With the state of the economy many businesses have realised the importance of giving their customers more in terms of offers and services, to ensure consumer loyalty and profit growth. Traditionally this has been the domain of businesses such as supermarkets and increasingly so in recent years as they have expanded into areas such as clothing, banking etc.

Not all businesses have the capacity to expand in this way but there are other ways to diversify and offer non-core products and services to encourage consumer loyalty. One option for businesses is to offer customers the opportunity to buy into a bespoke loyalty and reward programme which carries their branding but is operated by a third party such as The Rocket Marketing Group.

By a third party managing every aspect of the extra offering of non-core products and services through a loyalty and membership programme the business receives free added extras for the brand without having to commit additional resources.

These programmes can essentially offer non-core products and services at a discounted rate to customers who become members. The programmes can be fully branded with a company’s logo so that they feature under the umbrella of the one brand. The products the programmes offer can also be completely bespoke depending on what a business wants to offer customers. All of this means that a company’s customers don’t need to go anywhere else to complete their shopping experience. This has to help with consumer loyalty whilst providing an effective way for a business to gain profit growth through earning incremental revenue.

In the current economic climate businesses that offer the full service shopping experience at value prices are doing very well. A good example of this is the supermarkets that offer a wide variety of products and services at value prices and are reporting profit growth when many other sectors are experiencing a downturn.  Sainsbury’s profits have recently reported a total sales growth of 5.7 per cent in the preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 21 March 2009.

Justin King, Sainsbury’s chief executive, said: “Our business is growing because we have responded quickly and effectively to a rapidly changing environment. Total sales for the year were up 5.7 per cent and like-for-like sales excluding fuel were up 4.5 per cent..In addition we have continued to drive cost efficiencies offsetting over 75 per cent of cost inflation and delivered further profit growth.

Fixing fundamental parts of our operation through our ‘Making Sainsbury’s Great Again’ recovery programme has placed the business in a strong position. Although consumer confidence in the UK has declined during the year, our performance improved as a result of the strength of the Sainsbury’s brand and actions we have taken to adjust our offer to changing customer trends.”

So producing a white-label loyalty and membership programme can be an effective way to compete with the full shopping services and consumer loyalty of businesses such as supermarkets. The programmes can act as a way to simulate the success of supermarkets by adjusting a company’s offering in reaction to changing customer trends.

Contact Us if you would like your business to offer non-core products and services to your customers through a loyalty and membership programme, encouraging them to stay loyal to your brand.

The British Bankers’ Association reported that the amount banks lending to small businesses rose by 239 million in January, proving that small businesses can still emerge and grow despite the current economic climate. In some instances small and medium sized companies are actually better equipped to deal with harsher times as they can be more streamlined, determined and focused on consumers needs. But are there things that small businesses can do to optimise these advantages and boost consumer confidence?

Commenting on this data, BBA statistics director, David Dooks, said: “There have been net rises in term lending to small businesses each month since last autumn, albeit at levels below last year’s monthly average, reflecting subdued business investment in the economic downturn. At the end of last year, the outstanding level of term lending was some 9 per cent higher than a year earlier. The many small businesses that don’t borrow are drawing on cash reserves to fund current cash-flow needs, such as January’s tax payments. Despite the recession, people are still embarking on new business ventures, as shown by the number of new start-up relationships in early 2009 being in line with last years average.”

There’s always room for small to medium sized businesses to flourish in the current economic climate because of the unique relationships they can foster with their customers. It is so important to get the small details right and build mutually respectful relationships with consumers, as it’s far easier to adapt to individual needs and build brand trust and consumer confidence at a grass roots level. But businesses that rely on reputation and word of mouth can’t afford to make mistakes. So it’s particularly important during the current economic climate to give customers what they need and make sure that their recommendations become an effective form of free marketing. This is something that has become increasingly important and recognised by all businesses, whatever their size.

In its latest quarterly referendum survey, members of the Forum of Private Businesses voted for restoring business confidence (65%) and restoring consumer confidence (63%) as the two issues they most want the Government to prioritise in the 2009 Budget in order to support their businesses.

