Gift Cards Key in Product Promotion Strategy

Every day, consumers are faced with a nonstop barrage of advertising messages and promotion offers, making it difficult for businesses to capture an already short attention span. Even the most carefully researched and designed promotional campaign can easily get lost in the “media muddle.”

One highly-effective solution to this problem inserts gift cards into the marketing mix to better engage and reward consumers.

Whether selling mobile phone subscriptions, household furnishings, or automobile insurance, companies can generate more sales and build customer loyalty by offering gift cards or VISA and American Express reward cards as a purchase incentive. It’s a smart way for sellers to separate themselves from the competition. When shopping for products and services, consumers want to feel like they’re getting great value; especially true when it’s a big-ticket purchase that requires research and extensive “shopping around” time.

The offer of a gift card or Open Loop card with a purchase can make all the difference.

For example, customers intent on buying a new living room set will likely look at dozens of pieces – both in-store and online - before deciding on their purchase. In the meantime, they will encounter many promotional deals and discount offers. While discounts are attractive, an incentive gift card offer allows customers to buy the furniture they want and use the gift card to make additional purchases, have a celebratory dinner, or buy a gift for a friend or family member. More than any sale or limited time offer, a incentive gift card truly feels like a gift, and can help a company stand out in the marketplace.

In addition, companies offering gift cards as purchase incentives can further benefit through word of mouth. So, when customers purchase goods or services and get a $100 gift card or VISA Reward card to spend on shopping, dining, electronics or entertainment, they’re likely going to tell their friends, and the likelihood that their friends will consider the same source sharply increases.

What gift cards most favored by consumers in purchase promotions? The business publication, Incentive Magazine, quotes an industry study on promotional incentives that states about one-third of consumers preferred open-loop gift cards, such as VISA, MasterCard, and American Express that can be used at a wide range of locations. In addition, a third of the research respondents preferred open-loop gift cards that can be used for online purchases, as well, such as NGC’s Digital VISA Reward code product.

The takeaway: promotional incentives, such as gift cards that put customer convenience and needs first, are the most powerful.

By working directly with a wide range of consumer product and service providers, the gift card experts at National Gift Card have the experience and creative drive to develop fun and engaging promotional campaigns that get customers through the door and clicking on your website.