Customer Loyalty Program- PC Plus Loyalty Program

The third customer loyalty program I will be discussing in this post is about the PC Plus Points Card.

The PC Plus Points loyalty program is basically a points card where you earn points upon the purchase of certain items that qualify for this program. The items that qualify for this program are given an addition yellow or white label on the shelves at the stores, this indicates to the customers if a certain product qualifies for the program and lets customers know how many points they would earn if that specific product is purchased. You earn in points, whereby 1000 points translates into $1; 2000 points into $2 and so on. The minimum redemption is 20, 000, this means you need to earn at least 20, 000 points ($20) in order to redeem your points. The PC plus points program can be downloaded onto a mobile as an app to monitor and earn points.

When you want to earn points, the mobile app will provide a digital image of the card that can be scanned by the cashier. This program offers an online account in order to monitor points as well as be informed about current deals on products in the online weekly flyers. The program is offered and operates in numerous stores in Canada such as the Atlantic Superstore, Dominion (Newfoundland and Labrador), Bloor Street Market, Extra Foods, Fortinos, Loblaws, Loblaws City Market, Loblaws Great Food, Provigo, Provigo Le Marché, Real Canadian Superstore, Save Easy, Valu-mart, Your Independent Grocer, and Zehrs stores. In order to apply for this program you must 14 years of age. To join this program, you can simply walk into any stores stated previously and ask at the customer service or the cashier for a PC plastic card. Along with the card is offered additional information as to where to apply online and contact numbers to provide assistance for registration. Then you go online on 'pcplus.ca' and click 'join now'. There it will provide you with three options that depend on whether you have the PC plus points card, the PC Financial Card, or you want to download the app onto your mobile.

As you begin using the card on your purchases, the program will then observe those purchases and based on that, it will provide you with online weekly flyers that are customized according to your interest. The program conveniently offers updates of sales on items you usually purchase and on similar products.

So now that I have provided some information on these three different types of loyalty program, let me which one do you prefer? And Why? Please let me know in the comment box below. Thanks.

Customer Loyalty Program- Walmart Rewards MasterCard

Hey everyone, so let us continue with our previous post regarding the three different types of loyalty cards in Canada. We have already discussed about the Air miles rewards program which is offered in Metro and other affiliate stores such as Rona, Canada Safeway etc. We will now talk about the loyalty program offered at Walmart. Walmart offers a loyalty program that is called the 'Walmart Rewards MasterCard'. It is essentially a credit card combined with a rewards system whereby you can use the card in Walmart as well as other retail outlets that accepts MasterCard and still earn rewards. When making purchases at Walmart outlets in Canada, you will be able to earn 1.25% of your purchases. When making purchases at any other retail outlet besides Walmart and where MasterCard is accepted, you would then be able to earn 1% of your purchases as rewards. The rewards earned can be redeemed at any cash register when you make your purchases at Walmart. Another key feature of this loyalty program is that the minimum redemption is only $5 which is relatively low compared to other stores. This means that you can redeem your rewards at Walmart once you have earned at least $5 and rewards can redeemed in $5 increments that is when you earn $5, $10, $15 that's when you can redeem your rewards. For instance, let us assume you have earned $9 on your card and you want to redeem them, however the cash register will allow you to redeem only $5, this is because the card only allows you to redeem rewards when you have reached the $5 increments, in this case the increment should be up to $10 in order to redeem $9. Furthermore, Walmart Rewards do not have an expiration date; it will remain in your account. To apply for this loyalty program, you can go online to the company website or go to any Walmart store outlet and register with the assistance of the cashier at the cash register or at the customer service desk.
 

However, one important factor you need to consider is that this loyalty card is essentially a credit card. The grace (Interest free) period is 21 days and the annual interest rates for the 3 different types of accounts offered  are:

Annual Interest Rate

19.89% is Our Preferred Rate. 21.49% is the Cash Interest Rate. 25.99% is the Standard Rate.

Source of Picture: Walmart Canada Company Website- Application Webpage
Website: https://walmartrewardsmastercardapp.ca/OnlineApplicationPreQualification.aspx

Therefore you need to be careful in the sense that you pay the balance on time on your card, and maintain a good credit rating. In order to pay the balance on your Walmart MasterCard you can simply go to any cash register at a Walmart outlet or, and pay your due or part of it to the cashier.

