| Loyalty Programs | Gift Cards | Comp Programs | Email Solutions
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This year’s NRA show was eye opening. I learned about how much of an impact social media is having on all of us this year.
One of the most interesting sessions, for me, was the session about using social media, named, “Driving Foot Traffic with the Latest Social Media Tools.” The panel showcased two emerging companies: Foursquare and Groupon. The two could not be more different. Foursquare is about creating buzz, whereas Groupon is about getting butts-in-seats.
Foursquare is a social medium with a phone app that helps users find out where their friends are. Users earn a social currency called badges (think Boy Scout merit badges) for checking in at certain locations. The more you check into a location, the better your chances at becoming that location’s mayor. Badges and mayorships are essentially valueless – so why did I feel as though I had missed out on something great when I found out Christina Hurley became the first mayor of Paytronix? Foursquare thrives on a natural competitive spirit between friends.
When merchants find fun and wacky ways to use its platform both parties benefit from the increased awareness created from the media buzz. Other social media - Gowalla, Yelp, and Loopt - are taking note of Foursquare’s success and are rolling out their own versions of the reward system. It’s rumored that Facebook is building its own version as well.
Groupon posts a deal for a day and if enough people join, the ‘deal is on.’ Its value proposition to merchants is essentially: give us a great deal and we will fill your restaurant. How good a deal? CEO Andrew Mason suggested a 40-50% discount. To support his suggestion, he presented case studies highlighting sales of 3,000 Groupon-featured items in a single day. While Groupon does take a large percentage of the sales proceeds, leaving a small portion for the merchant, this media may fit well into a customer acquisition strategy for new location openings in large metropolitan areas.
Wouldn’t it be great if your loyalty program was integrated into your social media efforts? Paytronix is working on several ways to incorporate the best social media practices into its technology platform. We look forward to launching these features with you this fall.
All the best, Andrew
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With several unique concepts and 35 locations throughout the United States, our client needed to streamline its employee dining program. The program, which offers a monthly dining allowance to employees based on their individual role in the organization, was established to not only provide an extra employment perk, but also to enable employees to dine at other concepts within the chain.
The new program has 3 key benefits:
1. Time savings. The new reports are mapped to the restaurant group’s specific accounting needs.
2. Centralized control. Administrators assign and cap funds on a monthly schedule based on the cardholder’s position in the organization.
3. Fraud prevention. The ability to track spend by individual employee and immediately turn off benefits for former employees.
Management and the accounting group rave about how much easier its employee dining program is to operate. With centralized reports that are easily accessible via the web interface, program administrators can quickly reconcile spending each month.
Click here to read about the details of this case.
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Happy Holidays from Paytronix Systems!
No, we haven’t jumped in a time machine. Our calendars are telling us it’s June, too.
June is the perfect time to think about placing a Holiday Gift Card order - take stock in your current inventory, estimate the quantity you will need for the holidays, and make decisions about changes in your design. Preparing for your order and placing it this summer will ensure you will have the inventory you need for all of your Holiday Gift Card initiatives. Plus, printing your gift card inventory ahead of the holiday rush may mean extra cost savings for you.
The “Paytronix Card Team” is here to help. Email us at cards@paytronix.com for more information.
Wishing you a bountiful holiday gift card season!
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As holiday card season is approaching, here are some tips for making sure your art is usable by the printer.
Tips for Submitting:
When submitting art for card production, please make sure the art files are zipped or stuffed.
If the compressed file is still large (greater than 10MB), there may be some images in the files that require re-sizing. The resolution should still be 300 dpi, but the images in the art files should be sized to the appropriate dimensions prior to being embedded in the card art.
For example, images used originally for banners and posters can be used for the card art, but the images need to be scaled down to the size needed for the card art file. Using the original files with images with the resolution for the banner simply shrunk down will yield very large files - some of which will not be usable by the card manufacturer.
Tips for re-sizing:
1. Open the image in Photoshop and make the image size and resolution smaller and more proportionate to the size of the plastic card.
2. Make the resolution of the Photoshop image 300 dpi and then re-size the width around 5 inches and which then allows Photoshop to make the height proportional.
3. Save that image. Also, please make sure your art contains the final versions of the language on the back of the card. Any time the printer needs to make an adjustment, there is a charge.
Click here to view our card art specs page.
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| In This Issue |
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- Andrew's Notes
- Employee Dining Program
- Christmas in June
- Card Art Tips
- Paytronix Personality |
Paytronix Personality:
Sharon Quill |
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Sharon has been on the Paytronix Customer Service team for more than two years. With her mechanical engineering background, her buttoned-up approach to problem solving is both thorough and effective. She helps our clients roll out new programs, implement promotions, and generally maintain their gift and loyalty programs.
In her spare time, Sharon competitively curls (skillfully sliding heavy stones across the ice), shoots photography, and takes part in a number of outdoor activities. Next time you talk with Sharon, ask her about the cross-country trip she took with three strangers in a Cessna Skylane (that’s a tiny plane).
“Paytronix is unique and unlike any other software company I’ve worked with in the past. The culture here breeds innovation – and I love being a part of it.”
–Sharon Quill
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| Where Are We |
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The Paytronix Sales Team will be at the Southwest Foodservice Expo from June 27 - 29, 2010. We will be walking the show so please let us know if you will be there and we can set up a time and place to meet. |
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