A Truly Unique Loyalty and Rewards Program
Take out your wallet or look at your keychain and count the number of different plastic cards for different stores and brands’ loyalty and customer rewards programs you have at the moment. If you’re anything like the majority of the country, you probably have a different card for multiple grocery stores, clothing stores and a list of other places you do the majority of your shopping. You can’t run a quick errand these days without someone asking you to sign up for something or other.
From the customer standpoint, this can be annoying because there are only so many little plastic cards you can carry at once, and it sometimes feels like the small discounts these cards offer isn’t really worth the hassle. From the store’s standpoint, however, the problem is more about finding a way to stand out from the crowd and make your customer rewards program special. This consideration extends to both the rewards offered by the program and the object that stands in to symbolize or represent the program itself.
On both of these fronts, OSS Apparel has hit a homerun with their new Loyalty and Partnership Program. As opposed to going with the standard plastic card option, or even just a digital card with a QR code, Mike Almeida, the company’s founder and CEO, decided to go with challenge coins. And in addition to the typical discounts on certain items these programs usually offer, he created a regular raffle of goodies available to each coin holder.
How the Program Works
The OSS Apparel Loyalty and Partnership Program is not simply one of the more unique loyalty programs around, it’s also one of the more interesting challenge coin programs around. As a loyalty program, it’s different from the others on the market because not every single customer is automatically asked to enroll in it.
In talking to Almeida, he explained the process by which a customer is entered into the loyalty program. “You either get a coin by how much you purchase, so at an individual level, if you spend $300 as an individual, you get a coin. Or if you purchase team apparel, $600 or more, you get a coin.” In addition to hitting the proper purchase marks, customers can buy a coin outright (for a total of $25), or perhaps receive a coin directly from Almeida himself for certain services and benefits rendered to the company.
One of the aspects central to the OSS program is that the coins are non-transferable. This is partially because Almeida doesn’t want anyone getting a coin who hasn’t earned it, but it’s also a necessity for the marketing strategy surrounding the program. “This now becomes a database to me, so I can market directly to these people,” Almeida explained. It’s not that OSS doesn’t already do direct marketing to all of their customers, it’s just that the loyalty program gives them another segment to market to. “For example, I might put an ad out that says anyone with a 2019 OSS coin gets a 10% discount on all of our hats, or on a team order, or whatever the case might be. Next year, as we get into 2020, and more coins are given out, I’ll have the opportunity to say if you have one coin, you get a 10% discount, if you have two coins, you get a 15% discount.” In this way, Almeida is hoping to reward the customers who return and make qualifying orders year after year.
Using Challenge Coins for Raffles
Entry into the program isn’t the only unique aspect of it. Almeida designed the coins used in his program and included our sequential numbering option to make sure that each of the coins in this first order are numbered from 001 - 300. When he orders new coins with a new design for 2020, those will begin at 301. Since each coin will have its own unique number, and all of the customer information will be attached to that specific coin, each month Almeida is capable of holding a raffle and special giveaways by randomly selecting a number within the range of the coins he’s already distributed.
It’s this element of the program that goes the farthest in setting the OSS program apart from others of its kind. And the use of challenge coins to achieve these ends was almost a foregone conclusion for Almeida. “I was a superintendent of schools before opening this business, and I always envisioned doing something like this. Even as a superintendent coin to give away to faculty when I recognized them doing great things or achieving certain things or leading professional development.
Almeida always saw the value of these coins, and the overall effect they can have on people who receive them. “Those coins are valuable. I think people value them more than what they really are.” Not only does this idea apply to the perceived value of the coins, with their precious metal plating and completely custom designs, it also stems from the act of receiving the coins in a meaningful way.
Rushing Towards Completion
The OSS Apparel coin is impressive to behold. At 2”, it’s a great size in hand, and the colors and stark design elements go a long way towards helping it stand out from the crowd. With such an impressive design, it’s surprising to find out that the entire order was completed in six days.
Almeida contacted us on January 17, 2019 asking if we could have the coins ready in time for an event on January 25. Of all the coin companies he contacted, we were the only one to respond in the affirmative. We put a rush on his order, and the coins were completed and shipped on January 23. Our usual turnaround time on production is 14 days, but as you can see with Almeida’s order, when you’re up front about your deadline date, and remain in contact with the sales team, we can get orders created and shipped in a lot less time.
Almeida’s order is a testament to how smoothly the order process can run with a customer who comes into the situation with a little more preparation. Given his own artistic abilities, he was able to come up with the complete design of his coin before reaching out to us. Knowing exactly what he wanted was a major factor in being able to get his coins in such a quick turnaround time. It was also the backbone of his advice to other customers looking to order challenge coins.
Begin to have a vision in mind of what you’re looking for. Even if that’s just from typing in ‘coins’ on Google images. Know what size you’re looking for, even if you have to measure a quarter or a half dollar or trace out a 2” circle on a piece of paper to know what size you’re looking for. Know if you want color on one side, or both sides ... I think that you want to work through this kind of checklist beforehand.”
Whether you have all of the information for your coin design beforehand or not, we’re here to help and make sure you can get the best coin to suit your needs. And if, like Almeida and OSS Apparel, you’re looking to use your coins for something unique and innovative, let us know, and our art and sales teams will be happy to help out in any way possible.
