PPB April 2015

Be The

Go-To Source

HIRD IN A FIVE

PART SERIES

APRIL 2015 •

PPB

• 55

ONE WAY TO MANAGE a loyalty program is through a loyalty card. Just

about every consumer company, from grocery stores to yogurt shops, has a card

to encourage customers to come in often and collect points

toward discounts or free items.

Loyalty cards are usually wallet-sized

plastic cards containing a barcode or, most

often, a magnetic stripe that can be

processed at a retailer’s POS terminal, says

Debbie Devinney, director of sales at supplier

Continental Plastic Card Co. (UPIC:

QUICARD). The company that provides the

POS terminal can also help manage the data

collected—typically name, address, email and birthday. However, be aware that

processing a loyalty card through a POS system does require additional software

and there also may be a transaction fee associated with each swipe. Distributors

should advise their clients to check with their POS providers and shop around

for the best deal.

Most loyalty cards are affixed to a cardboard carrier

or backer and placed in a stand next to the cash regis-

ter, making it easy for customers to pick up. In addi-

tion, companies need to promote the use of their loyalty

cards. For example, restaurants promote their loyalty

programs on their menus and on tent cards placed on

dining tables.

Continental Plastic Card has produced loyalty

cards used by Fred’s Inc,. a regional chain of discount

retail stores in the Southeastern U.S., and for the New

Jersey-based restaurant, Charlie Brown’s. The Fred’s

card also includes one

or two keytags and

works off of a barcode.

“The end user fills out

the application, hands it

to the cashier, and the

cashier signs them up

with the barcode off the

card,” Devinney explains.

“Fred’s has gone into the millions of orders—and

reorders half a million at a time.” Charlie Brown’s has

been issuing a loyalty card for about eight years and

orders 25,000 at a time, once or twice a year. “If the

clients can market it properly, there are great rewards

not only for the end user, but for the retailer through

repeat business,” she adds.

—Tine Berres Filipski

Loyalty Is In The Cards