Tips for Increasing Your Profits
with Gift Certificates
by
Rena Klingenberg
Offering gift certificates is an excellent way of increasing sales by
solving your customers’ gift-giving problems. Often people would like to
give your products as gifts, but are hesitant to choose a specific item
for someone.
I’m a jewelry artist, and when I realized I was losing sales to these
potential customers, I started offering gift certificates – and discovered
a wonderful sales tool.
Wherever you sell your products – at retail locations, shows, home
parties – be sure to have an eye-catching sign advertising "Gift
Certificates Available in Any Amount". And tell undecided customers about
it verbally, too, emphasizing the benefits of a gift certificate, and how
much their recipient will enjoy choosing the exact item they want.
How to Make Your Own Gift Certificates
Use your computer and printer to make special, fancy certificates using
perforated paper or postcard stock you can find in office supply stores,
and have matching fancy envelopes to go with them. They don’t need to cost
you very much, but they should really look like a special, festive gift to
give them extra appeal!
Consider adding enticing photos of some of your most popular products.
My gift certificates have a neat vertical border of jewelry photos on each
side.
Here’s the information your gift certificates should have on them:
- your business name and location, plus other contact info
- a "To:" line
- a "From:" line
- an "Amount:" line (for the dollar amount)
- "custom orders welcome", if applicable
- the expiration date, if you want to limit the time period the
certificate can be used
- the certificate’s unique number – on your computer or by hand, print a
unique number (101, 102, 103, etc., or whatever numbering works for you)
on each certificate’s bottom corner, so each can be individually accounted
for.
When you sell the certificate, you should write the dollar amount and
expiration date (if any) on the certificate yourself, and then have the
person purchasing the certificate fill out the To and From lines, so it
will be in their own handwriting for the recipient to see. Then enter the
certificate’s information in your log.
How to Keep a Gift Certificate Log
It’s important to keep a log of each gift certificate you sell. Keeping
a record of each certificate sold will ensure that you don’t wind up
honoring a counterfeit certificate, or one with a changed dollar amount
when someone comes to use it. My log has 6 columns, and for each
certificate I sell, I record in my log:
- the certificate’s unique number
- the purchaser's name
- the recipient's name
- the date sold
- the dollar amount of the certificate
- the date redeemed
- optional seventh column: expiration date.
I keep my log sheet and a stack of ready-to-sell certificates together
in a two-pocket folder, along with a fancy pen for filling out the gift
certificates in style when they’re sold.
Use Gift Certificates to Their Fullest Profit Potential
Gift certificates can be a great source of back-end sales. When the
recipient comes to redeem the gift certificate, it’s easy to sell her an
add-on item or two. Often she is already predisposed to splurge on
something to go with the item she’s getting for free with her gift
certificate, and needs only a little encouragement from you to purchase
extras. For example, in my case, the recipient will often purchase
matching earrings to go with the bracelet she gets for free with her gift
certificate. So be sure to show enticing things to the recipient that
could accompany the item she chooses for her gift!
Use a gift certificate sale as an opportunity to add two new customers
to your mailing list: the person who purchased the certificate, and the
person who received it. Obtain permission from each to add them to your
mailing list. Both of them are now pre-sold on your products, your
service, and especially on your solutions to their gift-giving problems.
There’s a good chance they will respond favorably when they receive a
special offer from you before gift-giving holidays.
Rena Klingenberg is a jewelry artist and editor of the
Jewelry Business Success Newsletter. Contact her by email at
rena@home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com or visit her web site at
http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com.
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