retail : Innovation + Job News

Today, it seems that every retailer has a loyalty card leading to wallets stuffed with plastic and the potential for confusion. Cincinnati startup LOC Enterprises hopes to replace all those cards with the launch of its Loyalty One Card.
 
The LOC Card is the first truly universal loyalty card that will not only allow consumers to stop carrying around handfuls of cards, but it will also allow them to manage all of their loyalty programs on one website.
 
While holiday shopping for his now 12-year-old son in 2011, LOC’s CEO and founder Jack Kennamer realized the problems of loyalty cards.
 
“I was standing in line at a sporting goods store, and I heard the cashier ask customer after customer if they had the store’s loyalty card,” Kennamer says. “Most people didn’t want one, but one lady decided to sign up for it, and I could see the guy behind her huffing and puffing while she filled out the registration form. And when the guy in front of me was asked if he had the store’s card, he held up his keychain and said ‘No room for you.’ I figured there had to be a better way.”
 
After that experience, Kennamer spent hours researching loyalty cards and programs, and found that there wasn’t a “universal” loyalty card.
 
“Consumers love to feel special and get free stuff and discounts, but it’s getting to the point where they have to work so hard to participate in loyalty programs,” he says.
 
Kennamer’s company developed a 100-percent consumer-centric card that allows consumers to tailor how they want to engage with each retailer. For example, a consumer may want to interact with Kroger one way and Best Buy another, so they can pick and choose which retailers with which to share their email address.
 
When a consumer signs up for the LOC Card, they’ll set up an account online, and anytime they go to a retailer that accepts the card, they swipe it once and they’re enrolled in that loyalty program. LOC’s website manages all of the loyalty programs for the consumer, so there’s only one email address and password instead of 100.
 
LOC is working with the companies that handle the analytic side of loyalty programs to better service consumers. The company is also building relationships with individual merchants and getting great feedback about the LOC Card.
 
The LOC Card isn’t just tailored to large businesses, though. “The problem small businesses have is they don’t stand a chance because they’re so far down the totem pole when it comes to loyalty,” says Kennamer. “With the LOC Card, you swipe your card at the retailer once and you’re signed up for their loyalty program. After that, it’s up to the consumer to come back, and the retailer can reach out and give the consumer personalized offers to start repeat behaviors.”
 
The LOC Card isn’t available to consumers yet, but you can pre-register on LOC’s website.
 

Writer: Caitlin Koenig
Follow Caitlin on Twitter

It was April of 2001 and dot-coms were imploding like far-away stars in Deep Space 9. But not for Marc Resnik. He had a dream. Sort of.
 
“It wasn’t a dream, just an idea in my head,” said Resnik. “I literally woke up laughing with an unusual idea for a business.”
 
After “throwing” some ideas around with the family, Resnik said he went downstairs and registered the domain ThrowThings.com for his Ravenna-based company.
 
The business model combines the concept of “throwing” with a number of loosely related departments. “Things To Throw” has toys and games, like baseball and such. The “Throw Your Voice” category features ventriloquist dummies (big sellers, apparently), puppets and marionettes. The most popular section, in terms of overall revenue, is the “Throw Your Name Around” category which offers customized promotional products. There’s also “Throw Backs,” “Throw A Party,” “ThrowThings Things” (this is not a typo) and, of course, “Throw Up.” You can even “Throw Your Money Away.” We’re not kidding. For $3.50 plus shipping and handling, the buyer gets a certificate verifying that he did, indeed, throw his money away.
 
Resnik says the five full-time staff company continues to evolve and grow and enjoyed consistent year-over-year growth until the economic downturn in 2008.
 
“With the downturn in the economy we took a hit but have been back on the growth track since then,” he said. “When things slowed down the company used the time to refocus, to become more efficient, and to complete some of the things on our ‘We really should do this but there just doesn’t seem to be time’ list.”

“Unlike most businesses, ours is relatively scalable in that we have the ability to increase business levels based on our [existing] staff. Because of this we are always looking for people that could be a strong addition but we are never pressured to bring someone in.”