"TPG’s software effectively allows us to do one to one marketing on a much broader scale." - Pat Iasillo, Director of CRM, Remke Markets Bank

Serving their customers since 1897, Remke Markets operates an 8-store family-oriented supermarket chain throughout Kentucky. Averaging between 40,000 and 65,000 sq. ft., Remke differentiates themselves from local competition by offering customers unique products and specialty departments, such as a homemade foods section. Another facet of their uniqueness is their use of technology when planning one-to-one marketing efforts.

Like most other supermarket retailers in their region of Kentucky, Remke Markets utilizes direct marketing as a means to communicate with their current and potential customers. What sets them apart from their peers is the utilization of their CRM data when considering new promotions. By matching custom tailored promotions to selected shoppers from their database, they were able to see average redemption rates soar to around 5%, well above the industry average of between 0.8%-1.5% (NCH 2003 Trend Report).

Although the method by which they designed their promotions proved highly effective, the medium by which they delivered them was extremely limiting. "Direct mail is extremely cost prohibitive", states Pat Iasillo. Even as there were more active households available in their market, the direct marketing budget would only allow them to deliver 117,000 (13,000 every 6 weeks) promotions to local households in 2003. Interestingly enough, the solution to this problem would come from the need to replace their aging receipt printers.

IT representatives from Remke Markets attended the Marketechnics show in early 2004 to research new receipt printers, and to seek out emerging technologies. During the show they met with TPG, whose display showcased their hybrid receipt printer line and receipt promotion software, ReceiptEZ™. The demonstrations to the Remke team proved that not only was TPG’s A760 printer an affordable hardware upgrade, but also that ReceiptEZ™ could be of interest to their marketing team back home.

A TPG sales team was invited to the Remke Markets headquarters to do an in depth presentation on ReceiptEZ’s capabilities. The presentation showed the Remke’s marketing group how the software could transform ordinary receipts into valuable marketing tools, and how it might also possibly solve their direct mail cost dilemma. They saw the opportunity to add Top Logos for branding, interchangeable Watermarks for security, Bottom Logos for coupons, and receipt promotions that could be triggered by consumer behavior. "Things were getting stale with our marketing approach", recalls Iasillo, "Here we saw the opportunity to replace our printers, use color in our receipts, freshen up our efforts, reduce the cost of one-to-one marketing and save a bunch of money."

After installing 90 printers in their 8 stores, Iasillo and the rest of Remkes’ marketing group strategized their first receipt promotions. After several promotions were planned, they became curious as to how successful they would be and how effective this new marketing media would become. Using traditional direct mail, Remkes Markets would typically send a total of 13,000 direct promotions to their customers’ houses every 6 weeks. Although the yearly distribution was limited by the high cost of direct marketing, their effort yielded a high redemption rate range of between 5% and 17%.

Out of all the promotions that were planned with ReceiptEZ™, none was more eye-popping than the "free product" offer. In October of 2004 Remke Markets distributed 26,000 "free product" promotions, using TPG’s software to append them to the bottom of customer’s receipts. This approach doubled the amount they would normally distribute in their six-week promotion cycle and resulted in an average redemption rate of 32%, double their regular average. Equally impressive was a promotion in which they partnered with a local convenience store chain. They issued gas coupons on the receipts of certain customers when checking out their groceries. 64,000 ReceiptEZ™ gas coupons were issued, of which 17,500 or 27% were redeemed.

"With direct mail, people forget about the promotion because it gets lost with the rest of the clutter, but with this solution, you can instantly see the customers putting the promotion right into their wallets and purses. TPG’s software effectively allows us to do one to one marketing on a much broader scale. They have proven themselves...the software works, its effective and it is easy to use", states Iasillo, reflecting on October’s successes.