A membership card is more than just a piece of plastic or digital file in a member’s wallet. It is a personal ticket into an exclusive world of discounts, privileges and unique experiences.
A digital membership card leverages technology already on a member’s phone like IR, QR, bar codes and fingerprint or facial recognition to do the heavy lifting.
Marketing
A membership card is more than just a piece of paper; it can be a tool that elevates customer loyalty and include features like barcodes or QR codes. It can provide access to exclusive perks, make people feel special, and help them feel like they belong. Whether you use physical cards or digital ones, it’s important to think about how to use them in your marketing strategy.
Using membership cards to track member information can also be a valuable marketing tool. This can help you identify trends in purchasing behavior and create targeted communication with your customers. For example, you could send out push notifications or in-app messages about ingredient breakdowns or personalized discounts based on members’ profiles. This can help you to build stronger relationships with your customers and increase conversion rates.
In addition, membership cards can be a great way to promote your organization and its mission. This can help you attract and retain members, which in turn can lead to more revenue. It is reported that 57% of people spend more money with brands they are loyal to, and a membership program can help you create this type of loyalty.
Having a membership card can also give your company a sense of professionalism and legitimacy. This can be especially helpful for smaller businesses that are still building their brand image. It’s also a good idea to use a professional printing service that can provide custom designs and other features, such as barcodes, magnetic strips, signature overprint, and embossed or raised print, to make your membership cards stand out from the competition.
Loyalty
When customers see their membership card, they are reminded of the value that your organization provides. This is a great way to build customer retention, and it’s more profitable for businesses to retain existing customers than it is to spend money on finding new ones.
Many membership cards offer exclusive benefits that help to build customer loyalty and enhance the emotional connection with the brand. Examples of these include cost savings, personalized offers and promotions, and accumulating points that can be redeemed for free goods or services. These types of benefits are often highly sought-after by customers and can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction (Gensler et al., 2018b).
Membership cards also allow for easier interaction with your business during checkout. PassKit PassDesign lets you create a unique card that includes all of the information your business needs to process payments, including member names, status, and tier point details. It can even include location-based alerts that send special discounts to loyal customers when they’re close to your business. This helps to drive foot traffic and increase customer engagement, without requiring expensive integrations or loyalty card scanning equipment.
Physical membership cards can be a big hit with younger generations, as they can make them feel like part of a club or an elite group. They can also be a great reminder of the value your organisation has provided and may lead to them wanting to renew their membership. Digital membership cards, however, have a lot of advantages over traditional ones, as they can be enroled instantly and don’t require people to carry around a physical card with them. They can also be redeemed online, which makes them more convenient to use than a printed version.
Access
For some organizations, a physical membership card is still an important tool for attracting and retaining members. Oftentimes, they provide valuable perks and benefits that cannot be replicated online. From exclusive discounts and perks to access to private events or clubs, these benefits are a way of demonstrating that the organization is truly dedicated to their members.
Additionally, a member’s loyalty can be rewarded with a series of vouchers or offers that are specifically tailored to their individual preferences and needs. This level of personalization can make them feel like VIPs, increasing their brand loyalty and making them more likely to return.
Furthermore, a digital membership card can help increase the value of a member’s experience by allowing them to easily redeem their discounts or use their preferred payment method. This convenience also makes it easier for them to shop and spend more money with the organization, which can lead to higher revenue.
In addition, digital cards can provide an extra layer of security that paper or plastic cards do not. They can be encrypted and protected by passwords or biometric authentication (like fingerprint or facial recognition), so only authorized users have access. In the event of a breach, digital cards can also be remotely deactivated or suspended.
Finally, a digital membership card can help streamline and simplify the process of distributing and updating them. This can save staff time and resources, which can be better spent on other aspects of your membership strategy. Plus, it reduces printing and distribution costs, which can be significant for smaller organizations.
Security
From a bird’s eye view, digital membership cards operate in much the same way as physical membership cards do. They are a representation of the cardholder’s tie to an organization, provide access to specific perks, and often link with POS systems to track member activity.
However, digital membership cards can offer some unique advantages. Firstly, they are far more secure than their physical counterparts. This is because they typically offer two-factor authentication and are encrypted so that only the cardholder has access to their information. This helps to minimize member data breaches and fraud.
Additionally, digital membership cards can be made compatible with popular mobile wallet apps to offer members a convenient and secure way to show their membership card and enjoy perks. This makes it easier to scan and verify membership details as well as allowing for on-the-fly changes to members’ level of access or perks when they upgrade their membership or earn new rewards.
In addition to this, digital membership cards can also be configured to allow for anonymous purchasing options, which is especially important for e-commerce retailers selling personal or intimate products. This simple adjustment can help to avoid embarrassment for members when purchasing sensitive items.
Value
Membership cards offer more than just a way to identify your members. They are a symbol of value and belonging. A physical or digital card represents the fact that your member is part of a community, club or organization that brings meaning and purpose to their lives. Membership card benefits can also help your member save money, get special access and enjoy exclusive experiences that are not available to the general public.
When your member is able to show their card at a store or event, they can avoid having to give out their information over and over. This is a convenience that many members appreciate. It’s also a great way for companies to build a picture of individual customer behavior and choices over time.
For example, some membership cards have a magnetic strip or microchip that allows for the capture of data at the point of sale. The data can then be used to send targeted offers and content that are relevant to your member’s interests. This type of personalized engagement increases customer satisfaction and loyalty, which in turn leads to more revenue for your company.
Many membership programs are designed to encourage growth and loyalty through tiers of levels that offer rewards for reaching certain milestones. A well-designed membership card can be a tool to highlight these tiers and encourage your members to keep growing with you. This self-sustaining marketing can reduce your need to invest in other forms of advertising, such as direct mail or outdoor marketing. It can also free up your staff’s time to focus on other membership engagement strategies.
