Grupo, to use an analogy, and to try to make the concept simple:
As you know, I frequent a summer resort island off of Rhode Island. Next summer, there is going to be a guy and a couple of his workers who will greet the ferry each hour offering passengers a free coupon book with many discount coupons within it for area businesses.
Now, there are three bookstores on this island, but only one gets in the discount coupon book; there are six ice cream places, but only one gets in the coupon book, there are three moped rental places, but only one gets in the coupon book, there are two movie theaters, but.....
Hotels, taxi services, charter fishing boats, hairdressers, boutiques, bakeries, B&Bs, Clothing stores, dive shops, on and on.
Each business gains a preference from customers over competitors, while the guy who solicits the businesses to be in his coupon book, gets a weekly fee from them to distribute it to every vacationer getting off the ferry. It will also be in hotel rooms, taxi cabs, etc.
Thus, DCI gets a fee for marketing select businesses to consumers, while each business gets a preference from potential customers interested in services in that particular market segment. It's kind of like the local dine-out club that is applied to an array of goods and services on an international scale.
And like anything else, nobody values anything they get for free, so DCI likely charges an annual membership fee for the Card to boot. If this is so, then its probably just icing on the cake.
"The Privilege Card, don't leave Dayton without it" |
