5 ways to Promote a Gift & Loyalty Programme

WM Circle Logo

By: RickFerguson |

Posted on January 4, 2016

There is not a lot of talk around gift and loyalty programme promotion. Maybe because it seems fairly simple, yet many brands fail to effectively increase and maintain high participation rates in their programmes, according to Tyler Walton, Marketing Manager for Clutch.

Top brands understand that success starts with awareness and commitment from front-line employees. Consequently, Walton suggests that brand and loyalty marketers can make use of five key ideas to help increase their gift cards sales and loyalty programme enrolments:

  1. Advertise In-Store
    The easiest way to promote gift and loyalty programmes is to make sure customers know you offer them. Simple signs outside of the entrance, point-of-sale, and throughout your store increase the awareness of your programmes.

    The impressions keep your programmes top of mind so the customer is prepared when they have the need for a gift card or decide it�s worth their time to sign up for your loyalty programme.
     

  2. Mention At The Point-Of-Sale
    There is no better time to remind customers about gift cards than at the point-of-sale when their wallet is open. Cashiers should be trained to mention gift cards at every transaction during the holiday season. Incentivise your employees by giving the top three gift card sellers a reward and watch your volume greatly increase.

    Employee contests can be done for loyalty programme sign-ups as well. When cashiers aren�t promoting gift cards they should be politely mentioning the loyalty programme. A simple �do you have a loyalty card with us?� is enough to remind customers of your programme. They will respond back �no, how does it work?� if they are interested.
     

  3. Increase Your programme Exposure Online
    Advertising gift and loyalty programmes online can greatly increase awareness. Gift card promotions should be the first thing a customer sees on your website during the holiday.

    Social media posts and email blasts can be utilized to increase the exposure of your programmes too. Experiment with advertising your programmes to existing and potential Facebook fans. The more impressions, the better chance customers will think of you when they say to themselves �where should I get a gift card?� or �I come here a lot, maybe I should sign up for a loyalty card.�
     

  4. Incentivise Gift Card Sales With Promotional Cards
    Want to really drive your gift card sales? Create a deal for customers to receive a promotional (bonus) card with the purchase of a gift card. The most popular gift card denomination is $25 followed by $50. Entice buyers with a $5 or $10 promotional card to use for themselves.

    Set an expiration date on the bonus card for the end of February so you drive traffic into your store during the slow months. Since shoppers spend 30-40% more when purchasing with a gift card you�ll even capture a return on your cost of $5 or $10 in product.
     

  5. Offer Gift Card Fundraisers For Organisations
    Gift card fundraisers are great ways to drive sales and gain a positive perception in the community. Offer organisations 10-20% of the face value in gift cards they sell. Provide an order form for cash to be collected so the cards can be loaded then distributed by the organisation. This programme not only gets your business involved in the community, it acquires new customers and brings existing customers back.

More Info: 

https://www.clutch.com