When people think about business stationery design it is always about business cards, letterheads and compliment slips. However there is another stationery item which can make a huge difference to the number of customers you gain, and more importantly keep. The loyalty card. Loyalty cards are reknown for their use in coffee shops and restaurants, but the idea can be easily adapted to any business where there is substantial competition and repeat custom needs to be positively encouraged.

Introduction to the concept of loyalty

There is a famous statistic which is often quoted by business advisors – 80% of revenue is made up by 20% of customers. Of course, this statistic can’t be right for everyone but it does put the financial emphasis on the importance of repeat customers and keeping your most important customers as happy as possible. This idea of loyalty is now at the absolute heart of modern marketing and some of the largest companies spend a lot of money looking for and implementing ways to increase loyalty from customers. There is even a huge annual event devoted to the subject – Loyalty World in London which is attended by speakers from the largest companies in the world including Google, Facebook, Pepsi Co, Tesco, Sky and others.

Introduction to loyalty cards

Loyalty can be encouraged in a whole number of ways, but the loyalty card is one of the most familiar, simple to implement and successful. For many businesses it is now part of their standard business stationery design. Customers are given the option of a free card on which they can collect points every time they purchase. When full, the card is redeemed for a pre-set reward and the full loyalty card is replaced with a new card so point collection can begin again.

The loyalty card is usually a double sided business card, or fold-over business card. This allows one half to be devoted to the collection of points, while the front side can be used for branding and key contact details. Individual sales are usually marked on the card with a unique sticker, or an ink stamp.

The advantages of using loyalty cards

So what benefits can introducing loyalty cards have for your business? Here are a few ways in which adding a loyalty card to your business stationery design can increase customers.

Advantage over the competition

One of the key advantages of increasing loyalty is to stop customers experimenting with the competition. This isn’t just about buying coffee, it can work for all kinds of businesses both consumer and B2B.  In fact, the greater the individual spend, the less likely a customer is to risk not having that larger sum of money contributing towards the reward. At a salon for example, if a haircut is usually £50 and a loyalty card will provide  a half price haircut after every five purchases then a customer will think twice about risking the £50 elsewhere and not contributing towards this reward of £25. Even through, in real terms the half price haircut only represents less than a 5% discount across the total spend of £525.

Relationship building

However, the equation is not just financial. By offering a reward for loyalty you are showing customers that you understand there is a two sided relationship and reciprocal agreement. By both investing something in the relationship, it is likely to be stronger and last longer.

Advertising & branding

What would businesses usually pay for having their advert in every customers’ wallet – right next to the credit cards. A well designed and well branded loyalty card can act as an permanent reminder and reinforcement of your brand. It also puts your contact details directly at a customers fingertips.

Customer detail collection

A folded business card design allows you to add an additional section to your loyalty card and many of our customers use this for customer data collection. By asking customers to complete some basic information in order to redeem a card you can build up a database of some of your most loyal customers for targeted discounts and advertising. Just make sure your customer knows how you are going to use their data and provide an opt-out option.

Business Stationery Design – Add Design can assist you with all of your graphic design needs, including the design and print of loyalty cards. Click here to view our Business Stationery Design Packages.