Notes From A Local Business: The TN Card
Supporting hundreds of local businesses, The TN Card is a prominent part of Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge & Sevenoaks.
We chat to Jess at The TN Card to find out more about the scheme, encouraging customer loyalty and the ever-important notion to ‘Support Local’.
All businesses nationwide or local start somewhere. When & where did your journey begin?
The TN card launched last February, just a few weeks before the first lockdown! I wanted to support our independents in Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, and give our community another good reason to shop locally. 13 months later the scheme spans Tunbridge Wells to Sevenoaks, and everywhere in between. We have over 1000 members and counting, and currently support 340 local businesses.
Can you tell us more about your products/services and how you've built your brand?
We are a loyalty reward scheme for Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks. Join as an annual member for £20 at www.thetncard.com to access rewards at hundreds of independent and small businesses across our region – and support West Kent Mind while doing so.
What are your core values as a business and how do you try to implement them each day?
Community, integrity and passion.
The TN card is all about community – our hashtag is #tntogether. Independent businesses are able to join the TN card without cost, and benefit from free marketing and exposure. Our annual members have all invested in membership because they’re excited about and committed to supporting local. Most importantly, the TN card supports West Kent Mind: 10% of memberships goes to the charity and we also help to spread awareness of the charity through walkabouts, signage and member newsletters.
Having integrity is very important to us. We are totally transparent, listen to our members and partners carefully, and avoid paid promotions so our members can trust our opinions as our own. We’re eco conscious and our membership cards are 100% degradable.
We are passionate about supporting local. We are genuinely interested in our business partners and spend time building a relationship with each one. We visit business owners ourselves and photograph and write from the heart. Hopefully this comes across in our features.
What was your mission at the outset?
To bring our community together, to remind everyone of the need to support local and to reward them for doing so. People declare that the High Street is dead but actually we have a large and diverse range of independent businesses, all bringing something unique and special to the community. We wanted to help get the word out about them and be a force for good.
Brand and image is so important across all businesses in all sectors. We are very familiar with The TN Card, what products/services have you used from Absolute Creative Print and how have you found them to benefit your business?
We have used Absolute Creative Print from the outset for our printed marketing materials and signage. The team has also helped us with design services where we’ve not been able to do this ourselves. Last year Absolute Creative Print put together our very first Christmas shopping guide for members, which was so successful, it will become an annual festive feature.
How do you advertise your business & services/products?
Over our first year we’ve experimented with various advertising routes – printed press, radio advertising, flyer dropping, signage. But for us, the most effective advertising is our social media and word of mouth, as members introduce the scheme to friends and family.
Is there anything about your business that you feel is unique and helps you stand apart from others?
There are a few loyalty schemes in our towns. We all operate differently and can compliment each other if we work together. For us, we’d prefer to work in partnership towards a shared goal of supporting our towns, than stand out from others.
Is growing and scaling your business on your agenda?
Absolutely. The more members we welcome to the TN card, the stronger our influence as a community to support our High Street and our local independents. We’re called the TN card because we’d like to support local across the TN postcodes.
With ever changing technology, such as, new social media platforms there's always something 'new' to do! Do you see this as important for your business?
Yes, it is important to be innovative and to keep up with new trends, so we continue to stay relevant for our members and add value for our business partners. The TN card is growing quickly and it’s important we find new and exciting ways of delivering information and business news to our members in a way that suits them. We’re launching The TN Catch Up – our new podcast series – for that reason. Our High Street, and the way we shop, is constantly adapting and changing. We can only support our High Street businesses if we do the same.
And finally, what does supporting local businesses mean to you?
Supporting local businesses is at the heart of everything we do.
Join the growing community supporting local in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks. Annual membership is £20 with £2 going to West Kent Mind.
