Gift Card Sales Low? Here’s How to Jump-start Your Gift Card Campaign.

Sep 27, 2018

Starting the Campaign

Preplanning is critical to the success of your gift card campaign. So are specific and measurable goals, so you’ll want to make some key decisions about your gift card campaign:

• When will the campaign run? Try limiting the duration of the promotion. Design your campaign around a specific holiday (e.g., to boost Christmas sales) or try limiting the promotion to a certain month. That way, you can tell customers the deal is for “this month only.” You’ll have a reason to bring it up with customers, and they’ll feel an incentive to take advantage of the opportunity.
• Will you offer any special promotion? Many businesses offer gift cards at a reduced rate when they’re added on to an existing purchase or when the customer buys multiple cards (BOGO!). Special promotions are especially great around the holidays.
• What does success look like? You’ll want to set a goal to help you and your employees sell more gift cards. Make your goal specific and measurable. For example, set a goal that looks like this: “We want to increase online gift card sales from X to Y during the month of October.” When October ends, you’ll know whether you succeeded. And if you didn’t, you can look at your data and learn from your experience.
• What tactics will you use? There are many different methods to jump-start your gift card sales in-store and online.

When you’ve decided what your campaign will look like, you’re ready to design the card. Studies show that customers love cards designed around specific themes or events. If your campaign will be around a specific holiday or event, a unique, one-of-a-kind gift card will make the gift card more desirable (and easier to sell).

Jump-start Gift Card Sales in Your Store

To jump-start gift card sales in your store, start by making them more visible. Display the cards prominently near your registers. Place them next to gift cards or things that your customers commonly give as gifts.

Also, hold a jump-start meeting and ask your employees to mention gift cards to customers at checkout. Give them some examples of what to say to customers when offering the card. Consider giving your employees an incentive to offer the card, like a prize for the employee who sells the most gift cards during the month. You can keep track with a friendly tally.

Jump-start Gift Card Sales Online

There are many ways to market gift cards online. Start with your existing mailing list. Jump-start sales with an email blast, telling your most loyal customers about the deal. If you’ve designed a special gift card for the campaign, send an image of the card in the email. A call to action that allows customers to buy the card by clicking on it in the email will likely be most effective in encouraging people to act.

You’ll also want to leverage social media to sell more gift cards. Your social media strategy will depend on your customers. Ideally, you’ll want to promote the card on all social media channels. But, start with the ones that your customers are most active on. For Facebook, consider a paid promotion, to reach people who may not already be engaging with your product or service. With Instagram it’s all about images, so you’ll want to take some beautiful shots of your gift cards and display them there.

Increase Gift Card Sales Today!

Following these tips should help jump-start your gift card sales, encouraging old customers to return and new ones to learn about your business!