As a business owner, you’re always looking for new ways to grow your business and keep customers engaged. If you’re not leveraging the power of gift card marketing yet, then it’s time to do so.
Gift cards are a tried and true method to bring in immediate cash flow, reach new customers, and give your buyers the convenience they crave. In this article, we’ll walk you through effective gift card promotion ideas to help your e-commerce store thrive!
So, let’s get straight into it!
What Is A Gift Card?
Gift cards are physical or digital prepaid cards that can be used as an alternative to cash for buying products online or in-store. Think of them as modern-day gift certificates but with added convenience and flexibility!
By offering gift cards, your customers can buy them for themselves or give gift cards to others–letting recipients choose what they want from your online store. They’re a popular choice for shoppers looking for flexible gifts during holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions.
What Is Gift Card Marketing?
Having a solid gift card marketing strategy allows you to leverage the potential of gift cards to boost your sales and enhance customer engagement. This entails strategically promoting them to maximize their appeal to shoppers. For instance, you may offer them rewards for loyal customers, promote them as last-minute gifts during holidays, or give them as incentives for first-time buyers (more on this later!).
Benefits Of Gift Cards For Your Business
Offering gift cards in your store unlocks a range of benefits for you and your customers. Here are just a few of the advantages of adding this product to your offerings:
1. Improved cash flow
82% of small businesses fail because of cash flow problems. Gift cards can help improve cash flow as they provide businesses with immediate revenue, even before they’re redeemed by a customer. When a buyer purchases a gift card, they’re essentially paying for your products in advance. This upfront payment is particularly helpful during slower periods or off-peak seasons, letting you cover operational costs, stock up on inventory, or invest in growth opportunities.
2. Gain new customers
When a buyer purchases a gift card from your store and gifts it to someone else, they’re essentially introducing your store to their recipient! These people who may not have been familiar with your store before now have a reason to check out what you offer. It’s one of the most powerful ways to introduce new customers to your brand.
What’s more, gift cards are excellent tools to add to your customer acquisition strategies. For example, you can offer gift cards as rewards in your referral programs, or use them as an incentive to encourage first-time website visitors to make a purchase.
3. Convenience and flexibility
Gift cards offer unparalleled convenience for both you and your customers. For your buyer, it serves as an amazing gift option, taking away the stress of choosing the perfect item for their recipient. The recipient of the gift card also enjoys the same flexibility–they can pick any product they want from your store, making the purchase process more enjoyable!
Of course, we can’t forget to mention the versatility it offers to your business: you can create gift cards in various denominations to appeal to a wide range of customers, distribute them in virtually any marketing platform, or use them to drive sales for holidays and special occasions.
4. Boost sales
According to industry insights, 61% of customers tend to spend over the value of their gift cards. They’re also 2.5 times more likely to pay in full when using gift cards. This tendency for customers to spend more increases your average order values and boosts your bottom line, which is good news for your business!
Effective Gift Card Marketing Strategies
Now that we understand the benefits of offering gift cards in your e-commerce store, you’re probably excited to take action! In this section, we’ll walk you through key gift card promotion ideas that will help you use these tools to drive sales for your business.
1. Use social media to promote
Shoppers are almost always on the hunt for the best deals. However, not everyone might go directly to your e-commerce website, which is why it’s important to promote across different marketing channels. With over 5 billion users around the globe, social media presents countless opportunities to reach a broader market and drive interest in your gift cards.
One of the most powerful ways to do this is by collaborating with influencers in your industry. Recommendations from influencers are powerful, as they have a following of people on social media who trust their opinions and recommendations. You can work with influencers to create several types of engaging content such as unboxing videos, social media stories, or “gift guide” posts to promote your gift cards.
Another way is by leveraging user-generated content (UGC) – encourage your past customers to post their experience with your gift cards.
2. Leverage email campaigns
Email campaigns are one of the most powerful tools to engage your customers, giving you a means to reach them directly. This also makes it one of the most effective gift card promotion ideas. Promoting gift cards in your emails allows you to create targeted messaging that will appeal to your audience.
Consider segmenting your email list, if you haven’t done so already. This will help you create personalized gift card campaigns that will engage your audience. For example, you can target new subscribers with an introductory discount on your gift cards.
It’s also a good tactic to help you recover abandoned carts–for instance, you can suggest a gift card as an alternative purchase if they’re unsure of what products to buy.
3. Highlight them in seasonal and holiday campaigns
Seasonal periods, holidays, and special occasions are prime opportunities to maximize your gift card sales! During these periods, shoppers are seeking the perfect gifts and deals for themselves and their loved ones. There are plenty of creative ways you can go about this. Here are some just of our best tips:
- Consider creating themed cards: Instead of just offering a “general” gift card, you can create themed gift cards for each occasion. For example, you can design gift cards with festive holiday imagery for Christmas, hearts and roses for Valentine’s Day, etc.
- Mention them in your gifting guide content: Shoppers look into gift guides to gather top recommendations. Consider creating guides for special holidays and highlighting gift cards as the perfect option–share this resource via email, social media, and other marketing platforms.
- Bundle them with your other offerings: For example, you can offer a holiday gift set that bundles a gift card with your best-selling items. This adds value to shoppers, giving them an all-in-one gift option (more on this later).
4. Boost your loyalty and referral programs with gift cards
Adding gift cards to your loyalty and referral programs can further engage customers and get them excited about shopping and spreading the word about your store.
One of the simplest ways you can add this to your loyalty program is by offering them as a reward. For instance, you can give away gift cards once a customer reaches a certain total spend level. This can help encourage repeat purchases.
