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Using Loyalty Card Programs To Increase Your Small Business Profit Margin

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2:42 am 2:42 am

Using Loyalty Card Programs To Increase Your Small Business Profit Margin

Among the many loyalty card programs available to small business owners, there is one that provides superior benefits when it comes to marketing muscle.

It stands out head and shoulders above the rest since it provides personal benefits to your customers and creates loyal shoppers for your business. A foundational key to a successful business is keeping your current customers happy, and not just focusing on creating new loyal shoppers.

Do you think small business owners would be interested in loyalty card programs as a marketing strategy that provides the following kind of excitement and benefits?

1) Imagine utilizing a loyalty card program that gives your customers a whopping 25% discount on their purchases,

2) Of course you would need a gift loyalty card that can absorb this discount without affecting your bottom line,

3) These card programs will also provide you with an additional revenue stream from commissions generated from customers applying for these cards,

4) Since you have opened the doors to your customers with a 25 percent discount, they will definitely be returning to your business and they will be HAPPY,

5) YOU will be giving your customers the benefit of saving money month after month on purchases made at your business and other businesses as well.

You provide the benefit of consistent savings to your customers and they will not forget what you have made available to them. Your average loyal customer may make 5 purchases a year from your place of business. With a guaranteed 25% discount in hand, you now have shoppers who are more eager to buy. You just need to make sure you are providing the product or service that your clientele typically desire.

This is an incredible opportunity that loyalty card programs alone can offer you and make your marketing efforts produce great dividends.

How can your customers enjoy a 25% discount at your store, and at the same you see YOUR PROFIT MARGIN INCREASE?

Each customer that participates in your program will have access to a debit gift card from a third party that gives them 25% extra purchasing power. For example, they would be able to get a 0 debit gift card for ONLY 5 every month. This may sound like pure fantasy but it is REAL.

An optional feature would give them access to a gift card from America’s largest retailer saving them a guaranteed 40%. So not only are you giving your clientele a 25% discount on purchases at your store, but they can also have a 40% discount using this retailer’s gift card. Specifically, two gift cards with a value of 0 can be obtained for ONLY 0 each month.

There is only one place where you have access to this unbelievable marketing strategy.

It gets even better, though. Each customer that participates in your customer discount plan would bring your business a small monthly commission. Multiply that small monthly commission by a thousand, and you have a serious new income stream to your business. If you are operating your own small business, this is an easy way to IMPRESS your customer base, INCREASE your customer base, and INCREASE your profit margin.

Don’t pass up this opportunity to make LOYALTY CARD PROGRAMS a part of your marketing strategy. Get more exciting details on how to improve your small business profits and show your customers HOW TO SAVE MONEY FAST.


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Some Thoughts On Using Gift Cards

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10:41 pm 10:41 pm

Some Thoughts On Using Gift Cards

While online and retail holiday shopping sales have met or exceeded expectations for most retailers in 2005, there is another “rush” for all retailers to prepare for: gift card redemption.

According to Hitwise, an online intelligence service, the market share of U.S. Internet searches containing the words “gift card” was up 32% for the week ending December 10, 2005 as compared to the previous week. In fact, the National Retail Federation expects gift card sales to increase 6.6% this holiday season to 18.48 billion dollars, with consumers spending an average of dollars on gift cards or 15.6% of their holiday shopping budget.

Gift certificates have always been a popular gift choice for the hard to please recipient or even for the lazy shopper. For the gift giver, it allows a quick purchase at whatever store or online merchant they select, with a dollar amount that fits their budget. For the recipient, they can select what they want from a particular merchant and for the most part use the card at their convenience.

But for some, giving a gift card is a cop-out, reasoning it is too impersonal and opting to hand pick a gift and selecting something special and unique for a loved one or friend. However, for some, the gift card is the ideal gift choice, with family or friends even suggesting the store or online merchant they prefer.

For the merchants, it has extended the holiday shopping season because they cannot record the sale until the recipient uses the gift card to make a purchase. This holds down sales figures in November and December, but provides a boost in January when most cards are redeemed. An additional boost is provided by the fact that most of the shoppers who redeem their gift cards typically spend 15% to 50% more than the face value of the card when they select their holiday gift.

There are some downsides to gift cards. Some retailers clear unused gift cards off the books by subtracting off of the face value of the card, an inactivity fee (usually .50 per month) after a certain amount of time. Some gift cards have an expiration date and others come with special conditions or restrictions. However, consumer outrage has prompted many states across the country to introduce legislation limiting or banning the fees. Additionally, there is no federal law on gift cards but, two Republican congressmen, Joe Barton of Texas and Charlie Bass of New Hampshire, have requested that the Federal Trade Commission investigate the way retailers conduct their gift card programs.

