Spread gift cards, spread the smile. Gift cards: the unique answer to companies needs

Spread gift cards, spread the smile

Spread gift cards, spread the smile
Gift cards: the unique answer to companies needs.

 

When I started my experience as International Sales Manager for Amilon I thought – like many others, I bet – that what I was going to sell internationally was an innovative way of making gifts for people, on a personal level. Personally I have often received gift certificates for my birthday and I really liked the gift. Through the gift card people can offer their friends and family the opportunity to enjoy cooking classes, a haircut at their favorite barbershop, a relaxing day at a SPA …

However, with time, I learnt that gift cards can be a lot more than that. They are much more than incredible personal gifts. In fact, they are revolutionary business gifts for companies that are looking for new and more practical ways to incentivize and reward employees, partners, and customers.

I got this particular intuition, while talking and negotiating with customers, companies and brands all over the world. All of a sudden, it was clear to me that people from Europe, India, USA and Latin America have a unique and common need: finding an easy and successful way to incentivize employees, or to reward customers for their proven loyalty.

And this simple and successful rewards are digital gift cards.

Gift cards are the perfect reward for every occasion, because they meet every individual taste and preference, allowing people to express themselves by getting what they most need or desire with their corporate benefits or customer loyalty rewards.

This incredible flexibility is why gift cards are so loved across the world: companies from every country appreciate gift cards as benefits, because everyone loves free choice on how to spend her own benefits.

What do I mostly love about working for Amilon? To expand a universal network based on the same need, that is translated into single local habits and cultures, by providing each country with the relevant gift card offer of both local and international brands.

Amilon definitely does it! getting the widest catalogue offer possible, always including local brands. This is also why Monexia expanded their sales team, including local people from all over the world, guaranteeing to customers a global presence that now spans from Italy to Mexico, from Spain to Poland…

Our catalogue of digital gift cards is constantly growing, and this growth is led by what our customers are looking for.

Our catalogue of digital gift cards is constantly growing, and this growth is led by what our customers are looking for. Would you like to incentivize your employees with a grocery brand gift card in Switzerland? Coop is now available for you. Are you looking for a tech incentive for France? Fnac-Darty gift card is ready for download in our catalogue. Fashion gift card for Spain? Visit Monexia and get El Corte Inglés gift cards for your employees now. Supermarket gift cards for Germany? Take them to REWE with Monexia digital gift card.

Do you want to leave the choice to your customers regarding how they prefer to spend their reward in Spanish retailers? Just order Idea Shopping gift card for Spain…

By doing this, I am sure that you will gain a new ability: putting a smile on your customers faces. Because, if gift cards can be wonderful personal gifts, they would be even better corporate rewards.

– Article by Giuseppe Di Rienzo, International Sales Manager

Branded Currency: the gift card has changed its image and name

Gift cards as branded currency

Healthier than ever before, the gift card has changed its image and name: the industry is now talking about it as a “Branded Currency”.

This was discussed in Chicago at the Flourish Conference this month, where we at Amilon, had the pleasure of participating. The Conference was dedicated to the “blooming” of Branded Currency, be they gift cards, loyalty points or coupons. This currency is available to retailers to deliver their marketing strategies in a new way, to enable customer acquisition, to build loyalty, to give the customer a convenient and increasingly unique experience.

But why has the gift card changed its name and reworked its image?
Because the market is transforming it into a different product, one which is digital and for personal consumption.

So, no longer will there be only gifts and no longer will there be cards.
Digital, thanks also to Amilon, who has been a flag-bearer for more than 10 years, has now outgrown the physical dimension: with digital gift cards now received by e-mail, downloaded and spent by presenting the smartphone at the cashier.

In addition, digital allows the prize or the gift in real time: from the moment of desire to the purchase decision, this can be completed in just a few minutes, sometimes only seconds: I need to pay the bill, I enter the corporate welfare portal, I download a voucher and I pay in cash with my mobile phone. Here is the winning Customer Experience.

And why is a gift card no longer just a gift?
The gift dimension still exists, but also here always more digitally. Today the gift card is increasingly used for personal consumption, thanks to promotions that allow purchases at a discount, and if well activated by retailers, facilitates the acquisition of new customers.

Finally, gift cards are chosen mostly for personal consumption, within the fringe benefits programs of corporate welfare plans. Company employees have a budget made available to them in gift cards, convertible into credit for shopping vouchers, generally for the most useful purchases, from petrol to the supermarket.

This is why the gift card has become a “Branded Currency”, a powerful tool available to retailers and to companies to incent and motivate employees.

No more cards and ever fewer gifts.