McDonald’s Loyalty Program

I’ve mentioned before on this site, McDonald’s needs a loyalty program. I’m a loyal guy, but I have a McDonald’s, Quiznos, Subway, Burger King and Mr. Sub within throw-a-baseball distance of my office, so the competition is fierce for my lunchtime dollar.

Today at lunch, I saw McDonald’s is rolling out a gift card program. Similar to Starbucks (which to my surprise I have found myself using), it means you have the convenience of a 2 second swipe to pay for your purchases. That’s opposed to a 10-second Interac process, or a 30-second cash process.

I’ve thought to myself, why do I like the Starbucks card so much? I don’t know for sure, but I think I like using it even when I have money on me, so that I don’t have to carry around coins. Even if I enter the Starbucks with $20 on me, I am bound to leave there with a pocket full of coins when my $4.26 Orange Mocha returns $15.74 to me in change. I like the Starbucks card because I don’t like coins. I also don’t necessarily need to do debit (Interac) transactions just for a coffee, and I don’t even think they will let me charge a single coffee to my credit card because of fees. So Starbucks card is a free and painless way to pay without the hassle of change.

And so McDonald’s has copied that, so good for them. Will make a good gift (for some people I guess). Everyone knows a McDonald’s lover.

Mickey D’s should extend this “card” program to loyalty points. Collect points for purchasing items. Points gets you free stuff like McDonald’s caps and shirts. Or even toys and gadgets. Track your points online. Market to these people who have self-identified as being your best customers. And watch the ROI skyrocket.

Why, why, why doesn’t McDonald’s want to track my spending? They should, I want them to! And then they can give me stuff. Free fries from time to time, free value meals. It’s not to much to ask in exchange for my loyalty.