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An overview on how to choose the right gift card software
There are plenty of options for gift card software and platforms — with just as many variations in functionality, flexibility, and price. How do you know you’re getting the best gift card software to administer your gift card program, loyalty program, or employee reward campaigns?
Today we’re diving into an overview of gift card software platforms, and covering some of the vital features and functions you’ll want to be aware of as you choose a provider for your business. Whether you’re a small business or an enterprise customer, you’ll have the information to make the right choice and get your programs up and running smoothly.
Learn more about gift card software
Giving gifts to employees or customers used to be a slow, labor-intensive process. Mailing out swag by direct mail or shipping physical gift cards required the efforts of a dedicated team member (or in smaller companies, an already-busy admin).
Fortunately, with the advent of digital gift cards, you can administer a gift card program quickly and easily. A single member or a team can get hundreds or even thousands of gift vouchers out the door to recipients without days of packaging, tracking, and manual reporting.
But how does gift card software work?
Simply put, a digital gift card system is a database that allows marketing, sales, or HR to store recipient data, and automate the delivery of any number of digital gift cards. Gift card recipients can then use the card to purchase an item of their choice, without the hassle of going to a store to use cash or ending up with some impersonal swag that doesn’t suit them (stress ball, anyone?)
Advanced gift card systems also offer a suite of robust and flexible features such as card curation, reporting, balance recapture, and integrations to make your gift card program or loyalty program easier to administer, analyze, and improve.
5 questions to ask when choosing gift card software
What programs are we supporting?
When searching for a gift card program, you want to be sure the platform will be flexible enough to grow with your business. For a small business, you may only have one or two programs (for instance, a thank you e gift card for new customers or a loyalty program for your employees. For enterprise business, you may support dozens of egift cards campaigns across the organization.
Be sure the program you choose is flexible enough to support all the programs and initiatives you want to run for your business.
What kinds of cards do we send?
The types of cards you send may determine the kind of gift card software that will work best for you. For companies sending a standard gift card to all your shoppers, you may find a simple platform will help you get the job done.
Some examples of popular single-category gift cards and gift vouchers include:
- Coffee gift cards for Zoom interviews or small tokens of gratitude
- Lunch gift cards for delivery platforms such as DoorDash, GrubHub, JustEat, or Deliveroo.
- Single retailer cards and traditional gift cards (Such as Visa, Mastercard, Amazon, or another large retailer).
Keep in mind that your gift card programs as they exist today may expand considerably as your business grows and scales. You might need future gift card functionality that allows you to offer a selection of gifts for your loyal customers and best employees.
Where are we sending gift cards?
Even when it comes to an egift card, location matters. Consider where you’ll be sending electronic gift card offers or employee gifts. Make sure there are options for your recipients to find a store close to them or online within their delivery area.
There are important reasons to consider this:
- If you’re supporting customer gift card programs for recipients around the world, you’ll want to ensure you’re sending cards that work for them. It’s no fun to receive a reward you can’t actually use, and can actually damage the rapport you’re attempting to build with them.
- If you’re administering an employee gift card program, you’ll want to be sure your platform can support your staff in any country where they reside to create an equal experience for everyone.
Choosing a platform with a global network of gift card partners ensures you can serve gift card recipients equally no matter where they work.
Do we need to integrate other platforms?
Depending on the size of your organization, your gift card program might be part of a larger budget and planning structure. If your company uses automation and platforms for other aspects of the business like customer relationship management (CRM) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, you’ll want to be sure your chosen platform can fully integrate with all your other vital systems.
How much reporting should we do?
Reporting and data-driven decision-making are among the most powerful features of automated gift card software. So be sure to explore how much reporting your company currently conducts, and any added reporting and analysis they’d like to do in the future. Whether tracking revenue from activities, satisfaction data, new customer acquisition, or other important functions, you’ll want a platform that can help you harvest and visualize all your most vital data.
Start saving time and money with gift card software
The best reasons to use gift card software are the many ways it can save your company valuable time and money. Sending the perfect gift to a customer or employee should be quick, and it should be cost-efficient.
- No more sending out a physical card for your reward program. You’ll save time on the packaging, money on shipping, and get back hours of productivity for members of your staff. Every department can soon be saving time with gift card software.
- You’ll avoid the transaction fees inherent in manual delivery. Instead of paying a fee every time you activate a physical gift card, you’ll pay only the face value for every gift you send.
You’ll have the ability to send gift cards in a way that makes sense for your recipient, saving them time as well. You can send a gift card number by social or Slack, or send a burst of custom gift cards to recipients across the globe using the power of good segmentation and digital delivery.
Runa: The best gift card software for companies of every size
If you’re looking for gift card software that meets all of the above criteria, Runa could be the perfect gift card system for you. With our combination of world-class card options, robust API, seamless integrations, and advanced features, we can offer you a fully-featured platform that drives revenue, improves engagement, and rewards loyalty.
You’ll get everything you like about a traditional gift card, with a robust, scalable platform that works for small businesses and major corporations alike. Check out the possibilities with a demo of the Runa platform today.
Interested in learning more about how you can leverage Runa's software to purchase gift cards at scale? Get in touch with us today.
