Gift card strategies
So, what’ll it be, paper or plastic? For more than a year now, Day Spa Marketing has been advising spa owners to move from traditional paper gift certificates to new plastic, electronic gift cards. Here's why...

Front desk streamlining notwithstanding, it turns out that the wallet-sized, color emblazoned, gift card has an intoxicating consumer appeal, which its pulpy predecessor could never achieve. Whether it’s related to America’s love affair with the credit card or our broadening comfort-level with technology, the gift card's sex appeal is real. So real in fact that doubling your prior gift certificate sales, after making the switch to a gift card based system, is not unheard.

Today’s best gift cards can be issued, directly through a point-of-sale software, such as Salon Solutions™ or Millennium™, for any denomination and incremented / decremented directly on the magnetic strip on the card back. No centralized database connection is needed and therefore no transaction fees. And recyclers rejoice! Even though the cards are manufactured of a thick mill plastic, they are still considered "environmentally-friendly" since they are reusable! That’s right, when a guest exhausts their card credit balance you can recharge the card with a new amount for them.

Gifting can represent large, and often underestimated, revenue for day spas. Nationally, electronic gift card usage is skyrocketing. According to a Synovus Financial Corporation study, stored-value cards, including gift cards, will represent 80% of the gift certificate market, with an estimated 850 million cards in circulation.

"An aggressive gifting strategy is vital to a day spas marketing effort—a fact that many soon-to-be day spa owners are unaware of when developing their business plans."

Strategic gift card awareness campaigns, such as postcard mailings and point-of-purchase displays, that feature custom-designed posters and card presentation holders have proved a powerful promotion strategy for our clients. And especially effective when teamed with holiday drawings based around gift card giveaways. Achieving a top-of-mind consumer awareness of the card as a gifting option, especially in holiday seasons, is your first step toward developing booming sales.

View details about our new, multi-purpose GIFT CARD HOLDER!

How can Day Spa Marketing help your spa increase gifting sales? Contact Jim Verrilli today to arrange a free consult.