There are many 3rd party companies that define, administer and track customer loyalty programs as a service, but there are also many companies that successfully run their own loyalty program in-house. Incentive and loyalty points platforms are utilized to create and maintain customer accrued points, and they include the redemption platform which is loaded with the rewards.
These systems also integrate features like social media, communications tools, survey systems, and special online promotion tools. What do internally-run or independently-run loyalty programs look like? They look much like the ones that loyalty program providers run, and they often include a portfolio of gift cards to choose from when redeeming loyalty points. Each program has its own attributes for accruing points, some examples are:
* Simply, dollar to point system
* Promotions like spend X and get double points
* Member discounts
* Retailer partnering, like fuel discounts
* Additional points for online purchases
Companies that run their own loyalty programs should be sure there are flexible rewards, like gift cards and bulk gift card buyers receive % discounts based on the spend for cards purchased. These programs are an integral piece of a loyalty strategy and they work to help acquire, retain, and reward customers via the accumulation of points. Do you run an internal loyalty program?
Tell us about it here.
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, many are gearing up to figure out just the right gift for their significant other. Why not take the worry and stress out of finding that “perfect” gift that usually comes with a gift receipt and another trip to the store.
Calling all employers! This is a great time to exercise that wonderful incentive or loyalty program you’ve just put in place. Show you care by rewarding your employees with gift cards to 1-800-Flowers or CVS/pharmacy so they can reward the ones they love.
While the gentlemen are scratching their heads on whether to grab the Small shirt, so not to offend their wife, or trying to decide if her favorite color is purple even though she’s been wearing a lot of black lately, there is an easy solution. A gift card to The Limited will insure she gets exactly what she wants and leave him out of the dog house this February 14th.
The women in the office may be having some trouble of their own. They can get their guy the gift that keeps on giving with an AutoZone Gift Card…for the other love of his life. Or give him the chance to revamp his wardrobe with a gift card to Burlington Coat Factory.
Use this Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to reward your employees hard work and let them reward their loved ones.
The author:
Lauren McAuley is a fresh face to the GiftCard Partners family. She is a recent graduate who she enjoys diving head first into several aspects of the business including social media, graphic design, marketing, business development and public relations. Her passion for challenging herself keeps her trying new things every chance she gets, vegetable lasagna this week, maybe skydiving next week.
U.S. Workers are spending $3,0001 a year on WHAT? The answer might be shocking to some…coffee and lunch. Sadly, I’m not shocked. For years, I spent lunches at Boston’s Newbury and Boylston Street eateries in addition to daily trips for my (former) favorite chai tea latte. Those were the days…of draining my cash!!
Help Your Employees Save $$$
Employers across the country have realized that they offer aid their employees’ budgets, even if the younger employees don’t (yet) have budgets.
Employee incentives can be practical and they instill practical qualities when the incentive itself is practical. Many employers look to practical retailer and merchant gift cards, like SUBWAY and Boston Market to help curb that expensive lunch spending. Many employers take the “practical” theme further and offer CVS/pharmacy gift cards, so employees can care for themselves and their kids and cover prescription co-pays, over the counter medicine, or the travel sized products they need for their next business trip.
Are you ready to save your employees some cash while rewarding them?
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
We read a lot about gift card “breakage”. That pre-paid industry term that translates to “gift cards that have been sold but never redeemed”. Breakage is a negative term for gift card holders and it’s really not such a positive one for retailers (surprisingly). Although breakage leads to higher profit margins; retailers and merchants are NOT gaining customers or building loyalty if those gift card holders never visit the store to become a real customer.
Let’s turn this principle into an opportunity for employers, loyalty programs, and Scrip gift card programs, to communicate to their participants and engage them with your program. You know who you have given gift cards to. So, communicate with those program participants, and use that information to engage them in your program. Although many will have redeemed their gift cards, show you care and send them a reminder to use their cards…that employee, loyalty points redeemer, or the Scrip gift card buyer will thank you for the reminder.
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Adopting new technologies as important as your wallet isn’t as easy as Google saying “NOW…GO!”.
Embracing a mobile wallet also isn’t just about spending on your credit cards, it’s about embracing technology to spend the money you already have, on prepaid cards like all those gift cards we received for the holidays. Fraud is also on the minds of consumers, bulk gift card givers, retailers, and merchants.
