A jewelry store owner called a manufacturer of plastic gift cards and asked to produce cards with a picture of Brad Pitt on them. “Business is slow and I need a boost.” She explained, “I am sure that if I had gift cards with Brad Pitt’s picture on them customers would purchase them and I would be able to increase my sales. If you don’t have a picture of Brad how about George Clooney.”
The sales rep at the plastic card printing company could of just brushed off the caller but instead decided to try and help the owner do something to boost the business. First the sales rep explained that using celebrity images could only be done by permission, which means the celebrity would be endorsing your product, and to get a celebrity like Brad Pitt to endorse a product would be very costly, in the millions. So that is off the table, but not all is lost. The rep continued and detailed what the store owned needed to consider and do to create gift cards that would boost the business, this is what he suggested:
Make the cards attractive to potential buyers in two ways, one the image on the card and two an offer for the card buyer. The card image is the door opener, it will create the interest and the offer will help close the deal. The offer is very important and in many cases is the deciding factor that makes the sale. A very effective method is to offer a discount on a future purchase to the card buyer, this extra value is attractive because it rewards the buyer who is actually buying something for someone else. Some owners have commented that people might come in to buy a gift card only to use it in the future with the discount, actually they discovered that the result is still a very positive one, it boosts sales and creates cash flow because of the prepayment aspect of the transaction. In any case it works and is very attractive to customers.
The image on the card is more complicated and there are many considerations to evaluate before deciding on what to print.
First the main image:
The most prominent element on the card can be an image of the establishment, a product or the logo of the company. Deciding what to choose involves several considerations. The potential buyer, in most cases, will only glance at the card, so you have a fraction of a second to gets his/hers attention. If the company logo is a well-known brand and you believe a potential gift card buyer would purchase a card based on seeing the logo then make it as big as possible. If not use the most attractive image that would catch the eye of the buyer, a product usually works the best because an image of the establishment, in most cases, is hard to recognize on a small card.
Next the background and color:
When deciding on the color or image for the background, take into consideration these two factors. One, the background should not over power the main image whether it is a logo or product, the background should help to make the image stand out. Two, where is the card displayed? If the card is to be displayed on a white or light color area choose dark colors to make the card stand out and reverse for a dark area.
Setting a value on the face of the card, fixed price or Loadable:
Fixed price doesn’t require a computerized tracking system or database. It enables upfront discounts. The fixed price cards do not require any type of variable data like magnetic strips or bar codes, adding consecutive numbering is recommended to help keep track of sold and redeemed quantities. The drawback is that the fixed price limits your customer’s options. Loadable requires a unique identification system on the card Bar code, Magnetic Strip or Numbering) and a tracking/database system. The system can be supplied by a POS provider or by a computer program. The advantages are that your customer’s can load any amount onto the card and even reload it and use it like a prepaid card and the tracking system can keeps up to date records of sales and card redemption.
Additional Front information, avoid clutter:
Only essential information that could help in the sale of the card should be included on the front. For example if the card is accepted in many locations it could be beneficial to indicate that on the front. Any important information that isn’t needed to facilitate the sale should be printed on the back of the card. Keep the front as simple as possible.
To Tell or not to Tell?
You will find many gift cards that do not have the wording “Gift Card” on the front. If you decide not to print Gift Card on the front make sure there is some other indication that will let your customer’s know that this is a gift card. For example a display setting indicating that these are gift cards.
Displaying the cards:
Customers must see the cards and not only see them, the cards should create an interest to make the customers want to know more. Display is part of the strategy. One method is to affix the cards to backers that allow for a hanging display and for more visible printing space for images and text. Setting a prominent position for the display is important too, by the checkout counter has been the norm for a long time but now we start to see some innovation by displaying the cards by certain products and in other key locations throughout the store.
Promoting the cards:
A famous marketer once said, “If you don’t promote a terrible thing happens… nothing.” Gift cards will suffer the same effect if not promoted so here are some options for card promotion:
Posters, well designed posters that announce the gift cards and in some cases indicate the added value to the buyer will create the awareness needed to get the word out and get the customers interested.
Advertising and marketing, as part of the store’s marketing and advertising efforts such as newspaper ads, cable TV ads, radio ads etc. the gift cards should be mentioned and in some cases be the main focus.
One on one, maybe the best promotional tool at your disposal is you and your sales staff. Develop a script that can be used by your sales staff to offer gift cards and explain their benefit to the buyer. Train your staff to identify potential buyers and to engage in qualifying conversation, this not only helps the business by creating a friendly atmosphere but also enables the staff to suggest gift card purchases.
The bottom line,
So Brad and George can’t help you boost your business but there are many other options, that when implemented correctly with a broad view of the results you want to achieve and the methods available to achieve them, will help boost sales and the overall positive branding of your establishment. And if you feel that this information is overwhelming just do as the jewelry store-owner did, have a conversation with a marketing expert. You can usually find them working for the gift card manufacturers in the sales department, they have the cumulative experience of many other companies they worked with and produced cards for.
For assistance in starting your Gift Card project we invite you to speak with one of our program specialist.
Call 845-507-0220 or use our Contact Form and we will call you.