Keep Customers Coming Back
If you sell gift cards, they can also act as Loyalty Rewards Cards, or your can offer small gift cards to customers who spend a certain amount of money. E.g. For every $100 spent, a $5 credit will be applied to the loyalty reward card, or the customer will receive a gift card for $5. Not only will customers make multiple visits and purchases in order to meet the minimum requirements, the majority of customers will want to get the ‘free’ $5, so they will come back and spend far more than that. Personal connections with customers is important, and thanking customers for their loyalty is a big part of establishing long-term clientele.
When customers feel a strong bond with a company, they are more likely to continue to use their services and products. With the seemingly endless number of incentive programs provided these days, the last thing you want to be is the guy who stands out as being without one. If you want loyalty from customers, you have to give customers loyalty. Everybody else is!
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. Many gift cards are used over multiple visits and purchases, giving you the opportunity to upsell additional products and/or services when customers return to your store.
People who buy gift cards for others tend to spend a great deal more at that retailer than the value of the gift card they purchase, so, typically, you aren’t only getting revenue from the sale of the gift cards themselves. Gift cards also give new customers a way to become familiar with your product without having to spend any of their own money. Receiving a gift card is an opportunity for someone to try something that may appeal to them, but that they otherwise would not have gone out of their way to try. Gift card providers benefit from letting others do the work for them by having them share their own love of your fabulous products/services. In that a gift card acts as a recommendation from the giver, the customer walks in with a more positive attitude than someone entirely unfamiliar with your company. And if their friend thought they would like your product, there is a good chance they will be back a few times, long after their gift card has run out of steam.