So, what will facilitate the use of mobile prepaid on the technology and consumer sides? Check out this series of interviews from the PREPAID EXPO with Jonathan Treiber of RevTrax.
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The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
There is a very basic property of gift cards that can be easy to forget in the rush of holiday giving, whether giving to your family and friends or company giving, to customers, employees and partners. The general public doesn’t tend to know the difference between open loop gift cards and closed loop, but if you are buying gift cards in bulk; you need to know which yields you the best deal.
Credit card issued gift cards are open loop and they most often charge a fee to purchase the cards, they tend to have expiration dates and often, a diminishing balance over time without even using it.
Retailer or merchant issued gift cards are retailer specific but there are no fees for purchasing, in fact a sliding scale discount is given for levels of bulk purchase. There are no expiration dates or diminishing value for the recipient to manage. GiftCard Partners is offering one of the best deals possible on CVS/pharmacy gift cards through December: Get $100 in free gift cards for each $1,000 you spend*. You’ll see on the site a deadline; just give us the following code to redeem this offer through the month of December, 2011: CVS 10%
The savings don’t end with $100 in free gift cards…spend $2,000 and get $200 in free gift card, spend $3,000 and get $300 in free gift cards…save up to $500 in free CVS gift cards.
Get FREE CVS Gift Cards with Bulk CVS Gift Card Purchase
Keep these high level guidelines in mind when you are purchasing gift cards, whether for personal or corporate use.
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
“After years of recession-fueled frugality, more Americans are feeling the holiday gift-giving spirit in 2011”, says a recent USAA survey. Has your company’s holiday giving increased this year? Budgeting was likely done a year ago, but are you spending more for employee and customer gifts due to better times or do you fall in the “budget glue” category?
Have you thought of gift cards as budget glue? You can literally stick to the dollar of your company gift giving budget with flexible denominations, while giving the gift that people really want – choice!
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Gift cards give peace of mind to the giver; nearly 1/3 of respondents to a recent TD Bank survey, “…believes the greatest stresses lie in not knowing what to buy or worrying whether the recipient will like the gift.” Don’t stress, give gift cards. Companies like GCP sell gift cards to companies giving corporate gifts to partners, customers and employees. It makes fiscal sense, as there are discounts offered for various levels of buying in bulk.
Why are gift cards the most coveted gift to receive this holiday season? Your employees will use them to button up last minute shopping, 31% of respondents of the survey said they look to use their gift cards for day-to-day expenses like groceries and gasoline. You’ll be offering your employees and customers more than a holiday gift; you’ll be offering them help.
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Save 10% on Holiday Gifts your Employees Can Really Use!
This November through December, CVS/pharmacy®introduces Project Thankful™, a corporate gift card program that offers new customers a
bonus $250 in eGift cards for every $2,500 in CVS eGift cards they purchase. CVS eGift cards are the perfect pick for keeping your employees and their families healthy this holiday season. They can purchase healthful items for themselves and their family, from flu shots to prescriptions and health and beauty products.
Show your employees you’re thankful and thoughtful this holiday season and save!
How will you Thank your Employees this Holiday Season?
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
eGift and mobile gift cards are a popular topic as excitement grows around digital technologies. CreditCards.com reports that one half of the major gift card brands that offer eGift cards only started offering them this year. Retailers and merchants are ramping up to take advantage of growing mobile and tablet buying segments, as they are quickly becoming some of the most valuable online shoppers.
Interestingly, when GCP recently surveyed B2B gift card buyers; we found that the B2B market still prefers to purchase physical plastic cards over
GCP's Survey Finds Plastic Most Favorable
digital. 86.5% of B2B gift card buyers surveyed are still more comfortable with traditional plastic. We know that trophy value plays a part in the B2B buyers’ strategy, but perhaps eGift cards are still somewhat too mystical for buyers.
CreditCards.com breaks it down simply and clearly with 3 Digital Gift Card Varieties
Email gifting is the most widespread, accounting for about 95% of the digital gifting market, recipients receiving the gift card in their
Mobile gifting lets consumers use a smartphone app to send a gift card or have a gift card sent to a mobile
Social gifting lets consumers send gift cards via social media sites. For example, Amazon.com lets customers send friends gift cards by posting the cards on their Facebook walls. CashStar’s CEO David Stone states that “Social gifting is growing at a rate of about 400 percent”
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
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