Three Reasons to Add Custom Gift Cards to Your Business
All companies — whether you are new or well-established — are looking to grow. Grow customers, grow sales, grow profits. It’s a common goal with a ton of methods, services and solutions at your fingertips. How do you know which of these services is right for you? How do you traverse these murky waters successfully? Success is often built one step at a time.
One of those steps that both new and established businesses have to consider is gift cards. Can they really make an impact for your company? Are you missing profits without them? Perhaps, this is one of those decisions you have been putting off but know you should make.
For many types of businesses, gift cards have become a no-brainer. Most dining establishments, salons and day spas have all traded in their once-popular gift certificates for the plastic. They know the benefits of pre-selling themselves to their customer base and expanding to new clients. Today, more and more of the non-typical merchants are using gift card programs. From supermarkets to car dealerships to even pet-grooming services, the gift card has found itself as a successful business tool. Let’s take a look at whether gift cards fit your business. Consider these three simple reasons why gift cards might actually work for you.
Your Clients Demand Gift Cards
You’ve heard gift card critics say that gift cards are impersonal and uncreative. Yet consumer demand for them continues to grow year over year, placing gift cards in the top three in terms of most-requested gifts along with electronics/media and clothing. Today’s consumers expect their favorite businesses to offer gift cards and will often seek businesses that do. Why? They may want to introduce their friends to a business they enjoy. Perhaps they know the recipient well enough to be sure it will be a useful and appreciated gift. If a gift has to be mailed, dropping a gift card into the mail or ordering it over the internet sure beats standing in line at the post office with a box.
It’s All About Image
There are a variety of advertising products out there to help get your word out. But few can match the appeal of a shiny new gift card with your identity presented on the card. Many of today’s larger gift card companies can offer you considerable options related to your card’s appearance. From inexpensive, quick-ship “standard” card designs that are personalized with your business name to full-color designs based on your artwork, logo or photography, the options are many. Regardless of how your card is designed, it will become a small billboard in your customer’s wallet — a durable reminder that your brand is their preference. Add some matching, customized merchandising materials — such as posters, custom card hangers and carriers, or attention-getting card displays — and you have an integrated marketing plan to drive attention to what may be your most profitable product — your gift card program.
You Need the Revenue
I’m going to take a wild guess that you probably wouldn’t turn away more revenues, increased traffic, and additional loyal customers, right? A gift card program addresses all of these aspects of growing your business. A single gift card will represent at least two visits (maybe more) to your business — the first visit when a consumer purchases the card, the second visit when the card bearer returns to use the gift. Additionally, these card bearers also may be new to your business. A percentage of them will return to your business. And many will even tell their friends about your business. You’ve just leveraged an existing customer into creating new customers. And the purpose of all these consumers with gift cards is to buy something … and quite possibly something more expensive than they would have without the added benefit of the card.
Whichever type of gift card program you decide to develop, there is a crucial aspect that all gift card programs share — as soon as you sell a gift card, you boosted revenues. You’ve essentially had a consumer make a pre-payment. That plastic gift card may be redeemed in a few hours, in a few days or weeks … or quite possibly, never. But that sale is already made and that revenue is yours. You can use that money to help your business now. This is an envious position for any business to be in, and a gift card program is an excellent way to place you there.
Tags: Marketing