Customer loyalty and rewards card programs have become a staple at grocery stores, coffee shops, and many other types of retail stores.  Loyalty cards are rewarding for both the store and the customer, as they offer discounts and savings on common items and provide valuable spending data to the store, which helps track inventory, item popularity, and seasonal trends. An ID badge printer, along with the right software, plays an integral part of creating a successful customer loyalty program at any retail store.

WHAT KIND OF ID BADGE PRINTER DOES MY LOYALTY PROGRAM NEED?

The type of ID badge printer you use for your customer loyalty program depends heavily on the parameters of the program itself, such as what kind of rewards will be offered to customers.  Generally, there are two different types of programs: club discounts and points, or accumulated rewards programs.  In discount-only programs, the ID card design is usually simpler.  Dual-sided, color ID cards coupled with a barcode are all a cashier needs to recognize a customer and grant the discounts.  With rewards cards, customer data regarding prices, points, and amount spent needs to be stored and exchanged.  ID card printers that are equipped with technology for magnetic stripe or smart card encoding are ideal for rewards programs that track points.

Many stores choose to print customer rewards and loyalty cards in batches.  This method is the most economical since it reduces the amount of time it takes to generate a customer’s card and data, as well as allowing the cashier to handle more transactions.  Instead of assigning a card to a customer on-the-spot when they sign up for the program, customer data is correlated with an ID card at a later time and usually sent to them in the mail.  If the cards are being printed in batches, make sure to choose a printer that is capable of batch printing and meets high-volume printing needs.  Some stores and chains choose to print loyalty cards on-the-spot.  There are a variety of compact, quick-printing ID card printers that make it easy for businesses to efficiently issue customer loyalty cards at the time of signup.

An ID badge printer and customer rewards program can be a very lucrative business decision. Not only do they draw more customers into the store and bring in higher profits, but data from value programs can help give stores an edge in trend forecasting, stock and sales projections.