Whether you're a new business just opening or a growing business with a substantial bank of customers, you have one goal in common: you want more. More traffic. More loyal buyers. More revenues. And everyone through the door or on the phone has a plan to get you there. Confusing? Sure it is, but no one said your climb to the top would be easy.
One of those strategies you will need to make a choice on is gift cards. Are they for you? Can they really help your business? It may not appear to be an easy choice to make from the outside, but achieving "more" in your competitive market often requires you to explore effective ways to build your profits and increase customer loyalty.
There are certain categories of business -- such as restaurants, spas and beauty salons, and specialty retail -- where gift cards have supplanted long-standing paper gift certificates as the preferred means of pre-selling products and services. If you're in these types of businesses, chances are you already have a gift card program in place. But plastic gift cards have found their way into many, if not most, non-traditional businesses as their general popularity grows among consumers. Automotive and motorcycle dealers, grocery stores, even pet-sitting services have had great success with gift card programs. But is it right for YOU? Here are three reasons you need to consider a gift card program for your business, regardless of what you sell.
Gift Cards Are Desired by Your Customers
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
You're probably like most of us in that you wouldn't mind building your customer base, driving more sales and more traffic. The great thing about a gift card program is that it positively impacts all of those areas of business growth. One gift card purchase will represent at least a couple visits to your establishment -- one trip to buy a card, and at least another to redeem it. And, often, those coming to redeem the card may be new to your business. And a share of them will like your business so much that not only will they, too, become loyal customers, but they also will start telling their friends about it. Gift cards have now helped increase your customer base and traffic. And all these consumers are coming to purchase something using their card, often something a little more expensive than they might have without 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.
About the Author:
Al Duggan is an expert in custom gift cards and is the Vice President of Business Development for Valutec Card Solutions, LLC, a Metavante (NYSE:MV) company, the nation's largest provider of plastic gift card programs to small to mid-sized businesses.
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