Why Gift Cards Are Good for Business

How Do Gift Cards for Customers Benefit Businesses?

There are several ways in which giving gift cards as customer rewards helps boost businesses’ success, including:

• It helps nurture your relationships and connections with your customers to help generate more brand ambassadors.
• It encourages customers to be brand loyal and make repeat purchases.
• It helps you attract more prospects by incentivizing them to try your product or service. 

READ MORE: The Most Versatile Business Gift Cards for Your Reward Programs

How Do Gift Cards for Employees Benefit Businesses?

Many companies today choose to give gift cards as employee incentives. This approach also helps businesses be successful by:

• Encouraging workers to be more productive and thus generate more revenue for the business.
• Boosting collaboration within and among teams.
• Attracting top talent to the team, as many skilled workers want benefits on top of their salary.
• Persuading experienced staff to remain loyal to the company, keeping their skills on board and cutting down on the need to recruit and train new employees. 

Are There Alternatives to Gift Cards for Employee Rewards?

There are alternatives to gift cards that some companies choose to use to reward employees. Some of the most common include:

• Verbal or written praise
• Branded products or merchandise
• Social events and staff treats
• Cash bonuses
• Salary increases 

All of these options have advantages, but they come with drawbacks, too. For example, giving branded products is only an incentive if they are products the recipient wants and appreciates. Giving verbal praise is essential but may not be enough to persuade employees to stay if a competitor is offering other benefits. 

In many cases, gift cards represent the best option because:

• They can show appreciation in a tangible but convenient way.
• Recipients widely prefer getting gift cards.
• They allow people to choose their preferred gift, unlike branded products.
• They are versatile and easy to send instantly via email.
• They come in various values and currencies to suit different needs and recipients in different countries. 
• You can send them globally by email to remote workers or overseas clients and suppliers, without any shipping costs. 

What Are the Advantages of Offering Gift Card Rewards as Part of a Points Program?

A points-to-rewards program is a great way for businesses to offer incentives that keep customers or employees engaged over time. This type of program involves awarding points to participants for taking certain actions. Customers may get points for signing up for a newsletter, referring a friend, or making a purchase, for example. Employees could earn points by sharing social media content, successfully launching a project, or attending a training session. When a participant collects enough points to hit a pre-set threshold, they can exchange them for a gift card reward of their choice. 

BHN Rewards’ digital rewards management platform supports points-to-rewards programs with a host of features and benefits, including: 

• Easy tracking and management of points so companies and recipients alike can stay on top of rewards. 
• An entirely hands-off approach, with the option to automatically send rewards when participants reach the points threshold. That saves employees time as they don’t need to get involved with the rewarding process. 
• Guaranteed full compliance with all data protection and security requirements. It can be challenging to ensure that both the company’s financial information and the recipients’ details are safe.
• Curated lists for different recipients. You can build a custom collection of reward options, or you can use the Smart Global Choice feature, which detects each recipient’s location and automatically presents options available in their country and currency.
• Out-of-the-box integration with leading marketing and survey platforms. Companies can enjoy a streamlined and seamless solution that fits easily into their existing workflows. 
• Built-in analytics for better data gathering. When companies have information about points and rewards, they can make well-informed business decisions. 

The BHN Rewards platform also offers flexibility by supporting instant rewards as well. With an extensive catalog of hundreds of gift card options, it’s an ideal tool for your customer and employee programs.