The Times also adjusted its marketing effort to promote member benefits. Being a subscriber always had advantages, Johnson said, but these advantages were never bundled and promoted together as member benefits. TeleCheck payments by phone. Cape Cod Times Gold Card discount program at local businesses. In Education donation programs.
Readers respond to the member services attitude.
Some have started to refer to themselves as members when they call in, Johnson said. Johnson admits that some of his friends in the industry were skeptical at first. But when he spoke of the concept to business people outside the industry, they thought it was a wonderful idea. Some on the staff were skeptical, too, Johnson said, though they came around quickly. It s different, but at the same time, we re doing the same things we always did.