Customer Loyalty Program- Air Miles Rewards Program

Hey everyone, I hope you’re enjoying the beautiful weather. So in this blog topic I will be discussing the factors you need to consider when joining a customer loyalty program as well as how to collect and effectively use the loyalty cards in order to provide you the best deals on everyday purchases.

To begin with, there are many customer loyalty programs being offered in many different ways. It can be in the form of tangible cards, mobile apps, credit card, online account or rewards card. This makes it confusing as it is difficult for you and me to really understand the significance and advantages of a particular loyalty program. So therefore I will be talking about 3 particular loyalty programs in detail to help you guys better understand what each loyalty program has to offer.

So a little bit about myself, I have been working as a cashier in 3 different stores, Walmart, Metro, and Fortinos. By working in these different stores I have obtained the knowledge as well as hands on experience when I see customers coming up with different ways to reduce the amount they spend. Each stores has it is own unique loyalty program.  Let’s begin with the loyalty program offered at Metro.

Metro- Air Miles Rewards Program

Metro is a well- known as a supermarket store that offers the Air Miles Rewards Program to its’ customers. This program works by offering points to customers when purchasing items from it partner stores. For every $20 spent in purchase each week customers earn 1 reward mile. Air Miles is currently offering two types of programs which are Air Miles Cash Rewards and Dream Rewards. The Air Miles Cash Rewards programs allows customers to save money on their grocery and retail purchases whereas the Dream Rewards enables its’ members to collect points in order to save rewards for larger purchases such as flight travel. Air Miles Canada has more than 100 partners consisting of companies such as Bank of Montreal, American Express, Rona, Shell Canada, and Canada Safeway in the western provinces, Metro and Rexall Pharmacy in Ontario and Eastlink, Lawtons, and Sobeys in the eastern Ontario.  In return, the programs offers points known as air miles rewards, these points can then be used in order to redeem and save money on purchases being made at affiliate stores including Metro as well as purchasing tickets for flight travel. To apply for the program, you can walk-in to any affiliate store and ask for the card at the cash register. Then go online to the air miles company website and click the ‘enroll now’ button. The site will provide two options for registration, first option is if you have the collector card and the other option is if you don’t have a card and want to register.  It will ask you for the 11-digit collector number which is stated on the front of the card and the 4-digit temporary security pin number placed on the back of the card. Afterwards you enter in your personal information such as name, address, e-mail as well your account preferences, and then you will need to create a new pin. Upon completion of the registration you will automatically earn 15 reward miles as well 5 bonus points if you choose to receive e-mail or 5 bonus points if you choose to receive text messages regarding updates and new offers.

Mobile Customer Loyalty Programs

Majority of the stores these days are offering various loyalty cards, this can be difficult to keep safe and monitor the rewards points in each loyalty card. Having so many loyalty cards makes it more difficult to find a specific card when you need it, as well as the chances of losing some loyalty cards also increases. As a result, retail businesses are providing a new way to get rid of producing tangible cards, and better keep track of loyalty cards.
 

Why should you use mobile loyalty cards?

The mobile loyalty program offers customers to keep track of their loyalty cards; therefore increasing the chances of using the cards at the cash register. Loyalty programs are portable making it more accessible to monitor points or discounts customers earned. Furthermore, mobile loyalty programs can be customized fitting to customers’ preferences instantly on the phone. On the business aspect, this type of program offers a way to promote the business when loyalty program members share information about this app (application) on social networks, encouraging others to join the loyalty program. Loyalty cards are beneficial for both the retail businesses as they can better understand customers' purchase behaviour; increase card usage and customers who would then have an incentive to buy more at a particular store and receive rewards/ points for purchases made at their store.

How Mobile Loyalty Programs Work?

Mobile loyalty programs work two ways. One method to join this program is by downloading the app (application) onto the mobile device. This can be done by going onto a particular store's website, click on the download app according to the type of phone you have. You then make an account by entering your personal information such as name, address, mobile phone number as well as the e-mail. Another way to enable this type of program onto your mobile device is by contacting the customer loyalty program helpline phone number which is given on the store’s website in order to provide step by step assistance to download the app and make an account.

