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 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.
You are probably familiar with some of the more common types of merchants that have been using gift card programs. The local restaurants, the beauty salon, the spa down the street ... many of them have long ago shed the paper gift certificates for an improved gift card program. They understand the importance of introducing their business to new customers and pre-selling their services. However, what you might not realize is that gift card programs have integrated successfully to a wide range of non-standard merchants. Whether it's the local grocer, the auto dealer or a pet sitter or groomer, the plastic gift card has become an indispensable source of business. To know whether a gift card is right for your company, let's take a look at three reasons it may be a perfect fit.
Gift Cards Are Desired by Your Customers
It's often said that gift cards aren't a creative gift. The demand for them, however, tells a different story. Plastic gift cards were among the top of the most-asked-for gift items (clothes and media/electronics are the other items in the top three). Whether it's because of a gift card's ease of use and delivery; or because the gift-givers want to introduce their friends to a service they like; or because there are more and more creative choices that will be appreciated by the recipients ... gift cards continue to rise in popularity. More and more consumers expect business establishments to offer gift cards. If they don't, they often find a competitor that does.
It's All About Image
A slick gift card design is like a miniature billboard. Your glossy image is not only attractive, but it promotes and reminds people of your business. The larger plastic gift card providers can offer you a range of customization options. From standard themes, created for quick shipment, to full-color options that use your company's colors, logos and images, there is customization available for any size business. Combine this with a variety of in-store promotional materials like fully custom card carriers and hangers, eye-catching displays, posters and more. Now, you have a multi-faceted campaign to promote your gift card and drive highly profitable sales.
Driving Your Revenues
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.
About the Author:
Al Duggan is an expert in custom gift cards and is the Vice President of Business Dev. for Valutec Card Solutions, LLC, a Metavante (NYSE:MV) company, the nation's largest provider of plastic gift card services to small merchants.
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