Get your business ready for moms, dads, & grads season

It can be a stretch to find reasons to celebrate from March through May: with no major national holidays, your spring marketing is competing for customers’ attention with great weather and other worthy distractions—family time, spring break, March Madness, baseball season.

But spring is also the perfect time to leverage gift giving for moms, dads, and grads. Spring-summer holiday gift giving can be a bit tricky for your marketing efforts, since these occasions don’t have dedicated days and can easily fall off of your radar. Plus, there’s no one-size-fits all when it comes to gift-giving for these uniquely personal events. Right?

Not exactly. If you offering the gift that our data tells us just about everyone wants, you can simplify gift giving and open up revenue potential for your business. Selling gift cards can boost your opportunities to capitalize on gift giving even if your business is in a category not normally associated with gifts. Here are some creative ways your business can get in on the gift-giving game.

1. Gift cards are king.

By some estimates, gift cards have been the most requested item on wish lists for 10 years in a row. Gift cards are flexible enough that a mom, dad, or grad can get what they want, but also show some knowledge of the recipient’s tastes and preferences. And a gift from your business is more personal than one from a big-box brick-and-mortar or digital behemoth like Amazon. As a small business owner, you also open your business up to a whole new way to accept payments. Use a Clover-friendly app like Gift Cards to offer cards that integrate directly into your POS system.

2. Do some gift matching.

Gift cards are great, but giving back is better. A study in AdWeek revealed that seven in ten Americans like brands that engage in cause-based marketing. Recent graduates and younger customers are especially receptive to companies who support local social issues. As a business owner, consider offering a gift card as fundraiser support, or do some gift card matching: one lucky gift card recipient will have a matching amount of their card value donated to a local cause, or each gift card purchase within a specific date range supports a micro-donation (say, a dollar per gift card) to a local organization up to a maximum amount set by you.

3. Give the gift that keeps on giving.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are awfully commercial holidays—why not celebrate mom and dad all year long? Deploy your rewards program to increase customer loyalty around these two holidays. A gift card can be used to reward customers for repeat visits or for spending a certain amount of money at your business. One study showed that 75% of customers spend $38 more on average than the value of their gift cards when they redeem them. When a customer redeems their card, hook them on your loyalty rewards program to keep them coming back.

4. Jazz up your program

Gift cards don’t have to be boring. Moms, dads, and grads deserve a little fun, and there are some creative options out there for customers who want to give cash. Add an app like Scratch Card Wali to your gift card experience: when a customer checks out using a gift card, this app gives them a scratch-off surprise (a free dessert or coffee next time they come back, for example).

Think outside the box—literally—when it comes to reaching new and loyal customers this spring. Never miss an opportunity to let your customers share your name around town with Clover apps and gift cards.

Editorial Team

Gift cards, Holiday, Loyalty, Marketing, Philanthropy

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