We understand it can be hard to know how best to pass on a discount to your customers, making sure the right people use them and become brand loyal. Below we discuss some of the most popular ways for businesses to offer a discount.

3rd party discount club

Loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs are a good free marketing and sales promotion solution that enables brands to pass on an exclusive discount in a controlled manner. Discounts on the brand are only available to a closed group of people meaning the value you are giving them feels exclusive. It’s an excellent way to pass on an exclusive discount and encourage customers to create spending habits with your business, become regulars and eventually brand loyal. Loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs are generally a free marketing tool for businesses; all you have to do is offer an exclusive discount for the members of the discount club. It is an excellent way to raise brand awareness and because it is a controlled, free marketing option there is minimal risk involved.

Discount cards

This is a widely recognised media in sales promotion used to pass on an exclusive discount to customers. Any company whatever their size or marketing budget can encourage return business through this technique, from independent hairdressers to multinational chains. This is a strong way to encourage a repeat purchase to a targeted section of consumers who are already likely to have experienced your brand.

Popular high street rental store Blockbuster worked with The Rocket Marketing Group  to develop a 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card which is initially being given to members of Rocket’s Entertainment Club. The Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card is also available for other agencies to buy from Rocket so they can use it for other partnership marketing offers/ staff incentives etc. It benefits Blockbuster as it drives loyalty to their stores throughout the UK rather than competitors. For the customer it feels like an exclusive discount because they have to show the Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card in store when they make their purchase. The card is distributed to an initial active membership base of over 30,000 people so the targeted captive audience is considerable, heightening the chances of marketing success.

Rocket also promotes similar products like the Paris Pass and London Pass that offer discounts on multiple products/services like public transport and attractions. Plus the popular 2-4-1 Beautiful Britain which gives members of The Home & Garden Club access to some of Britain’s most beautiful gardens.

Loyalty rewards

Everyone likes to receive something for nothing so to reward a customer for using your products/services is a good way for them to gain a positive association with your brand. An exclusive reward such as a free product or even something like a free flight to Europe helps members to feel that they have received added value for purchasing a brand. A good example of this is when members of The Big Savings Club are offered a number of free rewards including a free flight to Europe for taking a trial of the club. This sales promotion technique entices people to extend their membership and also gives them a positive experience of the brands involved and the experience of using the club. In effect they get a free flight to Europe for being loyal to the brands within the club. This reward is provided by the savings club but is linked as a reward to the brands within the club. A free flight to Europe is only one of the rewards brands could offer to customers, there are also smaller ones that don’t offer as much added value but can act as unexpected special treat, such as a free mini beauty treatment.

Similar models also include points collection discount cards such as Nectar, customers can build up their discount by being loyal to their brand and those associated with them. Though this is a variation the end result is the same.

Discount voucher

Discount vouchers are another popular sales promotion technique and can be distributed in a number of ways. Some of the most popular include offering an exclusive discount through in store promotions, e-shots or loyalty and membership programmes. Discount vouchers or coupons did have a stigma attached but in recent years but as the credit crunch hit Britain they’ve become mainstream again. Giving discount vouchers away in store is a good way of rewarding existing customers and making sure they remain brand loyal but can fail to entice new customers. E-shots have been used more and more over the last few years but can be passed on to too many people and encourage too much redemption from bargain hunters. Loyalty and membership programmes give discount vouchers to a large closed group of active members who have specific interests such as entertainment or DIY. Discount vouchers distributed in this way not only appeal to existing customers but also to a selected closed group of potential new customers. To distribute the voucher through a loyalty and membership programme or discount club is a free marketing solution as the voucher is produced by the club for its members.

If you would like more information on free marketing through loyalty and membership programmes and discount clubs or exclusive rewards such as the Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card and free flight to Europe please Contact Us today.

Offers correct at time of publication and subject to terms and conditions.

During harsh economic times it’s good to hear of a success story and this is one such case. The Rocket Marketing Group specialise in developing, implementing and managing loyalty clubs, reward programmes and incentives promotions and recently reached its one millionth sales order using SAP Business One, business management software. This is a massive achievement for a company that only installed the system in March 2007. SAP Business One systems manage every aspect of the company including CRM, finance and stock control. This provides stability and consistent quality standards, allowing the business to grow and handle multiple programmes simultaneously.

The Rocket Marketing Group was established in 2001 and has been growing rapidly ever since. The company currently has over 120,000 full active members to its loyalty clubs and reward programmes and works in partnership with over 100 UK businesses, from large businesses to small retailers.

