You’re likely to benefit from offering gift cards no matter what type of business you have or how small it may be. It’s a great way to boost your revenue since the market is projected to reach $2.7 trillion by 2027. Furthermore, shoppers also feel inclined to visit a store if they receive a gift card. It’s worth selling gift cards through your business since it allows you to gain more customers and make sales.
Here are several ways to market your gift cards and maximize your sales this quarter.
1. Increase Their Visibility
If you plan to sell your gift cards in-store, make sure you’re proudly displaying them. You want to ensure your customers can actually see the gift cards. So, it’s crucial to place them on or near the checkout counter. Or, you could set up displays in your shop and high-traffic areas.
Fortunately, you can easily pull this off by displaying them on gift card holders, racks and shelves. You could also consider displaying signage to let your customers know that you offer gift cards.
For instance, the sign could display “Buy a gift card today.” or “Ask about our gift card package.” Placing a sign near the front desk or in your store’s window display will help people notice what you’re offering. It’s always a good idea when you don’t shy away from these opportunities.
2. Cross-Merchandise With Relevant Items
Another great way to promote your gift cards is by placing them near relevant items. Occasion gift cards, such as Mom, Dad or Grad gift cards can increase revenue when you cleverly display them near Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Grad gifts. They’re more likely to sell to shoppers browsing near those sections.
Target also executes this well. If you stop inside their store, you’ll notice how they cross-merchandise their items with themed gift cards. For example, they might set up a display of baby gift cards next to the infant toys section because it knows shoppers are likely looking for presents. So, it’ll place an exhibition of gift cards in that store section.
3. Sell Them as Packages
Small businesses have the advantage of selling gift cards as more than just cash on a card. Of course, some might perceive gift cards as impersonal or lazy gifting. However, you can establish higher gift card sales when you sell it as an experience. If your business offers a unique experience with a gift card — from a spa day to a cooking lesson — you will become the solution for a busy shopper and increase sales.
If you think about the types of experiences you offer customers, you could create gift cards from several price points. A fixed amount of gift cards can limit the gift giver in what they spend. However, they will be more likely to spend on a $100 gift card if you combine it with an add-on — such as a deluxe spa package.
Some may be hesitant to buy from your business because they don’t know anything about it. Therefore, people aren’t going to know how much to spend. Yet when you provide customers with this opportunity, you help them feel like they are providing a personalized gift. Simultaneously, you’re providing them with direction about what to buy.
4. Market Across Multiple Channels
Digital gift cards are becoming increasingly popular. One study found that digital gift card sales increased by 50% during the lockdown. Plus, the market size is projected to grow to $1,922.87 billion by 2027.
When selling your gift cards online, cover all your marketing channels to spread awareness. Whether you’re selling digital or physical gift cards, you’ll want to increase gift card awareness via your email list, online store and social media accounts.
Online Store
Invest time in designing gift card-centric banners on your site so visitors know your offering. This part is especially important because some consumers may be on the lookout for gift cards.
Another way to increase awareness is to include a gift card link on your website so shoppers can easily navigate. For instance, you could include a link in the footer for quick purchases.
When you send an email campaign, be sure to have a built-in link for gift cards in your email template. Or, if you send email promotions, you can include gift card-centric content in some of your newsletters.
Social Media
Ensure you’re promoting gift card sales by communicating it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even Pinterest. For better results, use high-quality images in your published posts when promoting them. For example, you could post an interesting card design and display or create custom images.
5. Offer Gift Card Promotions
Sometimes putting up signs or telling customers in an email about your gift cards isn’t enough to increase sales. Give your customers a reason to purchase a gift card through various promotions. For instance, you could run a special for customers if they buy a $100 gift card with a free product or service. Then, you would promote the value of what that product or service is worth.
People are more likely to buy gift cards if they perceive them as valuable. You could certainly see a spike in gift card sales. However, you’ll want to take caution in over-discounting. Take careful consideration when offering a promotion, so you have the cash flow to handle spikes in redemption rates. For example, you could state that the customer can’t use the gift card they receive with the purchase on that same day. Always test your promotions, though, to see what works.
6. Promote Them Outside Your Target Audience
When marketing gift cards, you’ll want to consider more than those who are your target customers. Think about the people who would buy gifts for your customer, too. For example, if you own a hair salon, consider targeting husbands who may want to purchase a present for their wives.
You could also regard this for when you’re running ads online. Suppose you advertise on Facebook. Instead of focusing on users who belong to your usual demographic, think of people outside that group. You could target people who might be gift shopping. Then, run a few tests on your approach to see if it works well for your business.
7. Motivate Your Employees to Promote In-Store Proactively
Most small businesses adopt a passive approach to selling gift cards. However, it would help if you tried to work it out as part of your add-on strategy. For example, your employees could mention gift card offers at checkout. Or suggest it to customers who haven’t purchased while they’re on the way out of the store.
This method works effectively because some customers need you to be blatantly obvious when selling gift cards. When they take notice of your offer, they might be keener to purchase one — especially if they’re looking for a gift.
The bottom line is small businesses need to be proactive in selling their gift cards. Once you achieve that, you’ll likely see a rise in gift card sales this quarter.
Marketing Your Gift Cards Successfully
One of the top mistakes small businesses make when selling gift cards is not taking the chance to market them effectively. Remember, most people won’t think twice about purchasing a gift card from your store if they don’t know you offer it. To make the most of your gift card sales, be proactive in promoting and continuously refine your efforts.
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