In the online business world, there are more and more membership sites every day. If you run a membership business, it is more important than ever to be unique and help your business stand out. One of the best ways to achieve this is to introduce a digital membership card.
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Why do you need a digital membership card?
For starters, these tools let you bring customers’ experience to a whole new level. Surprisingly, creating a digital membership card is way easier than you think!
The most important consideratÃons are design and delivery. If your customers are satisfied, you will have no trouble keeping retention levels high!
What is a Digital Membership Card?
A digital membership card is an actual participation card that can be downloaded as an app or as a file. Just as any card that can verify membership, a digital card contains all customer information.
A digital card does everything a physical card can, except for the fact that you don’t have to carry it around. With everyone having smartphones nowadays, digital cards are just as accessible as physical ones. Perhaps even more, as they sometimes offer more membership benefits.
The digital membership cards don’t work with codes or magnetic stripes. Instead, they rely on the onboard use technology already present on all devices. With the right membership card template, you can even create a card that matches your brand or one of the partnering institutions.
That being said, there is practically no area of business where a digital membership card template won’t be useful. Most of the time, we see it employed for photographic purposes, bar codes, fingerprints, QR, and so on. All touch-points of a typical card are considered, and there is even more at stake for your users.
What we’ve learned in recent years is that also offline businesses benefit vastly from digital cards.
Create an amazing membership website with the best tool available
Ultimate Membership Pro is an all-in-one membership solution with endless membership features to manage member subscriptions.
Everything you need from a membership solution:
- Restrict access to everything
- Easy to set up membership plugin
- Unlimited membership levels
- Run recurring payments with subscriptions
- Offer discount codes
- Members management
- Affiliate program
- Email notifications
How can digital membership cards enhance the success of your business website?
More convenience for your members
Generally speaking, digital membership cards revolutionized membership altogether. The administrative burden of running a community is significantly reduced. The company gains value and respect at the same time. Every member gets the card delivered on his member profile and can access it easily from any device.
From an end-user point of view, digital membership means never losing their privileges with you. Every action is documented in their Wallet App, and they can even share information if they want to.
Higher security levels
Did you ever have your wallet stolen? If yes, then the benefits of taking your business to the cloud are not unfamiliar to you.
Accessing digital membership cards on the phone is normally featured by double-authentication. This means that no one but you can use the membership benefits.
If we are talking about events or sensitive content, you can further enhance the process. An idea would be asking members to identify themselves with fingerprints or face scans. If the device gets stolen, all membership cards can be canceled by simply blocking log in until authorized by the end-user.
Eco-friendliness
Producing and distributing cards to each user is time-consuming, but also expensive. Not even to mention that the process gets repeated for every lost or damaged card. No matter what the card is made from – the environment suffers.
A fully-digitized brand reduces waste in many different ways, membership included. They also don’t print promotion material and interact with customers online to further reduce costs.
Time and money savings
With digital membership management, you are not only doing the environment a favor but also yourself. You cut the costs on paper, shipping, and administration. Business, on the other hand, runs better than ever.
Full use of smartphone technology
Trust us on this – no online client will ask upfront how digital membership cards work. It is all crystal clear, and they probably gathered some experience here and there. You don’t have to notify customers via email about benefits and promotions. Load those on the card, and they will spot (and use) them much sooner.
This way, customers can make full use of their smartphones. It is enough if your membership cards integrate with Google Pay and Apple Wallet.
Effective exchange of information
Customers will find it extremely easy to follow the benefits and keep up with the trends. You won’t have to call them or bother them with emails. Instead, load the benefits on your own membership card template, and there it is!
Customization
Remember that expanding the membership tier and replacing plastic cards requires digital administration. You need to monitor the process online, as well as deliver or revoke cards and manage membership information. Strings are indeed attached, but that only makes the process more efficient.
For instance, you can keep in touch with customers and let them know they’ve earned new perks on the go. You can easily remind them of expiring memberships or block users you don’t want. The membership portal will get most of the work done, and you will save money.
Location won’t matter either on the clients’ side. Wherever they are located, they can manage their information and use their member card.
Enhanced online presence
We mentioned this on multiple occasions, but what does it mean? It won’t hurt to keep your online presence in line with the physical one and reinforce your branding.
Customers also like it when you keep in touch with time, and they are more prone to ordering digital membership cards than physical cards. Trust us – future buyers will appreciate you going the extra mile for them, especially if you have an existing business.
Better affiliate marketing
Digital membership cards are the key to valuable partnerships. They allow member card owners to take advantage of special programs and discounts. This drives more income your way.
Usage tracking
The member card will be your main mobile wallets intelligence source. You can drive communication in the desired direction by simply relying on card intelligence.
If the member is active, you can send them incentives based on past activity. The same goes if they are not active and you want to get them involved. Just follow how the membership cards are being used, and you will know what to do next.
Higher renewal levels
Another cool trick digital membership cards enable is the possibility to remind buyers that their card is expiring. They get a direct notification on their phones and usually follow up with one-click renewals. As easy and simple as that!
Is there a better way to enhance the member experience?
Same member experiences as with physical cards, or even better
Digital and new membership cards are used on smartphones, as that is their biggest advantage. With them, you can do anything you usually do with magnetic strips, just quicker and more cost-effective.
New technology is making everything possible. To give you an example, you can use the card to can an IR code or unlock your home door. It even sometimes lets you automatically download content you need.
Many businesses offer pre-negotiated discounts to their customers. It works by only scanning bar codes or QR codes from their phones. Members are really satisfied and tend to make more purchases.
Does every membership business need membership cards?
It depends on your line of business, but digital membership cards are recommended to any company. It comes down to how you expect these cards to be used.
Let’s assume you run an online business and you sell courses you’ve created. A digital card may not be the way to go. On the other hand, if you run a large membership site where people sign up for courses offered by partners, a digital card is the right solution. Therefore, decide based on the case.
Digital cards have proven useful for backend and frontend users. This is particularly true for offline businesses such as gyms or exclusive clubs. In some countries, only a membership card can get your COVID-19 results delivered, as well as create a recovery pass and let you track the changes.
How can you create a digital membership card?
Hire a digital card company
Research for companies that specialize in this area. Focus on such that let you use a new template and which guarantee compatibility with Google Pay and Apple Wallet. Look out for extra features, such as ID number, expiration date, or branding opportunity.
Some companies offer these services for free, so check them out and make a decision.
Create digital membership cards or get a designer to help you
For simpler designs, you won’t even need to spend that much. Certain apps allow you to create personalized cards and upload those on your membership platform.
Aquire developer help
If the membership card is more sophisticated, hire someone experienced in app development. This way, you will get all the blows and whistles and provide an even better customer experience.
Conclusion
Ditching the physical membership card approach may feel strange, but it is a step you will eventually have to take. As you move to a digital membership card, you will notice all the benefits it brings to your organization.
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