In-House Loyalty Cards Help MasterPark Gain Edge on Competition

October, 2004

MasterPark Airport Valet Parking is the largest off-site parking brand at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. As the travel industry has changed, migrating to the Internet and going largely paperless, MasterPark has had to adapt its marketing efforts as well to stay competitive.
"A lot of travel agencies are moving away from paper tickets, so we were having a harder time reaching our corporate clients with paper coupons," says Jeff Pollak, Director of Sales & Marketing for MasterPark. "We were looking not only for a new way to offer discounts to our best customers, but we also wanted a better way to track them. People often lose paper coupons, and some are reluctant to use them at all."
MasterPark tried online coupons, but the quality and size of the printed coupon varied so much that it was often impossible to scan the barcode printed on them. Next, the company considered offering laminated paper cards to its corporate customers, but it decided to distinguish itself from its competitors with a higher quality card.
The company chose to purchase a Zebra P310 printer and create loyalty cards in-house. "We wanted to take it a step above laminated cards. We wanted to have something that was classy, but also feasible for us," Pollak says. "These cost us about 20 cents a card."
So far, Pollak has printed upwards of 10,000 cards. The MasterPark logo appears on the front, along with the corporate client's logo, and a barcode encoded with information about the client company is printed on the back.
"Each company has a number, so we know exactly from where we are getting business," Pollak says. "These cards are more convenient to carry than a coupon, and people seem to like using them. They really add value to our business and for the customer."
MasterPark currently has more than 400 corporate accounts using its in-house printed loyalty cards. "This is how we communicate our brand and impress upon our customers the value of our brand," Pollak says. "The cards also reward our customers for their business, because they get a discounted corporate rate."
Results? There has been a "dramatic demand" for the cards. "They definitely have brought us business," he says. "We know that."
For more information, contact Zebra Card Printer Solutions at www.zebracard.com.