GiftCard Partners Blog

Military discipline is known to transform people and form the incredible individuals who keep our country safe every day. The military also instills incredible leadership qualities that can help you keep your business on tract and build your team into the picture of efficiency. Here are
three qualities that Amit Kleinberger, CEO of Menchie's Frozen Yogurt, learned in the military that he applies to his business.

Safety incentive programs can be hard to design and even harder to implement. They should be designed to encourage teamwork, discourage non-reporting of incidents and obviously encourage safe behavior. The biggest obstacle employers face in implementing safety incentive programs is to make them a seamlessly integrated part of the employee culture, not a feared element. Here are three suggestions that will enhance any safety incentive program.

Employee motivation can mean a lot of different things and come in a lot of different forms. It means your employees are excited to come to work every day and do their best to make the organization as successful as possible. Employee motivation can also get so granular that at the most basic level employee goals are in line with organization targets. I'm not talking about employee 6 month goals that go on review forms, I mean that their long term goals match the long term targets of their organization. Here are two unique ways to align employee goals with organizational targets to improve the overall harmony of employees' work life balance and workplace motivation.

Now is a great time for your business to make innovative choices and stay ahead of the competition in 2015.   As a marketer, one must assess the best options to further build your brand and drive greater customer engagement. Digital gift cards have been a growing trend in the gift card industry, and here are the top 5 digital gift card trends for 2015: 1.
 Millennials Embrace Digital Gift Cards. - Millennials want instant gratification.  They want their needs satisfied "right here, right now" so digital gift cards are a logical solution when it comes to this target group.  In a
survey released by InComm last month, 18-35 year olds were likely to purchase at least one digital gift card during the holiday season.  The main reason for digital gift cards is that they can be purchased any place at any time with just the click of a mouse.  There is no need to get out of the house and wait in long lines at the grocery store.  Another appeal of digital gift cards is that they are completely customizable; customers can send personalized text, pictures, and in some cases, even video. 2.
Building Your Brand - Smart marketers realize that in a digital world gift cards open up brand new marketing opportunities.  The best brands are already catering to shifting trends and are inviting customers to a whole new customized gifting experience entirely online.  A great experience is also likely to make a brands campaign go viral with social network sharing. 3.
Digital Gift Cards Will Decrease Average Breakage - One of the reasons that digital gift cards are reigning in popularity is that they are less likely to get lost compared to their plastic counterparts. A
survey by
Bankrate revealed that 40% of 18-29 year olds end up losing their plastic gift cards.  With less loss, consumers are more likely to redeem the full value of the gift card and breakage rates begin to shrink.  Customers will utilize what they pay for and that will strengthen the customer/brand relationship and customers tend to redeem gift cards for significantly more than the gift card value.  Plus with digital gift cards being available on both mobile applications and mobile email, it's less likely the consumer will forget that the card is in their wallet. 4.
Loyalty Programs - As brands have embraced the shift from physical to digital gift cards, loyalty programs are following suit.  As opposed to loyalty programs shipping out individual cards to end-customers, they are able to email a gift card right to their client for instant gratification.  Brands will save on shipping and eliminate issues with lost gift cards and consumers won't have to wait to spend their gift. 5. M
arketers Can Bundle Digital Gift Cards with Products - For many years technology brands such as
Apple Inc., have bundled their brands.  For instance "Purchase a Mac and get a $100 iTunes gift card."  In 2015, more brands will follow this bundling method by offering a physical item with a digital gift card to make a more diversified and enticing promotion. Read the full story on The Top 5 Digital Gift Card Trends for 2015 at
IFeelGoods!  

Online purchasing and mobile apps have been a go-to in our lives both personally and professionally, and this trend is growing in the gift card world as well.  Purchasing online gift cards are becoming the industry standard. According to First Data's 2014 Consumer Insights
survey, in comparison to 2013, more people chose online gift card purchasing.  Purchasing online gift cards increased to 34% in 2014 – up from 26% in 2013.  The purchase of gift cards using social networks, such as Facebook, increased from 8% in 2013 to 13% in 2014.  Both plastic and e-gift cards can be purchased online.  Overall, 81% of respondents planned on purchasing the same or more plastic gift cards than in 2013 and 84% planned on purchasing the same or more e-gift cards than in 2013. Gift card apps came to the forefront in 2014.  55% of consumers are interested in using an app to store gift card information on their mobile devices and 58% of consumers said they would prefer to use one app to store multiple merchants instead of using separate apps for each.  With more than 13% of gift card purchases in 2014 made through the use of a mobile app, mobile apps are becoming mandatory for a successful gift card strategy. For more insight into the First Data Consumer Insights Survey
click here!