[Infographic] Are Competitors Cannibalizing Gift Card Sales?
When it comes to gift card sales, the third party business plays a big part in the gift card industry. It offers huge buying potential for retailers and merchants when it comes to brand exposure. You’re able to get your gift cards in front of people who may not go into their stores and also makes the choice for a last minute gift even easier. Another important concept, just because your brand isn’t in the third party market doesn’t mean your competitors aren’t. The benefits of third-party gift card programs include increasing brand exposure, revenue, and customers. Selling your gift cards in a gift card mall can increase your distribution network by thousands of locations. If your gift cards are not currently in a third-party program you are losing valuable sales and customers that may be buying from your competitors who are already active in third-party programs.
[Infographic] What Direct Customers Want
Direct customers are essential to business. GiftCard Partners asked its own B2B customer base what they wanted and the results are all in this infographic. We show you an inside look into the direct customer; including their purchasing habits, the most popular incentive programs, buying habits, category preferences and get insight into their gift card budgets.
Give Employees the Reward that Keeps on Giving
Even though Christmas is over, giving employees rewards for a job well done does not need to end with the holidays. Employee rewards should be distributed thoughout the year and increase productivity and employee motivation by setting positive peer-to-peer examples. When employees see what a job well done gets peers, they will exemplify the desired behavior. At some companies they increase the reward distribution exponentially. When an employees receives a reward, they receive a reward of equal value to give to another employee for an exceptional job. Peer-to-peer rewards can be effective because they are more organic. Peers only informally review each other, with no formal performance review process. So when peers reward each other it comes from a more spontaneous place.
For more information on how to structure peer-to-peer rewards check out this article from TribLive.com.
3 Tips to Reward Employees, into 2014 and Beyond
As the holiday season winds down and we all count down the working hours until the Christmas break, some employers are still working on January bonus plans, or employee recognition plans for 2014. Here are a few quick tips on how to reward employees (and hopefully make your last minute planning a little easier!).
Pay-When-Use Gift Cards Help Control Retailer (and Employer!) Costs
Canadian mobile gift card vendor, Kiind, has put the gift card industry on its head. Kiind offers a pay-when-used gift card system
that doesn't charge the purchaser until the recipient has taken the gift card in-store and used it. Since unused gift cards have cost both retailers and gift-givers an immense amount of money, Kiind's technology allows gift cards to become a lower-risk proposition.
