Gift Cards - the Gift that Keeps on Giving

It's here - the Christmas buying season. Shoppers are making their lists and checking them twice - and looking for the perfect person-to-gift match. Uncle Joe loves tools, Aunty Pam dies for new shoes. Cousin Mark is into electronics and Granny is just happy to have anything from her dear sweet grandchild.

Around the world, Gift Cards are king of the Christmas season. One of America's top retailers, Best Buy, reports that they sell 70% of its gift cards in the Christmas season. No longer considered the "cop-out gift", a survey done by BIGresearch for the NRF,conducted in early October, found that nearly 55 percent of consumers would like to receive a gift card this holiday season. In the US last year, consumers spent $26.2 billion on gift cards during the holidays, with an average of $40 spent per card. South Africa is quickly following suit.

The benefits of gift cards are obvious. They offer immediate cash sale, with the likelihood of add on purchases; they broaden customer base, working as a classified endorsement from one customer to another; they reduce the amount of returned merchandise, especially around the holiday season, as the receiver is guaranteed to receive the items they want.

Adding a twist to the standard gift card can also increase sales. Multiple options, from custom design to personalization at point of purchase, even as far as the ability to print the card givers photo on the card - all of these options are possible through the products and services offered by Cards Plus. We can even help with quick turnaround on smaller volumes.

So, think out of the "gift box" this year - consider adding a special Christmas gift card to your holiday items - and watch your sales totals increase!

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FYI - A Great Book on Loyalty and CRM

Many of our customers of late have been retailers who, in today's market, are looking to retain their current clientele, and increase sales through the implementation of a rewards based loyalty programme.

We want to put the "smart" into cards, and believe that giving information to our clients which will help them to succeed is most important.

In light of this, we have come across a very interesting read by author Frederick Newell titled Why CRM Doesn't Work. It explores the idea of customer centric service to build long-term relationships, create customer loyalty, and bring in profits over time instead of speedy, high-pressure, one-time sales. In the chapters on loyalty, Newell goes into great detail on loyalty programmes, loyalty cards and the importance of using them as tools to drive repeat business.

Reading this book, or at least the Google preview, will give your company some insight and ideas into creative, customer based methods which will increase your sales and retain your client base.

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Powerful Plastic - from the Can Do Files

There was a day when a plastic card meant a credit card. In fact, many still refer to a typcial CR 80 sized card as a "bank card". But today, thanks to new technologies in both hardware and software, and some very creative thinking people, there are now limitless applications for this small, but powerful piece of plastic.

A loyalty card is a great customer reward tool, but how about using it to encourage education? Recently we began meetings with a forward thinking company who is wanting to encourage its employees to better themselves in their chosen field by rewarding them with redeemable points earned through reading.

Partnering with their own in house resources as well as some outside in the community, they are going to use a basic loyalty programme and loyalty cards to keep track of employees who take initiative to learn more about their line of work. These points will then be redeemable for a variety of benefits and employee rewards. (Imagine the possibilities!)

Why not consider taking your companies typical ID badge, and by adding a very inexpensive magnetic stripe and encoding - begin rewarding your employees for doing the things that would make them more valuble to you as their employer?

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Giving your Membership the Personal Touch

Business in today's economy demands creative thinking. When prices must be raised, how does a company maintain its customer base - adding value to its services-without it costing a fortune? Advertising has always been an option, but this can be a pricey venture.

One solution is to offer your clients a sense of belonging and additional value to continuing their relationship with your business. Membership cards and Loyalty cards are a simple, cost effective solution. The plastic card is a minature billboard and helps to build your brand - and shows your client that you value their business or membership.

The standard membership card or loyalty card can be amped up a notch (and be made more secure) by adding features such as signature panels, personalization and magnetic encoding.

At Cards Plus we offer a variety of solutions for our clients to add that personal touch to their plastic cards. Full service printing - printing each batch of cards, large or small quantities, complete with personalized details and encoding if needed; Pre-printed cards with batch printing personalization; or perhaps purchasing an affordable printer to print your own cards at the point of service - all of these options, and more are part of the portfolio we offer to our clients.

Making our clients look good is our goal. And we would love the opportunity to speak to you to see if one of our solutions might fit your needs.

You can contact us at Cards Plus by calling 086 16 CARDS (in South Africa) or +27 11 894 3914 and one of our friendly staff will be happy to assist you.

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