Sales at Mish Farms Meat Market in West Deer have grown by 15 percent since frequent customers of the small, all-natural meat store and deli started to carry rewards cards.
About 1,500 customers have signed up for the green plastic cards since the program started last summer. For every $150 they spend on meat, they get a $5 coupon. And after every 10 visits to the store, they get $3 off a hot lunch.
Loyalty card programs aren't just for major chain stores anymore. Smaller shops, restaurants and service providers are starting to issue cards that allow them to identify their top customers, deliver perks and share news about upcoming sales and events.
"Every grocery, book and toy store has a rewards card," said market owner Kim Guthrie. "I knew my customers must be expecting that also."
The Mish Farms store specializes in custom-cut beef raised without hormones and drugs but also sells pork, chicken and deli foods. Guthrie's father, Tom Mischen, runs the family's 80-acre beef cattle farm and rents another 400 acres where crops are raised.
As she was considering starting a rewards plan, Guthrie got a letter advertising First Data Corp.'s new loyalty card system for small businesses. She signed on through First Commonwealth Bank.
In the first six weeks, 500 customers signed up as they stopped at the store. Guthrie thought she knew most of the regulars but, "I was surprised at how many customers we actually had."
Cardholder Katie Forrester of Pine has made daily stops at Mish Farms since she started working at nearby Kress Tire four months ago.
"I come here and get everybody's lunch, every day," she said, "but I get all their points. That's my payment." She uses the coupons to buy her own lunches, plus meats to cook at home.
Loyalty cards are becoming much more common at small businesses, said retail banking expert Ron Shevlin of the Aite Group in Boston.
"Businesses of all kinds want to know more about their customers, so they can do a better job with marketing and relationship building," he said.
Simple, punch-style cards that provide discounts or free items after several purchases can drum up repeat business, but they're limited. Advances in payment technology allow small merchants to run data base systems that are nearly as sophisticated as a major retailer's, Shevlin said.
Atlanta-based First Data has been testing and fine-tuning its loyalty program for small businesses to use, said Kevin Knowles, a vice president of product development.
Only about three dozen merchants use it so far, but Knowles expects that to rise to 6,000 to 9,000 a year as banks market the system to their customers. "Technology has leveled the playing field" for big and small businesses," he said. "It used to be you needed a dedicated marketing team and maybe an (information technology) staff to implement something like this."
Now, neighborhood businesses can start with the electronic payment terminals they probably already own to tailor their own rewards programs, he said.
Knowles declined to specify prices. But Shevlin said generally, card programs cost as little as $500 to $1,500 to start, plus an ongoing monthly cost of less than $1 per enrollee.
Tracking the growth of loyalty programs nationwide is tough, because they cross so many types of business, Shevlin said. The average consumer possesses more than 10 cards, he said, ranging from airline frequent flier offers to auto service garages to clothing, book, food and other store chains.
"Consumers now expect some kind of rewards program to be in place at almost any business they visit," Knowles said.
Some Mish Farms customers compete with their friends to see who can collect coupons faster, Guthrie said. Some get upset if they forget their cards, but store workers tell them to keep their receipts so the points can be added later.
"I think the program is great. I've already saved ... I don't know how much money," said Diane Iskra of Pine, who said she buys all the meat she cooks at Mish Farms.
Guthrie is building a customer data base. Then, through e-mail, "I can go a step farther, whether it's a monthly newsletters or special coupons or discounts on our freezer packages," she said.
