Why brands can’t afford to skimp on gifts this Christmas
With the cost-of-living crisis hitting everybody, gift cards could have an outsized impact on brand loyalty, as you’ll be seen to be helping out when it matters most.
Rewards that aim to solidify relationships between retailers and their customers have been around for a long time, but the validity of these programmes has sometimes been called into question. Extensive research now shows that a customer loyalty program can make a crucial difference in securing and retaining your business’s customer base, and making it thrive.
With Christmas around the corner, there’s no better time to be deciding how to reward and retail those all-important, loyal customers.
The importance of loyalty
Based on Small Business Trends’ research, loyal customers are reported to spend 67% more on products and services than new customers. This research goes on to show that on average, your loyal customers will make up only 20% of your audience, however they contribute to up to 80% of your revenue. The result of this, according to Fred Reichheld, the creator of the Net Promoter Score (NPS), is that if a business can improve its customer retention rate by just 5%, it can increase profitability by up to 95%.
Long-lasting customers are the gold standard of marketing success; your best brand advocates, customers will spread the word and share their experiences at no added cost. With acquiring new customers costing seven times more than keeping a current customer, implementing a recognition scheme could be the budget saving elixir that makes all the difference.
Now that the significance of rewarding patrons has been established, the next step is selecting the perfect gift. This gift must be inclusive, provide choice and show awareness of your customer’s needs.
Recent studies led by Appreciate Business Services shows that three quarters of UK consumers (76%) selected a gift card or voucher as their chosen way to receive recognition for their customer loyalty. Separately, analysis of First Data’s US Prepaid Consumer Insights indicates that 67% of consumers are interested in instant gifting, meaning something that can pop into the recipient’s email immediately upon payment.
A corporate gift card demonstrates understanding of the support your customers might be in need. Tesco corporate gift cards, for example, can be spent on thousands of products across multiple departments and in over 3,000 stores, therefore the range of choice can provide both a treat for one person and some more practical help for another individual.
A personal touch
The final essential quality for your reward and incentive is personalisation. Research conducted by Blackhawk Network discovered that 79% of consumers point to the ‘ability to personalise my gift’ as something important for them to consider, the option to add a gift message, add a greetings card and customised card imagery being highlighted as desirable.
With a corporate gift card, you have multiple ways to make it personal. With both physical and digital cards, you can select a design for a special touch. Physical cards can be sent to the office where you can write a note on the card carrier to let them know how you appreciate their hard work and hand it to them in person. Digital cards can be sent straight to the recipient’s email inbox on a date of your choice and accompanied with a message too.
In addition, giving a gift card that puts an extensive range of products at the recipient’s fingertips means they can select something that they want or need. Recognising that a reward shouldn’t be ‘one size fits all’ will result in a more meaningful experience that they will remember.
Now is the time to be intentional with rewarding customers. With the cost-of-living crisis threatening to decline brand loyalty, there is no room for complacency. Retaining customers with ease could be at your fingertips, with the addition of corporate gift cards to boost your strategy.
Start rewarding your loyal customers today, click here to get started.
For physical gift card orders under £1,000, you’ll be charged £7.00 for UK delivery. Digital gift cards have a minimum order value of £100 and are sent via email with no shipping charges. Tesco’s change of mind policy does not apply to gift cards. If you change your mind, they cannot be returned for a refund. Your legal rights are not affected. T&Cs apply.
