The car care club card program?

[TonyD]

Any one used or heard of this style of sales where you bundle say ten repairs or discounts together and sell them at a one time low price usually good for the year i think. WE have never used this type of marketing to our clients but always looking for new revenue streams and incentives for our customers , in theory i guess you take a hit off the bat , but the goal is it to create loyalty by keeping them coming in and hopefully selling some profitable work along the way . any feedback would be great if someone has used it, did it work ? waist of time? ect ect...

[ATLAuto]

I've been thinking a lot about loyalty programs as we finish up our renovation and move toward re-opening (lot of down time right now). I've read quite a few white papers on this but am by no means an expert. Here's an example from Stanford: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/research/mktg_viard_rewards.shtml

 

I'll try to summarize it: The purpose of a loyalty program is to change customer habits. For example, setting up a "get your 10th oil change free!" loyalty program would have the goal of getting customers to do oil changes at your shop rather than wherever they felt like going. However, research has shown that the bulk of customers are not swayed by that any more than simply doing a reputable job, good service, and competitive pricing. After all, a "10th oil change free," is only a 10% discount on an already fairly cheap service.

 

Additionally, most loyalty programs reward "loyal customers," which are by definition, customers that are coming back to the shop regularly anyway. This defeats the entire initial goal, which is to change consumer behavior. If they are coming back to the shop anyway, a loyalty program is unnecessary for them. You can still certainly do it for them as a favor, but do not kid yourself that it is what brings them back.

 

In general, the paper summarizes that the loyalty program $$ could be spent much better elsewhere.

 

Again, I am not an expert on this at all ... just something I have been thinking a lot about as we develop our overall marketing plan. There are plenty more research papers out on this.

[ATLAuto]

(duplicate post)

Edited February 24, 2014 by Wes Daniel

[Joe Marconi]

Premium Member Content 

This content is hidden to guests, one of the benefits of a paid membership. Please login or register to view this content.

[TonyD]

excellent points gentleman , and i agree with the price aspect i have never agreed with advertising price this is how i feel we attract the "wrong type of Customer". my thoughts were more toward first timers at the shop or the valued minded consumer, but i can see how it would affect our bottom line if we were not careful. what a tight line we walk > thanks for the insight

[mmotley]

Just got done reading a chapter in a customer service book that touched on 'loyalty/reward programs'. The author mentioned that loyalty programs don't have be tied to discounts. He mentions maybe inviting some of your best customers for an annual dinner party. Or an art show. Or fashion show. Bring in a chef and have him cook for everyone.

 

Just thought I would throw the idea out there