Break through to a new market or demographic with gift cards

How can gift cards help your brand expand to new markets? 

To be a contender in the global marketplace, forward-thinking brands need to adapt to new trends and opportunities to remain relevant and connected. If you’re a fast growing brand, wanting to break through into a new market, you should absolutely consider the implementation of gift cards in your business, or a change of strategy to make the most of your card. 

 

How does a gift card open up a market or a demographic? 

Test the waters 

As a fast growing brand, you may want to reach new audiences without disregarding your current market entirely. If you think your brand would sit well with a demographic or even geo-location, you don’t need to change your whole approach – just adapt your gift card branding, test new landing pages and target at a niche level. Because of the nature of gift cards trackability, you’ll soon see the sales and the return on investment with spoiling the overall brand experience or confusing consumers.  

Reduce risk with third parties 

You can also let you finance manager breathe a sigh of relief and let a third party take a rebranding risk for you. Their market can be used without any expectation on you to do the hard work in branding or pivoting. They can also provide insights as to who is using your gift card and if this is a market or demographic that could work even harder for you. 

Open up B2B and B2C channels

Not only are there the various demographics at a consumer level you can test new targeting at, but there is also the option of entering the booming employee rewards and benefits market, ensuring your brand is visible, either via a third party or your own channels for business customers. They are activley looking for gift cards for their employee reward and recognition and marketing/ loyalty and retention schemes. B2B sales of gift cards were up by 9.3% last year, according to KPMG. 

Add your card to a 3rd party site and you could be allowing millions of employees to view your brand. Get promotions right here, and you’ve opened up a whole new avenue. 

Now is the time to move. The GCVA (Gift Card and Voucher Association) is calling for the government to increase the tax-free employer gifting allowance from £50 to £500 (see #giftcard500 initiative), so if you want to break into the employee rewards market through third-party distribution of gift cards – do it now. 

 

Implementing a gift card program is a sound business strategy but proceed with caution.

In 2020 there was a 30.2% rate in the gift card’s digital product market share for, while it was only at 17.1% the previous year. The landscape is changing, especially in tech. 

You need to consider: 

  • business partnerships

  • an assessment of the third-party distribution model

  • an environmental strategy, e.g. carbon emissions, reducing waste

  • operational cost-savings, e.g. shipping and handling, manual processing, reduction in return orders

If you are concerned that you don’t know which gift card system is right for you, or you worry that you don’t have the right technology or know-how to implement and maintain a gift card incentive program, we, at RL Consulting can help. We want to become part of your team by extension, and are here to manage your incentive program for you worry-free. 

Get in touch today.

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