Small Business and Customer Loyalty Programs

The presence of customer loyalty programs plays a vital role in boosting profits for businesses and maintaining existing customers.

One way small businesses can improve their business is by enabling customer loyalty programs. It's a misconception that only big businesses such as Fortinos and Loblaws have these programs, they are many small businesses that offer these programs as well to their customers.

The significance of having these programs is simply to be more personal and build a relationship with their customers. Small businesses should offer these programs in order to encourage customers to shop more frequently at their stores; this in turn builds loyalty amongst customers. Furthermore these programs help spread the word, and using word-of-mouth can be an effective and efficient way to promote a small business.

Another benefit of small businesses having these programs is the competition factor. Small businesses can gain a competitive advantage among other small businesses that don't offer such programs as well as big businesses. Some customers tend to be price sensitive, therefore they may buy products from big retail stores that may not be up to the mark, or not their preferred choice but offer better discounts or points to earn, for example a box of cookies. However if a small business that offer homemade cookies can provide a customer loyalty program, for instance a points card system, then customers will be motivated to purchase cookies from the small business.

Moreover, these customer loyalty programs are cost effective to place in small businesses. In the modern society, advanced technology makes it easier for small businesses to enable customer loyalty programs by incorporating online and digital rewards programs. For instance, The PC Plus points card has a mobile app that displays an image of the points card with a barcode which can be scanned at the cash register to earn points. This method allows small businesses to spend less money in producing cards, by printing and buying ink. Also it reduces the chance for customers to lose their points cards.

 

These are some of the benefits that I have come up with, if you have more ideas on how small businesses can improve customer relations, please feel free to share with us in the comment box. Also let me know if you have ever seen a small business that provides a loyalty program and how it operates.

The Benefits of Customer Loyalty Programs

Customer relationship management plays a vital role in the success of a retail organization. It allows companies to work more effectively by responding to customer's demands. One way, companies respond to customers and be more effective is by creating customer loyalty programs. It allows customers to be more involved and have a say in terms of products, services and the quality of the shopping experience.

Customers' Benefits

- Save money by using points earned and deals offered on certain products

- Get updated on what's happening in the store such as weekly promotional offers

- Receive discounts on other services such as flight travel

- Are more knowledgeable, and remain informed about the status of the card, and how many points have been earned

- Online access to customer loyalty programs provide more convenience

- Improved quality of the shopping experience

Company's Benefits

- A method to gain competitive advantage in the retail industry by encouraging existing customers to purchase more items as well attracting potential customers to shop at a particular store, thus increasing company's profits.

- Observe and learn about the different types of customers in the market

- To gain a better perspective of the customers' purchase behavior in terms of what items are bought; quantity of items purchased and the frequency of shopping

- A method used to maintain good relationship with customers

- Retail companies would then have a better idea on what items or services to promote, therefore loyalty programs play a key role in marketing

So these are some positive factors you may want to consider when joining a loyalty program or to incorporate it in your business. Please send me your feedback in the comment box below. Thanks

Introduction

Hey everyone, welcome to this space. So in this blog, I will be talking about the concept of customer loyalty, and the programs designed to improve and strengthen the relationship between customers and retail organizations.

In the harsh competitive setting of the retail industry, it is important to maintain sales target. Over the years, the concept of customer loyalty has dramatically changed. In the earlier days, companies only put their focus on increasing the number of sales. As time progressed the shift in focus has gone into maintaining and improving the relationship between existing customers and retail stores. Customer loyalty is the customers' relationship towards certain organizations, brands, particularly the retail stores. Customer loyalty programs are designed in order to improve the quality of the shopping experience; a method used to offer better deals involving products and services that are in demand. It is a method used by retail stores to promote their products and services and boost purchases. Customer Loyalty programs come in various forms such as points card, membership cards, and discount cards. In addition they assist in determining customers' wants and purchasing behavior. This allows retail stores to perform more effectively by responding better to customers' needs and wants.

I look forward to talking more about customer loyalty programs so stay tuned, please let me know what you think and post your comments and feedback.

Thanks,

Vaidehi