Business gift cards are a great way to get your customers' attention. While many forms of direct mail go straight in the trash can, gift cards offer value to your customers, so they want to see what benefits there are.

This type of card has virtually replaced the gift certificate and offers many advantages over its paper predecessor.

Not only are these cards valued, but they can also be an environmentally friendly alternative to issuing lots of paper gift certificates, if the cards are designed to be re-loadable. Paper certificates are more vulnerable to being damaged, due to normal wear and tear.

In the last few years, gift cards have become popular alternatives to Christmas and birthday presents, as they can be loaded by a number of people and refilled at regular intervals.

While many people are familiar with plastic gift cards for shopping in bookstores and music stores, there are many other ways that businesses can use them. Here are some of the issues to think about.

Image Marketing

Branding is one of the most important parts of your card. Many companies choose to have cards which reflect their corporate colors and include their logo. Since the cards will often be kept for a long time, this means that their marketing potential will last equally long.

Another important issue is the message you include. Since the gift cards are the same size as regular credit cards, there is no room for waffle. However, you can avoid this problem by including the card as part of a larger marketing package which provides more room for your message.

Other Benefits and Marketing Ideas

Business gift cards are light and cheap to mail and can be reused several times, keeping your branding in front of your targeted customer. Many card providers produce gift credit cards so your choices are almost endless.

And there's no need to go it alone... Cross-selling services with another retailer will result in better marketing for both companies, and an increase in the perceived value to the customer. For example, you could package hair and beauty services together or purchasing car parts with services.

There's another major advantage to business gift cards, too. Since they can be scanned you can get useful information on what people have bought and which offers they have used, making it even easier to target future gift card marketing.

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