Likewise, you can reward customers with gift cards when they successfully refer new shoppers to your store. For example, you can set up a referral system where both the referrer and new customer receive a gift card as a reward for their participation. This creates a win-win scenario that makes the shopping experience more enjoyable for both existing and new customers.
5. Upsell gift cards during purchases
You can sweeten a deal by strategically promoting gift cards as an add-on to a purchase. This allows you to tap into your customers’ buying intent.
But how do you do this without looking too pushy? One simple way is by subtly presenting them as a suggestion as customers are checking out their orders. For instance, you can add a small section on the checkout page that highlights the benefits of purchasing a gift card.
Another way is by offering them an incentive–consider providing discounts on gift cards when they’re purchased alongside other items. This makes the offer more appealing, giving your buyers a reason to spend a little more.
6. Use gift cards for re-engagement campaigns
Customer churn happens when customers stop doing business with you. It’s one thing that you’ll want to prevent as a business owner if you want your venture to thrive. After all, it can cost up to 25 times more to acquire new customers than keep existing ones.
Gift cards are the perfect tool to reignite the interest of customers who haven’t made a purchase in a while and bring them back to your WooCommerce store. For example, you can send them a small-value gift card as an incentive. This can help grab their attention and give them a new reason to visit your store.
In these re-engagement campaigns, highlight the advantages of gift cards–remind your customers that it allows them to choose exactly what they want. This can be appealing to customers who might hesitate to return as they’re unsure of what to buy.
7. Run gift card giveaways
Looking for a fun way to generate buzz around your brand and reach more shoppers? Run a gift card giveaway! This is a powerful gift card marketing tactic to engage customers and encourage them to check out your business.
Giveaways are even more compelling when you’re giving out gift cards as a prize. Why? Instead of receiving a random product, winners have the flexibility to choose what they want to purchase from your store! This encourages them to browse your product line, creating exposure opportunities for best-sellers, new arrivals, or items they might not have considered before.
🎯 POWER TIP: Maximize engagement by promoting your giveaway across all platforms, including your social media pages, email campaigns, and website homepage. On your website, use eye-catching pop-ups or banners to inform shoppers about your giveaway. You can use tools like OptinMonster to easily set them up.
8. Partner with local businesses
Building partnerships is a powerful way to increase your brand reach. By partnering with local businesses, you can introduce your brand to new audiences and increase your store’s visibility. There are several ways you can collaborate with other stores, depending on the products you offer. For example, you can:
- Collaborate with complementary businesses: If you sell skincare, for instance, you can partner with a local spa to offer your gift cards alongside their products and services.
- Display your gift cards in-store at partner businesses: Even if you primarily sell digital gift cards, you can try creating eye-catching promotional displays at partner stores, wellness centers, and cafes, depending on the products you sell.
- Run joint promotions: Ask partner brands to promote your gift cards on newsletters, blogs, or social media posts and do the same for them in return. This creates a win-win situation for both businesses!
9. Bundle gift cards with other products
Gift cards are often bought to be gifted to others during special occasions or holidays. This is exactly why they’re perfect add-ons to product bundles! Bundling gift cards with your best-sellers adds value to shoppers and makes gift-giving easier.
For example, you can launch limited-edition product bundles with gift cards during special occasions like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or Christmas. If you sell products that go well together (such as make-up or skincare), consider creating curated gift sets where customers receive product sets along with a gift card.
Advanced Gift Cards: Easily Add Gift Cards To Your WooCommerce Store
If you’re looking for an easy way to add gift cards to your WooCommerce store, then look no further than our Advanced WooCommerce Gift Cards plugin! This powerful plugin allows you to easily set up gift card products in your store.
Choose from a variety of templates or upload your own, allow customers to gift cards as special presents, manage your gift cards using an intuitive dashboard, and more–this plugin provides immense flexibility for your gift card marketing!
Frequently Asked Questions
How to promote gift cards on social media?
Use a mix of content types, such as posts, stories, or even retargeting ads to promote your gift cards on social media. Another powerful way to do this is by collaborating with influencers in your niche–this method allows you to tap into a wider range of audiences.
How to market a gift card?
Integrate gift card marketing into your overall marketing strategies. For example, you can promote them through email campaigns, and social media posts, and prominently advertise them on your website’s homepage. Highlight the versatility and flexibility of gift cards by promoting them as the “perfect gift” for any season or occasion.
How to run a gift card promotion?
Running special deals or discounts on gift cards are included in our list of smart gift card promotion ideas. For example, you can bundle them with a discount with other products, or offer a “Buy One, Get One (BOGO)” deal, where customers can receive a bonus gift card when they purchase a certain product. This can be highly effective during holiday seasons or promotional periods when customers are looking for the best deals and gifts.
Are gift cards a marketing strategy?
Yes–they’re a powerful way to market your store, encourage repeat purchases, and promote your business to others. What’s more, you can integrate gift cards into several marketing campaigns, such as referral programs, loyalty programs, or seasonal promotions. Overall, they help drive brand awareness, boost sales, and acquire new customers.
Conclusion
Gift cards are a tried and true method to bring in new customers and increase sales for your online business. In this article, we discussed their key advantages:
We also walked you through how you can unlock its potential through effective gift card promotion ideas:
- Use social media to promote
- Leverage email campaigns
- Highlight them in seasonal and holiday campaigns
- Boost your loyalty and referral programs with gift cards
- Encourage upsells with gift cards
- Use them for re-engagement campaigns
- Run gift card giveaways
- Partner with local businesses
- Bundle gift cards with other products
WooCommerce store owners can easily add gift cards to their stores with the Advanced Gift Cards plugin. This powerful tool provides a user-friendly way to offer and manage gift cards online.
Do you have any questions about this topic? Let us know in the comments section below!
Do you have more details on upselling with gift cards?