With Turkey day and Black Friday marked off the calendar, a lot of marketers and business owners are now setting their sights on the next upcoming holiday; Christmas.

Focusing sales towards individual “big ticket” items can be an effective strategy, as long as the messaging behind it is strong. What about those customers that aren’t quite sure what they want? Should we ignore their buying potential simply because they don’t know what they want?

The clear answer to this, of course, is no.

This year, line your shelves and kiosk areas with custom gift cards. It’s a good way to give those who don’t know what they want something they want.

Let’s look at the effects that proper and improper gift card printing can have on your business.

Improper:

• Fuzzy Images: Take a close look at some gift cards on shelves today. They look clean and professional, right? That professional look comes from clean crisp lines. That look isn't just reserved for big businesses. It’s reserved for people who know how to print on plastic--but we’ll get back to that in a bit.
• Ink Rubs Off: It doesn’t happen much any more with some of the printing available, but that’s not to say that it isn’t possible. I’ll avoid the science on this but the basic point is: if it isn’t printed correctly it could be disastrous for your customers who purchase gift cards this season; only to have them rub off in their pockets or worse, their hands. Ruined clothes or inked hands will assure that they will not be back to your store anytime soon. On second thought they might—with a dry cleaning bill.
• No Magnetic Strip or Barcode: Even if you have a tracking system in your store, gift cards without magnet strips are going to cause extra work for you and your employees.  Messing with the books will mess with your bottom line

Proper:

• Clean Lines: Some low quality printers can produce gift cards that appear fuzzy. Sure, they look fine from afar, but that’s not the goal. Keep a professional image and brand standard for your gift cards this season. Make sure that the printing you receive is high quality with crisp images.
• No Smear: There are lots of reasons why this can happen. Let’s just make sure it doesn’t happen (reasons listed above). Any printed item you receive should be completely cured and professional looking. The better the image on the gift cards, the better the image of your brand in the minds of your consumers.  
• Precise Printing: Every card you receive should look identical. You should not see shifts in the image or color from card to card. This type of quality can help you keep a consistent brand image, something your consumers will recognize and enjoy coming back to.
• Convenience: Much like with credit cards, gift cards can have magnetic strips to keep a total of the card's balance. This way you and your employees don’t have to fumble through records and take more of the consumers shopping time. They’ll appreciate it and you will enjoy the reduced amount of paperwork from paper gift receipts

Finally, consider the appearance of your gift cards. Include a logo, your businesses contact information on the back, the words "Gift Card" or "For You" on the front along with some holiday pizzazz for a creative appeal. Go design crazy and have some fun with them.

With that in mind: Note that there is a large group of people that are passionate about customizing everything—think of some ways that you can let your customers customize their gift cards. Different colors? Different patterns? Find an answer that fits your brand.

If you're curious what this outpouring of creativity will cost, contact a Plastic Printers online representative, or click here for a custom price quote.

This is also the perfect time to stock up on custom printed business cards.  

Professional and affordable gift cards are available—custom gift card printing from Plastic Printers, will give your brand the edge.