How To Make Your Gift Card Program Work For Your Business All Year Long

Small business owners have a lot on their plate; operations, marketing, customer service, HR, inventory management and logistics. And with so many daily tasks at hand, it's easy to forget about generating revenue from one of the most popular holiday gifts: gift cards. To help you out we put together 5 ways that small businesses can make their gift card program work for them not just during the festive period but all year long!

1. Set up a system to track your gift card balances

If you're a small business owner, it's important to keep track of your gift card balances and be clear on any gift card purchases. If you don't use a gift card platform like LoyLap, which records everything for you, you'll need to develop manual processes and a ledger to track and update your current gift card liabilities.

2. Offer gift cards that are relevant to the occasion

The psychology of gift-giving explains that a gift is both a reflection on the giver and the receiver. And a primary motivation behind giving a gift is to strengthen a relationship, achieved by the meaning added by selecting a gift that's personalised to the recipient.

Linking your gift cards to specific occasions using a few distinct designs is an effective tactic. Depending on the event, it allows your customers to personalise their gift card selection for their friends and family.

3. Create a gift card page on your website

A simple approach to increase gift card sales is to include a prominent link on your website to a page dedicated to your gift cards. This will not only assist with SEO when potential consumers are looking for gift cards on search engines, but it will also serve as a regular reminder to online visitors that gift cards are available. Additionally, you could also consider selling digital gift vouchers directly from your website and social media, which are ideal for capturing sales from those inevitable very last-minute shoppers.

4. Run incentives and bonus offers

Another way of generating more sales from gift cards is by offering exclusive offers to buyers who purchase gift cards. This could be discounts, freebies or an exclusive bonus amount on the card when buying over a particular value or spending on a certain product range.

This tactic can appeal to any consumer, not just those who require gift cards at the time of purchase, which adds to your company's cash flow.

5. Don't stop marketing your gift cards

According to LoyLap data, many businesses will make most of their gift card sales throughout November and December. However, this is no reason not to market your gift cards throughout the year to maximise your annual revenue. By implementing a year-round gift card marketing campaign, you'll increase the likelihood of your business being top of mind for customers when their friends and family require a gift card. Our blog on gift card marketing ideas will be helpful when you are putting together your gift card marketing plan.

These are just some ways to make your gift card program work for you all year round. Want help with gift cards? We are happy to discuss how LoyLap can help you generate revenue from one of the most popular holiday gifts! So contact us today, and let's get started right away.