For smaller businesses, finding ways to reward customers is particularly important when trying to develop and enhance consumer confidence during the current economic climate and that’s why The Rocket Marketing Group offers a number of reward programmes including The Midweek Dining Club, The Home & Garden Club, The Big Savings Club and The Entertainment Club. These are particularly good for small and medium sized businesses to be involved with, as they offer free marketing on a national scale to an ever growing customer base of 300,000 people. All our partners have to do to receive this free marketing, is offer an exclusive discount to our members. It is a way of giving customers something back for remaining loyal to the brand.

The Rocket Marketing Group’s range of reward programmes are also available to be sold to a business’ existing customer base. We currently work with clients such as JML who generate commission by selling a range of clubs to their customers. This gives JML incremental revenue and gives the customers a wider range of products and services at a reduced rate, which they associate with JML, making it more of a one stop shop for consumers’ needs.

Despite the recession there are still a number of companies, across a range of industries that are experiencing profit growth. We should be celebrating these successes and not let our focus be consumed by the negative stories. Recession is almost certainly a time for change, but not necessarily failure. Brands may have to adapt to reflect how people are spending; like Waitrose, which recently introduced a lower priced range to their traditionally high-end selection of products, to encourage profit growth.

This change from Waitrose came days before, supermarket Morrisons reported in its preliminary results for 52 weeks ending on the 1st February 2009 that like for like sales were up 7.9%; proving that value is currently an important issue for supermarket shoppers. Chief Executive, Marc Bolland, said: “Our focus on fresh food and value appeals to shoppers everywhere and provides a strong platform to take Morrisons from national to nationwide.”

This, it seems is a theme that unsurprisingly repeats itself across many areas, not least entertainment. As people are watching the pennies, cheaper entertainment seems to be an easy way for people to cut back. This is good news for companies such as Cineworld, which operates 75 cinemas. The company has just released its figures showing that sales for the year rose by 4.4%.

On this, Chairman, Anthony Bloom commented: “Movies have an enduring appeal and a visit to the cinema is relatively low cost when compared with other forms of leisure and entertainment.”

Operating in a similar sphere, LOVEFiLM.com, Europe’s largest online DVD & games rental service and entertainment has also had a phenomenal year achieving success during recession: “40 per cent increase in memberships since the credit crunch began. Now renting over 3 million DVDs per month from a catalogue of nearly 70,000 unique titles, the latest figures reveal further proof that for Britons, staying in is the new going out.”

Commenting on the recent success during recession of LOVEFiLM CEO Simon Calver said: “This is further evidence of what another great year it’s been for us. Given the uneasy economic climate, we’re thrilled that customers increasingly recognise LOVEFiLM as the affordable and accessible entertainment option. Coupled with our recent acquisition and integration of the Amazon DVD rental business in the UK and Germany, we are looking forward to what the next year brings.”

A few other success stories include KFC announcing the creation of 9,000 jobs, McDonald’s sales increasing by 7.6 per cent in the final quarter of 2008, Cadbury announcing a 30 per cent annual profit growth as consumers turn to chocolate treats during the recession – and the list goes on.

This small selection shows the success of businesses offering cheaper options and reflects the way people are choosing to spend their time. For the average Briton adjusting to the difficulties of a recession may mean spending less, but that doesn’t have to mean enjoying life any less. Value brands and cheaper entertainment options are the obvious choice for consumers, so how can every other business align themselves with value brands to ensure steady trade, without damaging the brand’s values?

Businesses such as LOVEFILM and Cineworld have capitalised on marketing their brands through loyalty and membership programmes, which give members further discounts and build loyalty at a time when the public are looking for extra value. But these clubs are also a way that brands such as Virgin Experience Days and Theatre Tokens can offer customers discounts and drive sales without devaluing their usually more expensive products.

The Rocket Marketing Group has a range of products that offer businesses a way to tap into the discount market. These products include The Entertainment Club, The Midweek Dining Club, The Big Savings Club and The Home and Garden Club.