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It’s true.  A gift card program can boost your cash flow.

And though this time of year seems to get business owners thinking about those little plastic cards, you can use gift cards effectively to market and grow your business year round.

Before we discuss ONE marketing tip below, let me address the number one question people often ask, which is…

why use gift cards when you can just print out gift certificates any time you want?

It’s a valid question.  So let’s start to answer that right now.

Gift Cards vs. Gift Certificates

So why bother with a gift card program versus printing out your own gift certificates (or paying for professional printing)?

Well, let’s focus on their durability.

The point of having those plastic gift cards is to get them circulating for you.  Stuffing them in a display rack near your cash register, POS system or credit card terminal does nothing for you.

Having your cards in the hands of your customers is one way for generating on-going sales.

And the fact that card balances are tracked for you automatically means you don’t have to waste time trying to figure out how much money is left on a gift certificate when someone redeems it.

Recently someone shared with me how cuts up the darned cards after his customers brought them in his liquor store and used up the remaining card balance.

That’s a HUGE mistake to avoid (as you’ll soon discover)…

Gift Card Marketing Tip: Not Just for the Holidays

The fact that gift cards act as little “portable billboards” is one factor that works in your favor.

For example, remember the friend I mentioned above.  Well, the reason why you don’t want to cut up your “used up” gift cards is because:

1. you already paid for the cards
2. you own those cards and don’t want to replace or replenish your stock of cards without reason
3. you want your customers to always have a balance on the cards to keep them coming back for more

The last reason is probably the most important one for you, and the term for that strategy is called “cycling.”

Here’s how it works…

Your customer comes in your store and uses a gift card.  In using the card in your business his or her balance on the card gets depleted.  So what do you do?

Well, add five bucks on the card and tell him or her that you are doing so as a way of saying thanks for being a loyal customer, or for “customer appreciation day.” Whatever you say, it doesn’t matter.

Why is that?

Bottom line, by adding more value on the card, you are basically assured that they will return to your business and spend more money with you.  And that’s the idea.

Why does the gift card marketing tip outlined above work so well?

Because of simple human psychology.  Very few people will “waste” the value on that card.  They are going to spend it, because it’s “found money” to them.

And since they can only spend it with you, they will return some time soon.  The best part?  Very few people will spend the exact amount on the card.

They’ll often spend much more with you, justifying their purchase because of the “gift” you already provided them.

So keep those cards in circulation.  And for goodness sakes, don’t let those card in your customer’s hands reach $0.  Ever.

Gift Card Marketing & You

To discover how a gift card program can help boost your cash flow year round, simply follow the link to find a gift card provider near you.

If so, there are a couple of ways you can get started.

You can request a merchant account quote.  Simply fill out the short form and we will contact the appropriate merchant account providers for you.

You can download a free report of the Merchant Account Guide.  Just follow the link to download your copy today.

Finally, you can follow the link to scan a list of merchant account providers in your area that can help you set up a gift card program.

Comments?  Questions?  Other merchant account issue you’d like to share?

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