Is giving a gift card too impersonal? Is it the best gift choice? That question is up for debate and is a personal preference. But with annual gift card sales projected to reach 90 billion dollars by 2007 (Ernst & Young 2005), the gift card is here to stay.

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Using A Gift And Loyalty Card Program With Starbucks

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12:35 am 12:35 am

Using A Gift And Loyalty Card Program With Starbucks

Have you ever wondered how Starbucks is so successful?  Is it the atmosphere?  Perhaps the quality drinks?  Or is it just a habit?  No matter what the answer is – if you own a coffee shop or small restaurant you need to keep Starbucks business model in mind if you  want to succeed!

Obviously at this point Starbucks has been around long enough that customers continue to purchase their coffee and breakfast there out of sheer habit.  Your job is to break that habit.  So…how can you do this and bring in all of the customers that you have been missing?

First of all make sure that you are offering a high quality product and an atmosphere that people will find aesthetically pleasing.  If your place of business is not at least clean and comfortable then you will not entice any customers to return.  Now that you know your customers will be comfortable shopping with you – lets find some new clients….

The most difficult part of owning a small business is to bring in new customers.  Instead of wasting your time advertising in the yellow pages or on the radio use a gift card program and a trageted mailing list to bring people in the door!  Set up a plastic gift card program. (You do know that Starbucks has one….) Put together a targeted mailing list of potential clients based on the demographics that would fit into your business.  Then send each one of these clients a gift card with a pre-set value to bring them in the door.

For example:  The typical Starbucks drinker has an income over ,000.  So, use a list broker (you can find one on the internet fairly cheap) to generate a list of all households within a 10 mile radius of your business with a certain income level.  Load onto 250 gift cards as a test run and mail them to these potential clients.  I can guarantee that you will receive at least 40% of these cards back in your shop!  (Very few people can resist getting something for nothing!)So – you just brought 100 new customers in the door.

How much has this cost you so far?  2.50 in postage, The price of the plastic cards – about 0 worth of plastic, plus loaded onto the card for a total cost .03 per client.  Now ask yourself:  how much would it have cost me to bring in 100 new clients throught yellow pages or a radio commercial?  Ten times this amount?  Maybe twenty.

So now that these clients are in your store, how do you keep them coming back?  The simplest way is to offer a discount on reloads of the gift card.  Think about it – Starbucks sells gift cards and people pay full price, then they keep coming back every day to spend some of the money on their cards.  If you offer a 10% discount on gift card reloads of at least – then you are guaranteeing that these people will continue to come back in to your business.  Even if they don’t you will make an extra profit on the money that they have not spent!  

Want to take this program a step further?  Implement a rewards program on your gift cards.  Every time the client spends any money in your store they get a reward.  For example:  for every dollar spent they earn 5% back on their card, when they hit in sales they now have a .50 credit on the gift card!  You are giving them more incentive to continue to see you every morning!

There are certainly more ways to use a plastic card program to help you compete with other businesses:  Give away gift cards to charities, send a card to your best customers every quarter, and dozens more.  Your gift and loyalty card provider will help you brainstrom some ideas that may work for your business!

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The Benefits Of Using And Giving Gift Cards

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2:12 am 2:12 am

The Benefits Of Using And Giving Gift Cards

Anyone who’s ever had a long list of people to buy for knows how hard it is to get the perfect present for everyone on the shopping list. With gift cards, your worries are over. You can personalize your voucher selections to fit each person’s individual taste without having to shop all over town or spend endless hours on the internet looking for the right item in the right size at the right price.

Make Gift Shopping Easier

One of the best reasons for choosing gift cards is the convenience. One size fits all, you don’t have to comparison shop to find the best deal, and you don’t have to worry about something being out of stock or the wrong color. In fact, they are the best way to ensure you’re giving loved ones something that won’t be returned or exchanged. The recipient can take the time to pick out something that fits, is the perfect color, and will give months of enjoyment.

Another added bonus is not having to make sure you get receipts for every purchase. Most of us have faced the disappointment of giving a present that isn’t quite right. If you’ve lost or never received a receipt, the recipient is left having to either exchange the present for something else or get a store credit. If you’ve ever tried to return something without a proper receipt, you know the store will likely offer credit only for the lowest price ever offered on that item. If you buy an expensive item before Christmas that is discounted after the holidays, your loved one will not get full credit for what you paid, cheapening the item considerably and limiting what they can buy for themselves. The value of a gift card never goes down if you buy from the right store.

How many times have you given a present only to discover that someone else gave the recipient the same item? It’s disappointing when you duplicate a present, but if you give a gift card, you can rest easy knowing the recipient will be sure to find something special that isn’t duplicated.

