In some ways business is no different to other areas of life. When times are hard even the fiercest of rivals have to come together to defeat a common enemy. In football, players who compete against each other on a weekly basis will come together to represent their country; pop stars will share the limelight with other bands on a TV show to encourage people to buy music. It’s also the theme of numerous films, but in reality it can actually work well. With the state consumer confidence and the economy is in, businesses that offer products and services to the public should maybe look at ways to rally. The need to increase consumer confidence and push consumers to spend is a shared interest; so supporting each other by working towards this goal is a powerful marketing proposition.

External influences can also help and the government has introduced measures to boost consumer confidence and push consumers to spend their money. The measures include lowering repayments on tracker mortgages by continually reducing interest rates, introducing schemes which help people to get on the first rung of the property ladder and bolstering the banks in an attempt to encourage them to start lending again. With these measures and many others in place worldwide the economy and consumer confidence is starting to show glimmers of an upturn, but how can businesses further encourage the increase in consumer confidence and push consumers to spend more money?

In the coastal town of Rye, a lot of businesses decided to come together and make it known that they accept Euros in their establishments and this has proved to be very beneficial. The success of this scheme has made the national news this week, proving that in this instance pulling together seems to have worked.

Mr Holman of the town’s Chamber of Commerce said that using the Euro had so far proved more successful, “than we ever dreamt of.”

Another example of businesses rallying for a common goal is in the East Sussex town of Lewes, where they have united to design and print their own currency – the Lewes Pound. This initiative aims to encourage locals to spend their money locally.

In larger towns and cities shopping centres are possibly the most visible example on the high street of businesses coming together to give consumers a one stop shop for a range of goods/ services, pushing consumers to spend their money in one place. The shopping centres often offer car parking/ crèches etc and advertise/ promote what they collectively offer customers.

This is also the aim of loyalty and membership programmes which promote a range of businesses along side each other. Businesses can offer an exclusive discount to members and feature in a guide which is set up, managed and promoted by a third party. Alternatively businesses can sell the loyalty and membership programmes as a bespoke club to existing customers, providing them with a full service of products.

The Rocket Marketing Group currently operates 5 loyalty and membership programmes covering many areas including Travel, Lifestyle, Shopping, Entertainment and Motoring.

Contact Us if you would like to discuss what a Rocket Marketing Group loyalty and membership programme can do for your business.