Are you on the hunt for an easy way to boost sales, promote new products, and reach new customers without being sales-y? Then let’s talk about gift vouchers. Whether you’re in the restaurant, retail, fashion, or medical field, a gift voucher program can gear you up for more sales and help you build brand awareness both locally and online.
Vouchers, gift cards, certificates — they’re all essentially serving the same purpose: offering a voucher with a pre-purchased dollar amount for gifting. People love them! Gift vouchers make excellent stocking stuffers and greeting card gold.
When someone is unsure what to get for the person who has everything, gift certificates come to the rescue! Bottom line: vouchers are a low-cost, high-return way to bring shoppers to your store.
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So, how do gift cards work for small businesses?
Look, the last thing you need is another task on your list. As a small business owner, time is a precious (albeit rare) commodity. How can you implement a gift voucher system that requires little time and money?
Read on for a roundup of the best ways to use gift certificates to bring in new business, boost sales, and spread good cheer — to your cash register and your shoppers!
1. Promote Repeat Customers And Bring In New Business
When someone buys a gift certificate for a friend or loved one, they’re endorsing your business. We all know how effective word of mouth is, considering 92% of shoppers trust friend and family suggestions over advertisements.
It also works the other way around. For example, if someone puts a gift card from your store on their wish list, the gift-giver may not have previously known about your business. When they go to buy a gift voucher from your store or website, they might have a look around and find something for themselves, too!
Want to nudge them toward a purchase? Offer them a promotional gift voucher when they purchase a certificate. For instance, if they buy a $50 gift card, reward them with a $5 voucher.
Just like that, you’ve just doubled your clientele.
2. Advertise New Products And Offer Rewards
Do you have a new product launch to promote? Gift cards are a fantastic way to advertise, especially if you make a voucher that doubles as a product ad.
Want to build product awareness and customer loyalty? Reward shoppers with a promotional voucher when they purchase the new product.
Here’s how:
- Choose a template (PosterMyWall has tons of free gift voucher templates).
- Add a picture of the product you want to feature.
- Offer a promotional gift voucher when customers buy the new product.
- They can use the gift card for additional spending or give it to someone else. In the process, you’re also promoting your new product to the recipient.
A gift voucher that doubles as an advertisement that’s basically wrapped in a business card? Not a bad idea!
3. Give Shoppers The Option To Choose
We’ve all got someone in our lives who makes gift-giving a royal pain. Maybe they’ve pulled a Rachel Green from Friends and returned one-too-many of your gifts. Then, there’s the classic ordeal of trying to find the right gift for the person who seems to have everything.
Gift cards are essentially dressed up cash, but they serve a deeper purpose: they open the door to possibilities. When people receive a gift card to your shop, they get to have fun choosing what they want. And chances are, they want more than one item.
4. People Spend Over The Given Amount
The goal of gift vouchers is to incentivize spending at your shop, right? Well, the mere presence of a voucher is enough to bring in shoppers to your store. And what happens when they get there? They tend to spend!
In fact, 72% of people shopping with a gift card end up spending more than its value — $59 more, according to First Data.
Want to take it even further? Adorn your checkout stand, aisles, and signage with gift certificate promotions. When people redeem their voucher, offer them a discount on a new gift voucher for a friend.
You see the pattern here? They are cyclical, and promoting your gift cards lubricates the wheels to keep the sales machine moving.
How else can you market your gift vouchers?
5. Promote Gift Vouchers With Email Campaigns
Create a newsletter campaign to fill people in about your new gift voucher system. Most people love giving and receiving gift certificates, especially when stumped to find the right gift for that picky someone.
Use your campaign to target them and direct them toward your gift voucher program. And don’t forget to dispatch a voucher campaign leading up to the holidays, like this newsletter from Taco Bell.
When people purchase a $15 eGift Card, they get a $5 bonus! Follow this example to combine two tactics: a promotional voucher wrapped in an email campaign.
That’s the holiday spirit!
6. Boost Seasonal Sales (*Ahem*The Holidays Are Here!)
Fact is, people, love to give gift vouchers for the holidays. Need a concrete figure to bring it home? American consumers spent $42 billion on gift cards in 2018!
What does that mean for you as a small business owner or mom-and-pop shop?
There’s a seasonal sales boom coming, so now is an excellent time to get your gift certificate program up and running so you can cash in on the action.
How you ask?
Create Gift Vouchers With PosterMyWall
Ready to kick it into high gear for the holidays? Now is the perfect time to build up your gift voucher program. Best part? PosterMyWall makes the entire process a breeze. With hundreds of customizable gift voucher templates, all you have to do is fill in the details and start promoting.
With the holidays around the corner, there’s no time to waste. You’ll want to create an attention-grabbing design to catch people’s eyes.
Here’s how:
- Choose from PosterMyWall’s wide selection of gift voucher templates.
- Quickly customize the design in the easy-to-use editor. Add pertinent info and tailor fonts and colors to your business’s branding.
- Download the voucher and start promoting them in-store, on social media, on your website, and in your newsletter.
Just like gift certificates open the door to possibilities for shoppers, they also open the door to more sales for your small business. And that’s always welcome.
