Gift cards are one of the most popular and requested presents for people of all ages. Even outside the holiday season, they are one of the most common gifts for birthdays, graduations, baby showers, and a host of other occasions. Gift cards allow the giver to feel confident in their gift, and the receiver to choose their own adventure. However, gift cards benefit more than just consumers. They are advantageous to your small business as well. Read on to learn about how gift cards can benefit your business.
5 Reasons to Use Gift Cards for Your Business
Grow Your Sales
Gift cards provide several opportunities to grow your sales. Unlike coupons, which take value away from products you are selling, gift cards will keep customers coming back to your business to use the full value of the card. Over half of gift cards are used over multiple visits and purchases, giving you the opportunity to upsell additional products when customers return to your store (source).
On average, people who buy gift cards for others spend 38% more at that retailer than the value of the gift card they purchase, making them your power users and influencers (source). Gift cards also give new customers a way to become familiar with your product. With a gift card, someone personally close to the customer has felt your product is a good fit, giving you a chance to prove them right. Growing your sales is by far your greatest benefit to offering gift cards for your business—be sure to wow your new fans to keep them coming back!
Increase Brand Awareness
While we all appreciate recommendations from friends, they only go so far—until we have a chance to test them out risk-free. Receiving a gift card is an opportunity for someone to try something that may appeal to them, but otherwise would not have gone out of their way to try. By providing gift cards, you can benefit from letting others do the work for you by sharing their love of your products.
Gift cards for your business can also be sold in a variety of locations, from convenience stores to online marketplaces and apps, increasing your potential reach. If you brand your gift cards with your logo in an attractive and appealing way, every time the recipient uses that card, you will receive free exposure and increased brand awareness.
Build Customer Loyalty
Building personal brand connections with your customers is vital to keeping long-term clients. When customers feel a strong bond with a company, they are more likely to continue to use their services and products. With so many incentive programs provided these days, offering gift cards in conjunction with a loyalty program is just another way to build that customer relationship. If you provide gift cards, as well as bonuses or coupons for certain spending benchmarks met, your audience is more likely to return to your store in order to reach that required spend amount. Building customer loyalty is one of the major benefits of offering gift cards for your business.
Reduce Risk of Fraud
Another reason to provide gift cards is to give your customers a greater sense of security. Over 31% of consumers fear they may be a victim of identity fraud (Source: Generali), and that number increases every year. As a result of recent rashes of credit card theft and data breaches, there may be people hesitating to try new retailers, including your small business.
Make sure when you do offer gift cards, you work with a company that offers the most recent technologies in producing them. Modern gift cards are electronic, with a balance that is updated automatically when a purchase is made, greatly reducing the risk of misuse through cash-back schemes. Gift cards are a huge benefit—they make the customer feel more secure, and protect your business from potential fraud.
Boost Sales Around The Holidays
When the pressure is on to get the perfect gift, many people look to gift cards to fill in the gaps. Gift cards are often purchased last minute, maybe even just hours before a holiday or birthday event, by a consumer who is seeking the fastest possible option. If you hold out on providing them, you will lose out on sales from customers who are trying to beat the clock, and instead will just turn to a competitor. Offering both instant electronic and physical gift cards is also a huge benefit, as some people will be so rushed they won’t have the time to travel to your location and purchase there. If you offer both types of gift cards, this can be a major revenue increase to your business.
If you are looking for an effective way to boost your sales, gift cards are your answer. Gift cards provide a variety of benefits for your business, ranging from increased revenue to greater customer loyalty. These major benefits will help you to increase your sales in an easy and manageable way, freeing up more time for you to run your business.
Holidays are a great time to promote your gift cards. Download our free eBook below for a full list of holidays and national observances throughout the year:
