Why You Should Still Offer Plastic Gift Cards this Holiday Season

Many business owners believe that plastic gift cards only sell on Black Friday, and then again on those couple of last-minute days before December 25th.

And while it’s true that these are some very high-volume days, you can still make plenty of money during the entire month of December if you’ll make them conspicuously available during the entire month of December.

Everybody loves plastic gift cards in their own way.

1. You’re Almost Guaranteed to Make More Money.The math just adds up. Don’t believe me? Just look at retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot–even many grocery stores now sell plastic gift cards that often have -nothing to do with their core business-.

The simple fact is that plastic gift cards sell during the holidays. In fact, they tend to bring in a decent amount of revenue year-round, as well. If your businesses is one of the rare ones that can’t support custom gift cards, look into selling plastic gift cards for another business. The benefits of using them are so big for most retailers, they will be only too happy to give you a cut for offering their cards for sale in your establishment.

2. You’ll Increase Your Other Sales as Well.At least you will, as long as you advertise your plastic gift cards in some form or fashion. That’s because there will be some customers who come i specifically to purachse some of your custom gift cards–and walk out with more purchases than they intended!

In other words, plastic gift cards are a pretty darned good way to bring in foot traffic and even create impulse sales. You just have to put a little time, energy, or money into marketing. Customers won’t walk through your doors for waht they want, unless they know you’ve got it!

3. Plastic Gift Cards=Sales Referrals.This is one of the grfeatest tings ever about custom gift cards: your customers are basicallyg _paying you_ for the privilige fo referring their friends, family, business associates, and others to your store!

Of course not every plastic card you sell this year will go to a new customer. But a significant portion of them will (often over half–especially likely if your business is only a couple of years old).

But there’s nothing wrong when repeat customers end up with one of your cards. That still acts as a little extra push that gets them inside your doors. More often than not, they will spend more than the amount on their custom gift card. And even if they don’t, they’ll still associate pleasant feelings with the act of spending money in your establishment. Not a bad deal for you at all! Which actually kind of leads me to a “bonus” point:

4. Customer Retention.Don’t forget that you can give away plastic gift cards with every purchase of a certain dollar amount this year. YOu can also offer them as gifts to loyal customers that use your customer loyalty service.

Give-Aways to Your Most Consistent Customers Finally, a “members only”holiday gift certificate (i.e. card) drawing can do a lot to keep yoru current customers by rewarding loyalty. And what better git to give them, than a chance to spend more money in your store!

So there you have it: plastic gift cards encourage new cuswtomers as well as old custoemrs to spend money in your store. They can bring in impulse puraches from customers who were “just doing a little holiday shopping”, and they can increase your overall bottom line, period.

Plastic Gift Cards for Financial Fitness!

You are into what you do, you have a dream, and you pursue it; you start your own fitness program. Now you need to market your program, and set it apart from all the rest; plastic gift cards are the ultimate tools in marketing your program.  

Gyms & fitness centers are just two of many businesses that can profit from plastic gift cards.

I don’t think I need to really explain the logic behind this, but can you really imagine just how far an order of custom plastic gift cards (or for that matter, even stock ones) will get your marketing budget? Let’s look at some of the potential benefits.

Plastic Gift Cards Will Increase Business

Giving a fitness gift card to a friend who has no interest in working out is a bad idea. However, that does not mean that the fitness gift card market is closed, or even small for that matter.

In fact, many of the big chain fitness centers have already seen the benefits of fitness gift cards. When someone gets results from your services, people will be asking about it. Your gift cards will present the perfect opportunity to get more bodies into your center, and to help make your services more accessible to those who need it and want it.

You do what you do because you love it. You love helping people achieve their own personal best, and making a living from it is what enables you to keep going. Plastic gift cards for your business will help you reach more people.

Keep Your Marketing Budget in the Black, While Still Giving Back!

Plastic gift cards are the best marketing solution available to a business like you. They cost a fraction of a television ad. They fit right in with a word-of-mouth marketing plan, and for pennies on the dollar, they can increase your business’ reputation as a community partner.

You may be wondering how a plastic card can achieve all of this. The answer is that the cards are only a tool you can utilize in order to get great results. When used wisely, your fitness cards will achieve all of these goals. Here are some ideas on how to use your cards for your marketing purposes.

Use Plastic Gift Cards to Partner with Local Businesses

The idea behind this is to work in conjunction with local businesses, such as apartment complexes, retailers, and service providers, and even non-profits, by offering your fitness cards as part of a customer reward or appreciation package.

When a customer signs a lease, buys a certain amount of goods, or gets a certain oil change package, your plastic fitness card will be handed over to them as a reward. Be sure to keep the value of the card worth the visit! This is great because you will draw in customers with little commitment on their end, but with a big potential for you.

For non-profits, you can offer your cards as a donation for fundraisers and silent auctions. The non-profit can sell a large gift card value for under value, as in a $80 gift card for the price of $10, or it can be auctioned off.

Use Fitness Cards to Build Reference Generators

Offer gift cards for a certain amount of referrals, and double the value for each referral that buys into your program.

Or, allow schools, sports teams, or youth fitness centers to sell your fitness cards for a fraction of their redeemable value. These programs can give you a small portion of the sales, while keeping the greater portion as another fundraising program.

This is great because you have the potential to make the cost of production back, all the while benefitting the community, and making the right marketing moves.

When offering plastic gift cards in these ways, remembering that your purposes are for marketing, and not necessarily for big profits just yet, will be important. Using fitness cards in this way has been shown to bring good results; results that you can see as your client base grows with a minimal investment! 

How Small Businesses Profit from Custom Gift Cards

You can design custom gift cards for any audience–or find template designs.

One sector that has benefited from this shift is the area of small businesses; according to Newtek Business Services, a small business authority, the small business index is up by .22 percent from May of this year.

Additionally, small business have a stark advantage in their abilities to experiment with old and new marketing techniques; and custom gift cards are just one of the ever expanding vices for small business markets.

Custom Gift Cards are an Affordable Marketing Measure for Small Businesses

Thanks to many advances in digital printing, custom gift cards are becoming more accessible to business of local specialties and smaller scales. Digital printing allots you, the business owner, the liberty to choose smaller sized orders at reasonable prices.

The quality of digital print is as good as offset printing, with many more advantages; such as better color matching, greater control over variables, and an improved sense of the finished product.

The cost per unit is incredibly low for higher quality plastics, inks, and printing, which gives way for a sizable profit at the sales counter per unit.

Take Full Control of Small Business Marketing Techniques

A failing economy was much too large a price to pay for corporate obedience, and people know it. Obedience led to many grave consequences, which included the loss of personal dreams for the betterment and security of the family.

The doors have been opened up to many, so that small business may be started more easily and less costly than ever before; and people know it. These are the advantages of a locally minded economy, and those are the advantages that your small business can capitalize on.

Custom gift cards are the top rated gift purchases for most celebratory occasions, and by offering your local patrons custom gift card options, you enable them to spread their love of your business among friends and family.

How Custom Gift Cards Increase Exposure

If there is nothing else we know about a small business, we do know that for the best customer service, small and local are the way to go. Offering gift cards for patrons has many benefits.

One of which is increasing exposure. Once your patron gives the gift, you will have a new customer entering your doors, which allows you more opportunity to really show how your business is worth their time and money.

Additionally, the fees for the gift cards are paid upfront, which we know allows a decent profit to be made off of the initial sales. However, the gift cards are walking advertisements for your business, and the cost is virtually nothing to you.

Thanks to the addictive use of social media, when one gift card is bought and gifted, you are potentially reaching a handful of customers or more.

What Small Business Can Benefit from Plastic Gift Cards?

In my hometown historic district, there are many locally owned businesses that have been around for years, and yet often unheard of.

The Little Bread Company that offers gourmet breads, baked goods, and coffee would greatly benefit from a gift card opportunity. The locals that know about the business love it, and I find it often mentioned on status updates.

Similarly, there is a small shop that sells goods and clothing made by hand by the people of the South American country that she grew up in. Many people like their goods, and the shop is a great place to find uncommon gifts.

Custom gift cards would help drive the shop’s sales by bringing in customers who may not always be able to shop there, or may not have ever gone yet, and allowing them to choose their own gifts. As with this and any small business, the profits, when added in moderate sums, are huge. 

Gift Card Holders for Small Businesses and Consumers

When people purchase gift card holders, they do so for two basic reasons. 1) They purchase the plastic card holder as a simple means to transfer their plastic gift card from one recipient to another. 2) They purchase the plastic card carrier to surprise the receiver of the gift card. Therefore, business owners need to be aware of both possible reasons before ordering the gift card carriers.

Gift card holders can be unique, simple, and classy all at once.

Gift Card Holders as Simple Holders

The most common market for gift card holders will be the simple holder to transfer the plastic gift card from one person to another. You see these all the time in grocery stores, convenient stores, and just about everywhere you look. They are convenient and they are everywhere. However, this does not mean you can throw in the towel. You must give them some thought and planning.

