Where and How to Start Your Gift Card Journey?
Are you looking to get your business started with gift cards but want to ensure that you approach this project the right way? Let’s start from the top!
Why do you need a gift card for your business?
Gift cards are a powerful tool that can launch your brand into new markets and help you acquire new customers on a massive scale.
What are the challenges?
Without a dedicated team, tapping into these benefits can be challenging. From defining the right design and distribution strategy to contending with tight budgets and tooling constraints, the path to gift card success is littered with challenges. You need either someone in-house as a gift card manager – or a consultant or an agency. Let’s give some real examples of the serious decisions you will need to make:
- What type of gift card will you sell? Physical cards that can be redeemed in-store or online?
- How will you make API calls to check the validity of a gift card being used?
- Will you offer gift cards as payment and a mix of gift card and credit card, or just one?
- How will you keep an eye on failed redemptions and authorisations?
- Is the activation of the card based on a PIN, or a URL with a link?
- What amounts can be loaded and minimums / maximums?
- What terms and expiry dates will you have?
- What is your process for a gift card checkout?
- What if a customer returns an item purchased with a gift card – how is this processed?
- How integrated will you be with the B2B market?
As you can see, some of these are big questions with an answer that’s not simple at all. It ties into your finance team and business as a whole. The great news is – there is a whole world of third parties out there to help you, and they all have different skills and strengths in tech solutions, physical processing or cards, making cards eco-friendly, and sourcing amazing packaging and displays – but you can imagine that meeting all these people one by one will soon be a full-time job.
If you haven’t heard of activations and APIs and processing – you don’t want to go it alone.
How can our expertise support you?
With years of experience and deep industry knowledge, we are familiar with the common pitfalls involved with gift card solutions, and we help our clients navigate the path to success by providing expert advice and hands-on support each step of the way. What does that mean?
Step one – Strategy
The first step in starting your gift card journey is to develop the right strategy. Your brand’s objectives are the starting point for defining the right gift card strategy. Our team of experts work closely with you to understand your goals and advise on the right solution. We then define a personalized plan that takes you from design and technology to distribution and sales. By leveraging our expertise, you can avoid common challenges and achieve the results you want faster.
Step two – Operational support
Once the strategy is in place, our team provides operational support to ensure your gift card solution fits the big picture. We function as an extension of your team, working proactively to provide hands-on support where you need it. Whether it’s helping with design tweaks or managing the distribution process, we’re here to ensure a seamless implementation.
Step three – Technology
As you can imagine, tech plays a crucial role in gift card success, and outdated in-house tech can pose obstacles. We are well-versed in the challenges that can arise from outdated technology. We can help you maneuver around these obstacles and provide solutions for sourcing and managing all necessary tech touchpoints for gift cards. From white-label platforms to processing and API distribution, we have the expertise to ensure your gift card program runs smoothly. We also offer all the necessary Gift Card technology inhouse.
Step four – Networking
Another crucial aspect of a successful gift card strategy is the network you can put it in front of. The right partnerships and channels can make or break your gift card program. Working with your team, we leverage our extensive network of online and offline third-party channels to ensure that your gift cards connect with the right markets and unlock the commercial results you desire.
We have worked with renowned brands like Carrefour, adidas and Foot Locker, helping them achieve significant growth rates and success in the gift card space. Our experience, passion, and specialized knowledge have made a difference for our clients, and we can do the same for you.
Ready to get started on your gift card journey? Book a call with one of our gift card experts today.