The company’s figures show a 375% growth since the installation of SAP Business One, from a turnover of £1 million in 2006-2007 to £3.75 million in 2007-2008. SAP Business One was instrumental in giving Rocket the capacity to expand whilst not compromising on quality. From managing just one membership club in 2007 Rocket has seamlessly grown and now operates a total of 5 different reward programmes. Using this system and maintaining quality standards have meant both profits and efficiency have greatly improved whilst operational costs have reduced.

Alan Saunders, Operations and Business Development Director said: “SAP Business One has been significant in the growth and stability of the company. It helps to ensure that the business is operated in a way that is efficient and controlled. The Rocket Marketing Group’s success, most notably its excellent standards of quality and efficiency has also been recognised by The British Standards Institute which awarded us with ISO 9001 Quality Management accreditation, and SAP Business One has been a large factor in this.”

The recent economic downturn has certainly helped improve the popularity of The Rocket Marketing Group’s products, as people become increasingly interested in discounts and non-core offers. Loyalty and reward programmes give consumers what they need and can create loyal customers for the businesses involved. SAP Business One has enabled Rocket to react and act upon the needs of consumers and their demand for discounts across a variety of sectors.

The one millionth sales order signifies a success story for everyone involved and is cause for celebration. With this in mind Rocket passed on the good fortune to the lucky customer who placed the one millionth sales order. They were treated to a slap-up meal at a local restaurant courtesy of The Rocket Marketing Group.

Contact Us to join the celebrations and find out how you can work with The Rocket Marketing Group.

Guthy-Renker the US owned beauty and fitness products company has joined up with The Rocket Marketing Group to offer a first-ever loyalty reward scheme for its UK customers.

Rocket will now promote its Big Savings Club programme with Guthy-Renker to maximise client retention through its home shopping channels.

One of the fast growing, fully integrated, service providers in the Membership, Rewards and Incentive arena, Rocket will operate their Club for Guthy-Renker, bringing a whole host of new discounted services and benefits to the mix – all well aligned to Guthy-Renker’s demographic.

“We’re delighted to be working with Guthy-Renker” says Andy Huggins, MD of Rocket. “our programme will offer Guthy-Renker’s customers a fantastic range of non-core benefits and savings, and be a strong support to their customer retention.”

Phil Haslam, UK Area Manager, Guthy-Renker said “we’ve had great success establishing our business in the UK and are always open to fresh thinking and looking for new initiatives – even more so in today’s highly demanding climate. We’re really looking forward to working with Rocket”

The Guthy-Renker Big Savings Club launches on February 25th 2009.

The Rocket Marketing Group has had a bumper start to its New Year with record demand for its services. Rocket has seen a 50% increase in its first quarter trading, against last year.

The Rocket Marketing Group is the UK’s fastest growing developer of Reward, Incentive and Membership Programmes. During 2008 it launched a series of bespoke new national schemes including The JML VIP Savings Club, The Home & Garden Club and an enhanced The Midweek Dining Club.

Being a vertically integrated company and independent of outside suppliers, The Rocket Marketing Group can build bespoke client solutions, and white label a range of standard products, very efficiently.

“Despite the gloomy headlines we are finding that our Membership Schemes and Reward Programmes, which are inherently revenue generating for our clients, are just what brand owners need to augment their businesses during these harsh times” says Andy Huggins, Rocket Marketing Group’s MD. “We have invested wisely during 2008 and further developed our sophisticated in-house infrastructure, allowing us to implement a wide range of client schemes very cost-efficiently.”

The Rocket Marketing Group announces a new signing with New Image TV for its national rewards programme The Big Saving Club.

Rocket makes an ideal partner as its club programme perfectly match New Image TV customers by offering a huge range of discounted offers and savings.

“New Image TV were looking for a reward scheme that would complement their key target sectors whilst being well aligned to their customer demographic. We have an appropriate offering in each category” says Andy Huggins, Rocket’s MD. “This will not only incentivise category sales, but will also create new and incremental revenue opportunities that would otherwise not have been available to them. We’re very pleased to have been selected by such a forward thinking company”.

Jim Coleman, CEO of New Image TV said “We’re delighted to be working with The Rocket Marketing Group. Having looked closely at the various club providers in this industry, we selected Rocket on reputation and their commitment to delivering both an excellent product and a quality customer experience.”