Barcoded Cards Can Help Fundraising
Perhaps your group needs to do some fundraising and are looking for the the most effective way to do this. You may look at selling items like pizza, flowers or even doing a carwash. By the time the cost of the item is taken out chances are you aren’t making nearly as much as you could be, and you would have to deal with inventory and delivery of items as well.
One of the best ways for a good return rate for fundraising is discount cards. Let’s say you sold each card for $10, depending on the specific type and quantity of cards that you ordered you could make 85% profit!
What kind of businesses should you approach?
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Keep it local! Your ideal clients won’t want to drive an hour to redeem an offer. Our general rule is to keep the retailers no further than 10 miles from your city.
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Think about the people that would be purchasing your cards, what types of offers would they be interested in? (Popular options are restaurants, oil changes, tanning salons, hair salons, massage parlors, etc.) Offering a discount at a commercial cleaner is probably not the best choice.
What is in it for the retailers?
When approaching retailers asking them to be a part of your discount card program, the main thing to focus on is…. What is this going to do for THEM?
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Discount cards are an excellent marketing source for people who may have not yet been exposed to their products. A discount will give them a reason to try them out before paying full price.
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All discounts honored are tax deductible! The retailer just needs to keep the receipts when a discount has been given.
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Let’s say they aren’t sure what offer they want to give. Have all of the offers set up on a website and they can change their offer as quickly as the weather in Minnesota. - Let’s just say that is pretty often!
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Offer a variety of different partner levels
Silver level - The business is charged $X and their offer is listed on the bottom of the website along with their name on the back of the card
Gold level - The business is charged $XX for participation, their offer is listed in the middle of the website as well as the back of the card. They could also print their logo in black and white.
Platinum level - The business is charged $XXX for participation. Their color logo is printed on the front of the card along with their offer. In addition, their offer is listed on the top of the website along with their logo.
Larger companies will often donate money, but will not always want to offer a discount to customers. These companies are perfect for the Platinum level as they can be placed predominantly without the need of listing an offer.
Tips for putting the program together
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Your card design should include a QR (Quick Reference) code which is linked to the fundraising landing page. This page contains all the important information and links to the participating retailers' websites, and even special coupon codes if needed.
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Include a variable/donor number. Retailers can use this to track how many unique visitors are using the card or if one person is using the discount frequently.
One time use discounts can be available with the simple use of a hole punch. Once the discount has been redeemed, the establishment can punch a hole in their offer.
In summary, a gift card program can be simple and easy to create and implement. It offers real value to both consumers and retailers.
This guest post is from the folks at PlasticPrinters.com, who specialize in providing cards, key tags and other things to drive your loyalty program.
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