Gift Cards Can Go To Far Flung Places

Do you give birthday and Christmas items to those nieces and nephews you only see once a year? They probably love getting something special from their favorite aunt or uncle, but it can be difficult keeping up with the interests and sizes of children. That niece that loved pink last year, may be into nothing but black this year. Don’t run the risk of giving your relatives something that will have them rolling their eyes. Sizes change quickly, particularly for kids. If you buy a beautiful outfit in September, there’s no guarantee it will still fit your nephew in December. A gift card from a store that offers lots of choices will be much more appreciated. You won’t offend or disappoint anyone if you give the added benefit of choice. It’s like offering them a day of shopping at no charge!

If you buy gift cards for everyone on your shopping list that lives far away, you’ll also save a good deal of money on shipping costs. You can even use the money you save on wrapping, boxing up, and shipping bulky presents to treat yourself. The recipients will appreciate your generosity, never knowing that you actually saved money by not packing up and shipping presents to their house. Just add a festive card and you’re done; you get to send presents for the cost of a stamp.

Gift Cards Aren’t Just For Giving

Don’t limit yourself to buying gift cards when you need a present for someone else. There are many ways to save money using them yourself. Some grocery stores offer points towards discounts or rewards programs when you shop with their vouchers. The internet features websites that offer cash back rewards or special pricing when you buy online.

If you enjoy shopping online, gift cards are a great way to do your shopping without using credit cards. With identity theft running rampant, using these secure vouchers is an excellent way to protect your identity and make sure you aren’t taken advantage of online. There are even websites where you can purchase these vouchers and get electronically billed so that you can pay for these them outright in cash, eliminating the need to use credit or debit funds from your bank. With incentives like discounts and cash back rewards for using electronic billing, you’ll have substantial savings when you shop.

Using online gift cards to pay for presents or essentials is also a great way to manage your budget. When you prepay or use electronic billing, you know exactly how much you have to spend and won’t overextend yourself financially. Paying immediately for the voucher also means you won’t end up being hit with interest charges or fees, keeping your spending under control while still getting great deals on what you need.

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Gift Card Question – Using Visa or American Express Gift Cards on Paypal

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9:08 am 9:08 am

Gift Card Question – Using Visa or American Express Gift Cards on Paypal

One of the most popular gift card questions online is whether one can link prepaid gift cards like the Visa gift card to a PayPal account. The short answer is Yes and No.

Now, the long answer: Yes, it is possible to link a prepaid gift card like the Visa or American Express gift card to a PayPal account but for this to happen, you need to pray and hope that PayPal does not require you to go through their Expanded Use verification process. To better understand why, you first need to be familiar with the process for linking a credit card to a PayPal account. When you link your credit card to a PayPal account, PayPal will attempt to confirm your address with your credit card company. If the credit card company is not able to confirm your address, then you may be asked by PayPal to complete their Expanded Use enrollment process in order to activate your credit card.

Expanded Use verification means PayPal will charge your credit card a small about. Next to the charge will be a unique, randomly generated 4-digit Expanded Use code. If you have online access to your credit card activity, the charge and code will appear on your card activity in approximately 2-4 business days. If you do not have online access, you must wait until you receive your statement in the mail to get the 4-digit code. If you are adding a debit card to your PayPal account, your 4-digit Expanded Use code will be printed on your bank statement next to the charge.

Once you get the 4-digit code, you have to return to your PayPal account to enter the code per instructions from PayPal. Once completed, and PayPal confirms that you entered the correct code, you will now be able to use the card for PayPal transactions. The Expanded Use verification process is designed to protect you against fraud by verifying that the person attempting to use the credit card actually owns the card. PayPal will later credit the amount charged to your card to your PayPal account.

Now, here lies the problem with using prepaid or bank issued gift cards. If PayPal is unable to verify your address with the gift card issuer, then you may be asked to go through the Expanded Use process. Since most prepaid gift cards do not issue monthly statements or provide online access to gift card transactions, it will be impossible to complete the Expanded Use process. Also, it is not a good idea to call the credit card or gift card issuer to get the 4-digit Expanded Use code. If PayPal receives a complaint from your card issuer that you called them to get the 4-digit code, PayPal will close your account permanently.

So, the first step to attempting to use a prepaid gift card on PayPal is to make sure the name and address (billing address) on your PayPal account matches the name and address on file with the gift card issuer. If you just purchased your prepaid gift card, call the card issuer and add your name and address to the card. If your information (name and address) has changed since you registered your card, call the card issuer or go online and update your information before you use the card on PayPal.

Once this is done, you just have to hope that PayPal is able to successfully verify your address with the gift card issuer. If they are able to verify your address, then you are all set. If they cannot verify your address with the card issuer, then you probably will not be able to use that gift card on PayPal.

Kwame Kuadey is an expert on Gift Cards and runs a popular Gift Card Blog. You can find more information on Gift Card Ideas, Gift Card Holders & Packaging, Gift Card Exchange, and Free Gift Card deals by visiting his site at GiftCardBlogger.com. GiftCardBlogger is a service of GiftCardRescue.com.


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