By: Erika Stevens

Anyone that owns a business that relies on foot traffic will agree that occasionally there are elements out of their control that affect how many people frequent the business.  Construction is one of those elements that can really put a strain on a business.  A few years ago I was the manager at a salon located on the main street of a small town.  The city decided to widen the main street, which was necessary to accommodate the increasing traffic, but the construction on that road basically shut down the salon due to the inconvenience of getting there. 

Those of you readers that live in Minnesota are probably well acquainted with the words Central Corridor.  For those of you not from this lovely, snowy state (yes, it is still snowing here) the Central Corridor is the name of the light rail train that will connect the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.  This connection between the cities will run along University Avenue for 11 miles and with recently secured federal funding will be under construction until the light rail debuts in 2014.  While the light rail will bring many benefits upon completion it has been opposed by a number of the businesses and residents of University Avenue because of the effects the construction will have on business and getting around the area.  Once the project is completed the businesses and surrounding area will inevitably flourish because of the increased traffic, but until that time the businesses are in survival mode because of the negative impacts of the light rail construction.

One of the ways businesses are encouraging traffic during construction is the group Discover Central Corridor (@discovercclrt).  The coalition offers a Central Corridor PerksCard for customers to receive discounts for continuing to shop along the Central Corridor.  You can participate for free by getting a card or by downloading the mobile app and scanning QR codes to receive your discount.  In the loyalty marketing industry there is debate about whether a discount rewards program or a loyalty program is more effective for businesses loyalty marketing initiatives. Right now I don’t want to debate those options, I want to focus on the way the Central Corridor businesses are incenting their customers to remain loyal during this trying time.  I commend the businesses for fighting to keep customers coming and using new technology and loyalty strategies to generate business.  Maybe when the project is complete, they will have a big party for all the people who participated in their coalition program.  So visit one of the participating businesses to get your PerksCard or download the mobile app to participate in the rewards program and support the businesses of the Central Corridor.