Create Customer Loyalty With a Raffle
Mðnу thðnkÑ• and a tÑ–Ñ€ þ’ thõ hðt tþ “ImрðÑÂt a LÑ–fõ†ѕÑÂhþlðrÑ•hÑ–Ñ€ writer Morgan Hasler fþr tðkÑ–ng þn thõ fþllþwÑ–ng õѕѕðу tþріѠѕþ ÑÂrõðtÑ–võlу:
DõѕÑÂrÑ–bõ hþw a buÑ•Ñ–nõѕѕ (Ñ–nÑÂludÑ–ng rõtðіl ðnd ѕõrvÑ–ÑÂõ) ÑÂðn dõrÑ–võ Ñ€rþmþtіþnðl and ÑÂuÑ•tþmõr lþуðltу/rõtõntіþn bõnõfÑ–t bу utÑ–lÑ–zÑ–ng a rðfflõ in thõіr mðrkõtÑ–ng õffþrtÑ•.
Thðnk уþu ѕþ muÑÂh Morgan fþr your wõll-dþnõ essay – ðnd bõѕt þf luÑÂk wÑ–th уþur Ñ•tudіõѕ! Morgan is currently enrolled at Eastern Illinois University.
“Impact a Life†Scholarship contributor: Morgan Hasler
Yþu ÑÂðn hõlÑ€ Morgan Haslers’ pursuit þf a scholarship award bу ÑÂlÑ–ÑÂkÑ–ng the “sharing Ñ–Ñ• ÑÂðrÑ–ng†buttþnÑ• bõlþw.
Close your eyes. Think back to those childhood days of playing in arcades. Opening the doors and being slapped in the face with the smell of pizza and pop. Hearing the joyous laughter of children playing Ski-Ball, shooting tiny targets with water guns, and the hum of air hockey. Hand getting stamped with the mind blowing ink that only showed up under a black light. Running to the closest coin machine and awaiting the flow of coins to come rushing out. The possibilities are now endless. Wondering up to the glass case mesmerized by the all the awesome prizes from the 5-ticket pop up tab, to the 5,000-ticket oversized teddy bear. After deciding on the ideal prize, it’s game time. Playing game after game to get as many tickets as possible. It becomes addicting. Asking parents to dish out another five-dollar bill to feed into the ticket gathering frenzy. Letting the counting machine gobble up the hard-earned tickets and spit out a receipt. The final step is reaping the rewards of earning so many tickets. Prizes.
A business such as, retail and/or service, can create customer loyalty/ retention benefit by utilizing a raffle in their marketing efforts.  Customers would rather spend their money in a place they feel welcomed, like the business truly cares about them. What is the easiest way to get a quick connection to someone? Connect to their past. Therefore, I propose that the business recreate the excitement of getting tickets from arcade games.
Upon the first visit to the store the customer makes an account that will keep tally of how many raffle tickets he/she has on record.  Let’s say that for every piece of clothing the customer gets two raffle tickets, for every accessory the customer gets one raffle ticket. After they check out they are handed the corresponding amount of raffle tickets in which they will take to the “ticket eating/ counting machine†they will be presented with a receipt (with their account information on it) in which they can either enter the monthly raffle. Or they have the option to go to the booth of “prizes†that is conveniently placed so that you must walk through it to get to the exit and pick out a prize. Similar to the arcades the prizes will range in value from small things such as pens and hats to much larger in value items like jewelry.
The same system can be applied to a business that works with services. An example I will use will be a hair salon. Adult haircuts will be worth three tickets; the salon can even give an extra ticket to clients with thicker hair because the cut generally costs more. Children’s haircuts will be worth two tickets; a “good behavior†ticket could also be a factor. Full head color if a single process will be worth five tickets. Highlights single process will be worth four tickets. If the client gets more than one dying process, then they ticket count will go up by the number of processes and colors used. An account with the salon will be made also and the ticket processing will be the same as the retail store. The prizes will range from the cheaper products such as nail files and nail polish to the high-end hair care products. The monthly raffle will be the customer’s choice of a nail polish set, hair care treatment, or a 70% off hair trim.
In both store cases the customer has the option to save the receipts and bring them back at their next time visiting the store. Online they can keep track of their tickets and what prizes they have won. After 100 tickets, they will have unlocked the first level and be moved up to the second level. To unlock the second level, they must attain 250 total tickets and so on. The different stores can come up with attention getting names for the levels that engage the customer. Each level will also unlock different rewards such as coupons. Now for the catch, if the customer chooses to keep the receipts and they go unused, after six months they will be null and void. This will make the business seem more valuable because of the Law of Demand. The value goes up because the time it is available is limited. When the customer returns to the store to redeem their tickets there will be a plethora of merchandise conveniently placed to catch their eyes.