Since competition has increased tremendously in the modern business environment, it is therefore paramount that organizations focus on keeping customers. Recruiting a new client is 5 to 25 times more expensive than maintaining the existing one, and for this reason, client retention is vital. That is why more and more companies are offering incentives, such as bonus points and other perks, to gain additional business from customers. A cheap yet efficient form of a loyalty card is the PVC loyalty card.
In this context, it is possible to ask the following questions: What are PVC Loyalty Cards?
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) loyalty cards are physical-based cards that can be embossed with company name, logo, and details of the offer. They have a magnetic stripe or a barcode that has to be swiped or scanned for claiming the points. PVC cards are rigid, can be made cheaply especially in small quantities, and little ingenuity can be applied in developing them.
Thus, PVC cards are perceived to have a greater value as compared to paper based loyalty cards and seem like a more stronger commitment from the business point of view for customers who are loyal to the business. As to the customers, they also keep their plastic cards for a longer period than losing easily the paper cards.
Advantages of using PVC Loyalty cards
There are many advantages to using custom PVC loyalty cards as part of your customer retention strategy:There are many advantages to using custom PVC loyalty cards as part of your customer retention strategy:
1. Encourage Repeat Business
The main strength of using the cards is encouraging people to return and purchase more in order to benefit from the discounts offered. It can be a stamp card that is presented to the customer as a card that needs to be ‘replenished’ with visits, or a points card where spending equals points that can be used to pay for an item, there must always be proper structure in a program to ensure customer returns.
2. Build Customer Loyalty
The general public enjoys the feeling of being valued and this comes with the being offered a reward on their loyalty. A PVC card affirms their association with your brand that paper cards maybe cannot offer. It also gets them feeling like a VIP, the special rewards or redeemable points that you offer to them. This is not only beneficial in terms of cost but also enhances the prospects of brand preference or allegiance being built.
3. Customer Data and Insights
The idea is that with a loyalty program you can gather customer contact information and data on their buying behaviour. This proves useful in enhancing products, services and marketing strategies through effective analysis and intelligence. Whenever a customer is exposed to promotions, which have something to do with their past purchases, customers are made to feel special.
4. New Customer Referrals
It has been seen that when the members of a reward program are satisfied, they are likely to recommend your business to their friends and other known people. Their card also elicits some level of curiosity when used in social circles. A sturdy PVC card of size 90 x 55 mm with a hole punched through it ensures that your brand proposition is recommended. It is basically using a form of free advertising that can be as powerful as word-of-mouth advertising.
5. Cost-Effective Marketing
PVC card programs, therefore, make low-cost customer retention solutions that are cheaper compared to discounts, advertising expenses, and attracting new customers. The cost of the card is as an investment in the long run than to be portraying new faces that have no idea on your brand. Reimburse them for their hard earned loyalty which enhances a cashless option.
6. Versatile Rewards Platform
Loyalty cards can help small businesses to come up with unique rewards to offer customers since they don’t have a very large marketing budget to work with. Free products/services, percentage and other discounts, store credits, and other prompt services are some of the rewards one can think of. Another advantage of cards is that it can have a scale for different levels of the loyalty programs.
“This strategy is difficult for the competition to replicate as it requires a large amount of money and a well-established distribution network.”
All the stores and businesses today have a plastic card loyalty program so it is not easy to look for something new to offer. This is perhaps the reason why custom designed PVC cards enable you to make that all important difference from the pack. It would be difficult for your competition to copy your brand logo, color theme, card shape/size, and creative rewards program.
PVC loyalty cards for your business: tips and tricks
To maximize the impact of your loyalty card initiative, incorporate these best practices:To maximize the impact of your loyalty card initiative, incorporate these best practices:
- Allow registration with simply an email or a mobile number to create a user account. Reduce friction.
- Provide your-custom designed cards with appealing looks that are a reflection of your brand image and theme.
- Ensure that the rewards are enticing enough to make potential customers look forward to making a repeat purchase.
- Advertise the program as much as possible in the stores, as well as through the internet and receipts to ensure customers are informed.
- Educate staff on what to say about the program and make sure they should remember to swab their cards each time.
- Employ the collected data to properly categorize customers and make the right promotions for the customers.
- Use flash sales, bonus reward period, and event as modes that are exclusive to members to excite them.
The Possibilities are Endless
This way of organizing the PVC loyalty card enhances the customer satisfaction level and encourages the customers to purchase more products and increases the loyalty in the long run. Printed on thick paper or plastic, long-lasting custom loyalty cards are more effective in appealing to consumer psychology than basic paper cards.
By putting some innovation into it, one can find a number of designs for the show and several options for the rewards. The cards could be of different colour, shape or could be made more specific with member names inscribed on it. Membership identification that is assigned to special members is another method of indicating superiority. Campaigns related to events such as Black Friday and holidays are entertaining while at the same time increasing the sales.
The relatively low initial and recurrent expense of PVC card programs are therefore offset by high economic returns when compared to other marketing strategies. It is recommended to begin strengthening the repeat-purchase concept with the only target audience segment ready for repurchasing from you — your satisfied customers. Offering them even more does build a real loyalty beyond the irrational impulses of short-term coupons and incentives.
