Membership cards

Membership cards are a very common tool used by companies in order to get loyal customers that will regularly buy from them, rather than their competitors. However, as the world continues to grow and become more modern, more and more companies have online memberships that don't give you a physical membership card which actually ends up hurting them. One of the main reasons is that if one has a card, you are reminded of that store every time you open your wallet whereas, with an online card, you only think about it when you're on their website. Besides this, there are many other reasons that factor into companies profit and marketing strategies.

Another reason physical cards are better is that they make the customer feel more valued and important because the company took the time to make them a card, which in reality isn't that much work but it still makes the customer feel special. Also, when it comes time to renew the membership, if they have a physical copy they feel more connected and thus want to renew their membership compared to online, people may see it as just another random membership and therefore go to a different brand rather than renew yours. Additionally, the higher the quality of the card, the higher the quality the customer will see the company as.

There are practical uses for a physical card as well such as the fact that it can serve as a form of ID which can be used to access events and benefits. Depending on the company, cards can make the customer feel that it adds to their status because they are associated with a certain brand or group and with this, they will continue to stay with that brand if there different steps, like membership levels because it pushes them to want to get the highest level. Overall, physical membership cards are much more useful and successful for companies compared to online memberships.

Source: https://cpscards.com/how-a-membership-card-can-help-you-retain-members/




Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 20, 2019 at 6:43 PM

    Very interesting post! While I agree that a physical card has several benefits over an online memberships, there are some other advantages to an online membership that you didn't talk about but are important to consider. It is much easier to manage and keep track of an online membership. Customers can track their progress towards higher levels and instantly lock new rewards. In addition, physical cards are easy to lose or misplace, which I have often experienced. Lastly, with online memberships, less resources are used because it is not a physical card.

    Source: https://blog.accessdevelopment.com/index.php/2014/09/card-based-vs-digital-loyalty-programs

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 20, 2019 at 10:15 PM

    This is a great post and I've really never thought about this perspective. However, I think we will soon see that everyone's memberships will be transferred to digital wallets, such as what Apple is trying to do with Apple Wallet. I can see a virtual wallet being much more appealing and readily available, removing the need to carry around anything but your phone. This also includes a different side of economics such as dependency on smartphones and the monopolization of the smartphone industry, which I won't talk about now since it's irrelevant.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 23, 2019 at 3:57 PM

    Nice post Lisa!! And now that I think about it, I can't really remember the last time I got an card from a store! Which is crazy. And although there are the really cool positives you've mentioned, it might be important to consider the opportunity cost of the stores for producing the cards as well. Lots of money might be involved, lots of paper, etc. However, if stores did turn to emailing and online sorts of things instead, their opportunity cost would be very low. Which might be a reason why stores have considered switching.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 26, 2019 at 9:25 AM

    This was is really cool and reminds me of some research I did on brand marketing. When consumers feel more connected to a brand they are more likely to use their service more. In this case, because they're carrying a card that belongs to the stre everyday, they feel extremely connected to it. These cards to a much better job of connecting to customers then say, simply having your phone number attached to your safeway card.

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