The holiday season is one of the most exciting periods for businesses with tons of opportunities to gain new customers and increase income. A well-thought-out gift card program is one of the most effective tools for this purpose. Gift cards are convenient for shoppers, assure businesses’ income, and bring clients back in the door. Follow these industry tips to ensure your gift card program succeeds this holiday season.
Grasp the Power of Gift Cards
Gift vouchers provide shoppers the perfect convenience for those last-minute branches. Research shows that when people receive a gift card, they often spend beyond the value of the card, creating extra sales for your business. Not only that, gift cards also have fantastic marketing power, as they introduce new customers to your store or website who may never have walked through the door.
More importantly, knowing your audience and customizing your gift card program helps you benefit from it.
Select the Best Gift Card Type
There are several types of gift cards and picking the right kind could be a game-changer:
For Businesses with a Physical Store: Physical Gift Cards: These are tangible cards that an audience will love for their personal touch.
Digital Gift Cards: Best Suited For Those with eCommerce or Hybrid Businesses — It offers instant delivery and is environmentally friendly as well.
Personalization: Letting the customer get creative with their gift card with designs or messages.
Depending on the nature of your business, it includes both physical and digital.
Enable Easy Paths To Purchase
Keep the purchasing of a gift card as stream-lined as possible. Use your website and social pages to show “Buy a Gift Card” buttons in big, bold letters. Train your in-store staff to upsell gift cards during checkout. For eCommerce stores, add the gift card option to your online payment gateway.
Remember, convenience is key. And, the more convenient it is for customers to buy your gift cards the higher sales you’ll see.
Create a Festive Design
In-depth presentation matters during holidays, create holiday gift cards that embody the spirit of fun and merriment. Incorporate some festive features like snowflakes, Christmas trees or holiday-style lights. If you have digital cards, provide a few of them animated.
Festive gift card designs not only enhance the looks of your cards as gifts but also make them appealing to customers.
Offer Attractive Incentives
Enhance your gift card program with new promotional ideas:
Example: Buy a $50 gift card, get an additional $10 bonus value offer
Discounts: Get a percent off for the purchase of a gift card, e.g. “$100 & Up Gift Cards 10% Off
Loyalty Points: Give customers points when they buy gift cards to give them an incentive to come back.
Well, these are benefits that increase the sales of gift cards and also ensure customer loyalty.
Promote your Gift Cards Aggressively
Market your gift card program across all marketing channels Use the following strategies:
Advertisement on Social Media: Create story posts and post in feed with your gift card selections.
Email Lists: Place gift card promotions in newsletters to your subscriber list.
Retail Displays: Put up signs next to checkout counters and entrances where customers can easily spot it.
Joint Deals: Cooperate with non-competitive enterprises to have mutual solicitation of gift cards.
Make use of festive hashtags as well as competitions so they keep expanding online.
Highlight Benefits to Buyers
Highlight the perks of purchasing gift cards from your company. For example:
While gift cards are a time-saver for all shoppers, they can be beneficial for busy ones in particular.
They also offer a gift-giving solution without stress, for those said “hard to shop for” people.
Gift cards can introduce your friends or family to their favorite store or service.
An inevitability when you solve for common holiday shopper pain points that your gift card has addressed.
Track and Optimize Performance
Track the performance of your gift card program using analytics. Measure metrics such as:
Units Sold: Monitor the number of gift cards that get sold each day.
Redemption Rates: Assess the frequency of gift card redemptions.
Average Spend: Keep track of additional money customers spend aside from the value of the card.
Use the insights to tweak your own strategy. If your redemption rates are low, use gift card holder exclusive deals to get them through the doors of your store.
Create more efficient redemption processes
Ensure gift cards are as simple to use as possible. Study your employees to buy Gift cards on POS systems For digital gift cards, give specific directions for how to use online or in-store.
A seamless experience for recipients will give them a reason to return and tell others about you as well.
Plan Post-Holiday Promotions
Expand your gift card strategy beyond the holidays. Create post-holiday buy-backs for cardholders and get them to the door in slow months. Offer a small discount or some points for using their card in a given period of time.
Planning, innovative marketing, and execution are key to a successful gift card program. Doing the above will not only improve your sales but also improve customer service and customer loyalty. Get the word out as soon as possible, and your gift card could be the toast of the holidays!
