Franklin Sq. Chamber readies new card launch

The Franklin Square Chamber of Commerce, led by President Mary Seifert, is getting ready for a new season of spending in the community by preparing to launch its discount card program aggressively in the coming months.

For the time being, merchants continue to gather their wares in digital space, all in the interest of attracting local customers who may have neglected Franklin Square's rich retail community.

At its last meeting, held June 25, Seifert announced the launch of the group's new website, www.fschamberofcommerce.com, and the new discount card that the group will offer to encourage residents to shop locally.

While the website has already launched, the shopper card is still on its way to becoming a reality.

At the meeting last Tuesday night, Seifert briefed business owners on how to update the web page with company information and

"It's a place where you can write anything you want about your business, and people will see it," Seifert told her colleagues.

The website and the discount card, called the Franklin Square Commerce Club Card, are part of an ongoing effort to revitalize a community that has felt the effects of a difficult economy, Seifert said at that card's announcement in June.

"This is all a response to the state of the economy," Seifert said. "We're just looking for ways to keep people coming around. Here's an opportunity for ... merchants to drive traffic, it's a win-win."

The card operates simply — residents purchase it for an annual $25 membership fee, then use it to recoup discounts at businesses in the community. Everywhere from A&S Bagels to Tulip Caterers have joined the card program, along with 50 other businesses operating in the Franklin Square area.

Lennie Carter, vice president of Ordereze.com — which runs the website hosting the chamber's discounts — characterized the cards as a new kind of business driver that started with restaurants and ballooned into every sector of the retail community.

"It started out as dining clubs, getting people to come into restaurants, and we look at this as kind of a natural way to broaden that out to all the businesses in the community."

In addition to encouraging additional businesses to take advantage of the Commerce Card, the chamber meeting was an exercise in learning new methods of marketing.

The chamber hosted John Mangione, a.k.a. Johnny Saks, of Johnny Saks Marketing and Design, who gave a primer on how to grow business by aiming for a point on the retail horizon and never wavering from that goal.