I was standing in line at the supermarket the other day and, as if on cue, the clerk asked me if I had a discount card. Without thinking about it, I swiped the punch card on my key ring across the scanner, got my discounts, and went on about my day.

It didn’t dawn on my until a few hours later; sitting in traffic on my way home, just how often I “swipe for discounts” at different stores all over the city. Staring at my colorfully overloaded keys, I began to wonder, “When I scan my punch card, what’s in it for the store? Suddenly, I was on a quest for answers.

An Equivalent Exchange

It turns out, those portable key-sized punch cards pack a wallop. Have you ever wondered how stores organize and determine sale items? Yes, the answer is partially seasonal. Stores have to stock what’s in-season and then offer incentives to move that stock before the next season begins, but the other part of the sales equation gets continually swiped at the register.

Punch cards are used as an invisible marketing strategy. Stores used these plastic cards to collect purchase-related information on their customers. It’s not a conspiracy theory. The strategy simply tells the store owner:

• How often you stop in
• What your favorite item is
• What items are bestsellers

Stores can take the information and use it to customize sales that are geared toward a specific portion of their customer base. The customer gets the discount and the store owner get valuable analytics to improve their sales.  

Evolve & Survive

The surge in mobile marketing and the widespread success of QR Codes has added a new dimension to the customization process. It’s called geo-fencing. Store owners can set up an invisible promotional parameter around their store location. When someone with a smartphone enters that parameter, they are automatically sent in-store promotions for nearby stores.

This is one of the biggest ways that brick and mortar stores are evolving with the digital and mobile age. If you haven’t tried this trick yet, now’s your chance. Contact us on our website: www.plasticprinters.com. We’ll help you choose the best punch card for your business. After that, you’ll be testing out this and other marketing strategies in no time!