I launched this loyalty program in 2004. Customers who purchase 11 magazines in eight weeks can choose a magazine up to the value of $10.00 free of charge. The average magazine purchase is $4.50 and the average redemption $5.00. This equates to a 10% discount.
Over at Coles, if you purchase $49.50 worth of magazines, you accrue around 10 FlyBys points. FlyBys points can be redeemed for gift vouchers. You need 13,500 points for a $100 voucher. That equals 675 points for my free $5.00 magazine. So, I need to spend $3,375.00 to get a free $5.00 magazine.
Which deal is better? The Magazine Club Card I offer in my small business newsagency and has been rolled out across newsXpress stores or the FlyBys offer from Coles?
State Governments ought to regulate to force businesses to prominently publish in store and on receipts a present value for each point accrued.
Small businesses, like mine, ought to promote the benefit of their loyalty campaigns by directly comparing the reward per dollar with the likes of FlyBys. While occasional bonus offerings make FlyBys points more attractive, this is not happening enough. Most small business loyalty programs I have seen reward sooner and with more value than their big business counterparts.