7 Keys to Marketing Genius: Join the Club
The following is an excerpt from The 7 Keys to Marketing Genius by Michael Daehn
I lived in Southern California during the Card Club boom of the 90s. Most of the major grocery store chains had their own clubs that provided discounts to holders of their store’s club card. On one level, I thought it was a little silly since I was not really a member of a club. I knew I just got the sale price on items that a few years before were available without a card. On the other hand, I was studying marketing in college and thought it was a great idea for stores to get to know their customers better. They had my name, address, phone, age, and knew how often I shopped and exactly what I purchased. This is an incredible amount of information to have about your customer.
I kept waiting for the stores to send me a coupon to try a new chocolate chip cookie. They could tell from my purchases that I was an ideal customer for chocolate chip cookies. I never received that coupon, nor any other customized marketing materials. Why not? Why would they not use all the information I was freely providing them? My guess is they had too much information and did not know what to do with it. Or perhaps they never saw the value of the information and just thought I would buy more because I thought I was in a special club. I felt they were wasting my time by filling out a form and carrying around a stupid plastic card. Why go to all the trouble if they were not going to follow up and solidify the relationship with customized offerings and marketing messages?
All but one of the area chains gave up on the cards. They started running promotions about how they had done away with the cards. Another store advertised how you never needed a club card in their store in the first place.
A few of the chains changed hands, and that is when things got really confusing. I went to a large grocery store on the weekend and needed my card; I went back during the week for something I forgot and they had changed the name of the store. All of a sudden, the cashiers were laughing and assuring me I did not need a card anymore when I checked out my groceries. About a week later, I went to the same store and I needed my card again because the store had changed ownership again (if this seems strange, remember it was California where anything is possible).
Confused? So was I. I did not mention the names of the stores because I honestly cannot remember which was which. I still go to that store, but I am not sure what the name is anymore. I hope you understand by reading this book that confusing the customer, especially about your brand name, is bad. Marketing is about communication and helping people to understand, not be confused.
The card clubs were not limited to grocery stores. Drugstores, gas stations, and pet stores are among the other retail locations offering club discounts. While there are still many companies that continue to use these cards, and I hold a few of them, I have yet to see a personalized marketing message from any of them. This is a waste of valuable data about customers (Key 6) and a missed opportunity to strengthen relationships (Key 5).