The holder must:

• Compliment your custom gift card
• Enhance your corporate image
• Appeal to customers

Since simple gift card carriers are nothing more than holders and are not to surprise the recipient, ou can use them as a way to lure your customers back into the store. As any small business owner knows, many gift cards are not redeemed and those that are redeemed may take weeks or months.

This process can be sped up with a coupon printed on the holder itself. By printing “Bring this holder in by Valentine’s Day for 10% off your next purchase” will hasten the use of the gift card.

Gift Card Holders as Surprises!

The other reason people purchase gift card holders is to surprise the recipient. In this case, the plastic card holder cannot reveal the nature of the gift card. It does need to be cute and festive but it cannot under any circumstances reveal the nature of the present.

As a small business, you may be wary about ordering such gift card carriers for your business. After all, plastic card holders do not appear to advertise your business and they seem to have little value–right? In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

If your customers are looking for a gift card as a surprise and you do not offer surprise gift card holders, then they may very well pass by your store and opt for a VISA gift card instead.

When considering surprise gift card carriers:

• Make them attractive and festive
• Consider turning the gift card carrier into a keepsake

How to Turn a Gift Card Carrier into a Keepsake

Scrapbooking is making a big comeback and you can make your way into the scrapbook with your gift card carrier. The gift card carrier is the perfect size and shape to remember a special day and your business can be a part of it if you play your cards rights (pun intended.)

Picture this:

It’s graduation day and everyone is excited because Big John is graduating. Aunt Sue and Uncle John walk into your store and spot your custom designed graduation gift card carriers. These cards carriers are black with silver glitter calligraphy writing. The writing is across the fold. It is simple and elegant and says “Congratulations Graduate”.

Also, in silver glitter, is a cap in the upper right corner. You only take these out at graduation time and since there is no year printed on them, you can use them each year.

Aunt Sue falls in love with the graduation gift card carrier immediately and buys it along with a custom gift card. Later that night, Big John’s mom puts the gift card holder in the graduation scrap book and your store is permanently attached to Timmy’s graduation.

Gift Card Holders for Growing Your Business

Most small business owners understand the importance of advertising and marketing their business if they want to grow. Fortunately, utilizing gift card holders as part of this marketing campaign can be an extremely effective way to increase your customer base and help your business thrive. 

Gift card holders come in every design you can think of–and some that you probably haven’t!

Without a successful method of bringing in new customers, most small businesses fail within a very short amount of time; however, there are some very effective methods that can be used to not only bring in more customers, but can also be an excellent strategy for creating repeat customers.

After all, getting a customer in the door is typically the hardest part of any advertising strategy; once you have them in your place of business, you should be able to sell them on your particular products or services.

Gift Card Holders for Special Promotions

Gift card holders can be used to advertise special promotions that you have planned. These promotions can be anything from a special sale to a customer appreciation event.

With a special card holder designed to promote the event, you not only create added interest, but your customer carries with them a constant reminder. This can be an especially effective form of advertising and one that could potentially help a small business generate many new customers.

Gift Card Holders to Promote Specific Products or Services

Depending on the nature of your business, you could feature gift card holders designed specifically to promote a particular product or service that your business offers.

Whether you sell tires or vitamins, the products and services you promote can be as simple as offering customer discounts, incentive programs or even free trials. Your gift card will certainly be a welcome item, especially when coupled with a promotion for an exceptional savings on a popular product or service you offer.

Gift Card Holders to Advertise Your Website

Another important factor in growing any small business is establishing a solid internet presence. Many of today’s consumers prefer to do their shopping online and offering customers the option of visiting your website can dramatically increase your customer base.

However, in order to maximize your website’s potential, it is important for customers to know how to find it. With your various pieces of marketing collateral prominently advertising your website, you can be sure that more customers will begin visiting your site.

Whether you have a physical store or not, harnessing the potential of a website can make a huge difference in the success of your business. Let your customers know about your website with gift card holders that generate interest in visiting your online store. You might be surprised to find how quickly this area of your business begins to grow.

One nice thing with well designed card holders is that you can be sure that it is something that will continue to provide advertising effectiveness as long as your customer continues to use it.

You can offer a selection of good quality gift card holders to use for various advertising campaigns or for your customers to choose as a holder for a recipient. However you use these card holders, be sure to choose a high-quality printer, the quality of your advertising products will be a direct reflection of your business.