Gift card solutions are the perfect answer to many busy times in business sales. The holiday season represents the peak of consumer spending. In 2020 alone, holiday spending totalled $784.9 billion. Sales of gift cards also went through the roof from October to January as demand increased by 106.1%.
The demand for gift cards is strong throughout the holiday season. However, many businesses don’t know how to properly leverage gift card solutions. This is a misstep, as selling gift cards in addition to your usual products and services can provide a healthy boost to your cash flow.
Getting Set Up
If you don’t yet have a gift card program, you may be a little confused about the process of setting them up.
Fortunately, setting up a gift card program is easy. You can create digital or physical cards that suit your business and make distribution a straightforward, fully integrated process. These gift card solutions can increase revenue and margins and give you further insights into customer behaviour.
Further, you can use gift cards at different points of sale. Even if you exclusively offer digital gift cards, you can still use them during physical transactions. This will support your physical location and help improve brand awareness.
In addition, gift card solutions may be safer for your business. Hackers and phishing scammers use the holiday season to exploit security flaws in business online payment portals. Using gift cards can reduce the risk of an attack, as hackers won’t be able to exploit payment credentials temporarily saved in memory or harvest the consumer or administrative details.
Designing Your Cards
A sleek gift card can catch the eye of a consumer at the point of sale. Well-branded, personalized gift cards also reflect well on the gift-giver, as individualized gift cards show that they’ve given extra thought to the recipient.
When designing a branded gift card, use grid lines to align your text and center your images. Next, you’ll need to find a typeface that is easy to use and matches your overall brand image. Leave enough space around your logo so it is visible to consumers and stands out on sales racks.
Overall, creating a gift card solution that reflects your business’ brand can help you stand out from the crowd and increase your in-store stickiness. Even digital gift cards can reflect well on your overall brand and evoke feelings that make folks want to visit your in-person location. Just be sure to get a proof made before your cards go to print so you can be certain that your gift card program will align with your overall marketing strategy.
Bonuses and Incentives
Gift card solutions are already a great way to increase brand exposure, drive up your revenue, and improve your margins. However, you can maximize your gift card sales this holiday season by offering bonuses and incentives that appeal to consumers.
You can get creative with promotions and deals that you offer consumers who buy gift cards. The most straightforward strategies usually offer “free” money for folks who spend over a certain threshold. For example, you might give $5 to anyone who purchases a gift card over $50. This type of customer loyalty program keeps them coming back again and again.
Alternatively, you can use gift card solutions to boost certain areas of your business. For example, if you sell donuts but find that your online delivery sales aren’t as high as they should be, you can use your gift card to direct consumers toward your online portal. You could, for example, offer one free donut when you purchase a gift card and offer this free product to consumers who buy online.
Gift Card Solutions for Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Consumers get a significant chunk of their holiday spending done during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Businesses around the globe practically fall over themselves to offer great deals to customers who are looking to save money and be savvy with their spending.
If you operate a smaller business, competing with the deals that large businesses offer can be tricky. You can’t afford to slash your profit margin and won’t necessarily be able to fulfill a significant boost in orders or sales.
Luckily, gift card solutions are a small- to medium-sized business’ best friend during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Selling digital gift cards doesn’t require you to expand operations or spend extra on inventory in the buildup to the holiday season. You can also offer lucrative deals to consumers who are looking for a bargain online.
However, be sure to reward your customers if they decide to purchase goods and services in addition to a gift card. Stacking gift card sales with typical sales can give your business a meaningful revenue boost, so reward consumers who decide to spend their cash on Black Friday or Cyber Monday with you.
Conclusion
Above all, gift card solutions can increase your revenue and improve your margin. Well-made gift cards can also enhance your brand and drive additional traffic to your physical and digital stores. Consider offering additional sales and incentives when customers purchase gift cards, as many consumers will willingly spend a little more if they feel that they are getting a good deal.
Blog written by Adrian Johansen
