Gift cards are the backbone of any custom plastic card campaign that can bring in fresh customers and boost sale. When backed up by solid marketing strategies, these miracle plastic cards can get a consistent flow of new customers in through those doors. They are so successful that both big-box retailers and local stores order stockpiles gift cards in advance before the holiday season. Barring the success stories, there are many retailers who struggle to get the best out of their gift card campaigns. If your store gift cards are gathering dust, here’re 9 ways to encourage customers to add them to their carts.
Gear Up for The Holiday Season: According to Google, search requests for “gift card” reaches an all-year-high in December. This is when people are out to buy gifts and gift cards. This means if you don’t have a marketing plan to draw in the holiday shoppers then you are definitely missing out. From offering holiday discounts to promoting the holiday-themed cards on social media and in-store, you need to do whatever it takes to cash in on the shopping frenzy.
Employ Visual Marketing: Most shoppers decide to buy gift cards when they are in the store. This means gift cards that are beautifully displayed in stands with proper banners and signage, are able to attract impulsive buyers. Display the gift cards in your store’s gift section. It’s also a good idea to display the cards near the POS counter so that people can quickly add them to their carts.
Give Away Token Gifts: Adding a small gift makes the gift cards more gift-able. From the customer’s perspective, giving a gift card with a small gift is far more appealing than handing someone a bare gift card.
Make Them Look Presentable: Packing it in a small paper box makes the gift cards look more presentable. Some retailers give away premium-looking gift boxes with high-value gift cards. This move encourages customers to purchase a more expensive gift card.
Promote Them on Multiple Marketing Platforms: If you are not doing it already, then you should start now. Apart from banners and billboards, employ social media marketing to promote gift card offers. Email marketing also offers a cost-effective way of drawing people’s attention.
Sell Them Online: If you have a website for your store, then you should definitely consider featuring and selling gift cards online. If don’t have a website, you can sell them on sites like Craigslist and eBay.
Target Birthdays and Anniversaries: People often buy gift cards that are custom designed for special occasions. For example, a gift card with a “happy birthday” text message becomes instantly appealing to someone looking to buy a gift for a friend’s birthday. This goes same for anniversaries. Now, because there is always a birthday or anniversary around the corner, these cards can be sold all year round.
Sell Them at Other Online and Offline Stores: Apart from displaying and selling them in your own store, convince other shop owners to sell your gift cards. Store owners who are not in direct competition with you may decide to display your cards for a commission. You can also reach out to online gift card stores to have your cards featured on their sites.
Price Them Below Their Values: This is a cardinal rule of getting shoppers to pay attention to your gift cards. Even if it’s only a few dollars, ensure all gift cards are priced below their values. Considering most customers spend more than the value of the gift cards they redeem, this discount will easily be compensated.
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