The cards provide a variety of benefits including preferential rates at council parking facilities, access to libraries, free entry to the council’s domestic waste and recycling centre, and of course, discounts at participating shops and businesses.
All Hillingdon residents aged 18 and over were automatically issued a HillingdonFirst card, with the offer extended to local resident drivers over the age of 17 also able to apply for a HillingdonFirst card.
Cllr Ray Puddifoot, Leader of the Council said:
“The HillingdonFirst residents’ card will do exactly what it says – put our residents first. We want to make sure those living in Hillingdon pay less for facilities and services provided by the council than those from outside the borough that do not pay council tax in Hillingdon.”
Hillingdon has taken a bold step in launching the resident multi-use card and by launching with these applications, the business case has proved to be stronger and it is anticipated that residents will use the card regularly.
The card has already generated significant interest and there are plans to add other uses and roll it out even further within the community.
90% of UK households have now adopted more prudent buying practices in comparison to the ‘lets just buy it’ attitude because of the recession.
As a result, they have quickly learned to use the opportunities offered at a reasonably discount and media sources such as the internet and loyalty card schemes are saving people large amounts of money.
Businesses offering loyalty card schemes however need to be aware that more and more shoppers are now downloading discount vouchers from the internet which is a significant shift from days gone by and shoppers are now buying more own label brand products.
Customers are also starting to buy smaller sized packs which has not gone unnoticed by larger retailers with many now offering own label products in smaller sizes. The more prudent shoppers are also taking the transport costs into consideration when comparing shop prices and are choosing to shop locally to save petrol. With so many shoppers feeling the pinch, retailers need to keep abreast of such trends and above all, ensure their customers do not perceive them as expensive.
It is important therefore that businesses continue to try and offer money-off or BOGOFF promotions from suppliers and ensure their customers are made aware of them, particularly via their loyalty card holder networks or through the internet.
If you are looking for an effective way to help remind your staff of certain important matters around the workplace, whether it is aspects of Health and Safety, processes or even reminders following an event or training, blank plastic cards is an excellent medium to do it on.
The plastic cards, being the same size as a credit card means that they can be carried by your staff at all times. You can even use different coloured plastic cards for different issues such as red for Health and Safety matters, yellow for learning and blue for reminders on processes for example.
Being made from durable plastic, they are extremely hard wearing and can be attached through the use of a badge reel which is clipped to a belt or lanyards secured around the neck. The possibilities are endless.
The next stage following the decision to make use of the plastic cards in this way is to source either the equipment to complete the printing yourself, or appoint a specialist supplier to do the job for you.
There are many suppliers offering such services, but before doing so, ensure you secure at least three quotes for each option and remember to apply the cost verses benefit calculation (both in the long and short term).
The Government and the Bank of England may be keeping interest rates low and doing their utmost to boost our economy but with the credit crunch continuing to bite, winning new business is still tough.
Whilst the low interest rates may be a bonus for some, many are still locked into fixed mortgage deals so reap little reward.
In more buoyant financial times, many homeowners may have opted to employ professional builders and suppliers to carry out DIY jobs around the home such as converting their loft space, but many are now opting to have a go themselves in order to keep control of their finances and save money.
With this in mind, there is an excellent opportunity for DIY suppliers to pull in some extra business. Competition is still tough but by introducing a membership or loyalty card scheme this could offer many more opportunities to pull in some much needed additional revenue.
Trade accounts offer the opportunity for the professionals to benefit from cheaper discounted prices but with the building trade in the doldrums, it is perhaps an opportunity for suppliers to offer the general public something similar, namely; a discounted loyalty or membership card holder scheme.
Introducing such schemes with realistic discounts and benefits will help generate new and repeated trade and offer the DIY supplier an active additional customer base to further promote future offers to.
There are several experienced and reputable card suppliers out there ready to provide the cards.
Shoppers in Budleigh Salterton could soon find themselves having the option of being able to pay for some of their purchases with loyalty cards.
Plans are being considered to introduce loyalty cards into the town to encourage shopping locally and help keep much needed revenue in the town rather than travelling a far distance to the larger retail outlets.
One innovative concept for consideration is to have an electronic card system whereby the customer is able to ‘load up’ their card by put money onto it which could then be used to buy goods. A pre-pay card in essence.
Another idea for the loyalty card scheme is to charge around £2 per card but in return, every cardholder would receive 10% off every purchase made in the participating retail outlets.
Stores thinking of participating need not worry that they will have to fork out for additional electronic equipment as the cards would be swiped using existing technology so no extra cost would be incurred by traders.
It is hoped that this would encourage shop owners to participate in the scheme. Traders would do well to consider such ideas as there are clear indications across the country that consumers are looking closely at expenditure and if local shops can provide the essential household items at a cheaper cost to the consumer, they are more likely to make use of local shop provision.
Budleigh Salterton’s, Chamber of Commerce chairman, Alan Tilbury is positive saying he thought a loyalty card was a ‘good idea’ and is similar to that currently being considered in Exmouth where the East Devon Chamber of Trade is carrying out market research to gauge the public’s response.
Due to the current economic climate there are some very strong campaigns being introduced by local councils, the press and communities in an effort to maintain revenue within towns.
Many initiatives are falling under the umbrella title of “Keeping it Local” with extremely diverse businesses joining together and endeavouring to put something back into their local communities.
There are many benefits in collaborating with other businesses within your locality. In terms of planning and strategic development, teamwork has long been proved to be more often than not, far more successful than leaving all design and planning to one individual or allocating it out to different organisations.
When brain-storming ideas regarding developing a loyalty/membership scheme to attract more foot traffic and potential revenue, being able to share costs and perhaps even obtain financial support and discounted marketing is an attractive proposition.
There will always be a place for small local and niche businesses, but with the purchasing power of larger out of town shopping centres which the big players tend to favour nowadays, local communities need to fight back and offer something to persuade shoppers back.
Collaborative loyalty card schemes is one such option and have been growing in popularity with businesses in many towns and villages pulling together to offer incentives to attract some of the local and out of town shoppers back.
