Archive for ‘Gift Cards’

May 31, 2012

RewardsPlus:: Closed Loop Gift and Loyalty Software

We’re excited to announce that a brand new RewardsPlus website! Visit it here: www.rewardsplus.co.za

Read in depth about:

  • Why Gift and Loyalty can increase your sales numbers
  • How RewardsPlus can help your business
  • What RewardsPlus is designed to do
  • How to implement it into your business

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Using our simple downloading tools, you can download the user guide and 30 trial version for free!

With it’s easy to use interface, we hope that RewardsPlus.co.za will help you improve your gift and loyalty campaign.

View it here. www.rewardsplus.co.za

January 31, 2012

Adding glamour to your plastic cards is easy (and cheap!)

Bring on the Bling this February!

What’s so great about a plastic card? Plastic cards reveal uniqueness.

In Identification, plastic cards are used as a validation tool. The card proclaims “This person, seen here, is important to this company!” Plastic ID cards allow access into certain areas. They provide certain perks and they recognise the importance of that individual.

In loyal sectors, a loyalty card and membership card  is exclusive- even a little luxurious. They entitle the bearer to special treatment, discounts or opportunities.

People who carry plastic cards relish in their own uniqueness and in their own sense of belonging to an exclusive segment of society. Making your card feel luxurious and exclusive is the key to launching your plastic card campaign.  By embracing the feeling of uniqueness in your card holder, you increase their willingness to spend money at your establishment!

Thankfully, there are many ways to add glitz and glamour to your plastic card campaign without costing you a small fortune. This month, we are featuring our new most popular (and FUN!) glitzy features.  We offer a selection of “bling” that you can add to your plastic cards while we manufacture them and capitalise on that sense of exclusivity.

Add Sparkle:VIP Plastic Card Sparkle Sparkles are now available on digital offset!  Most recent to the CardsPlus arsenal is the ability to produce sparkle plastic cards in our standard 2 week turnaround. This shimmer metallic effect is particularly striking paired with light artwork, and provides an elegant backdrop to your gift card, loyalty card and membership card. This process of printing is a quick, cost-effective method of adding shine and character to your plastic card campaign.

Add Embossing: embossed-gift-cardSometimes called “Raised letters”, embossing is a beautiful and functional feature to add to your card. The cards are run, one by one, into a large embossing machine that punches the numbers and letters into the plastic. The cards are then “tipped” with a coloured foil to make the characters stand out visually. We recommend choosing silver or gold foil for the most shine. Embossing is most appropriate on gift cards, loyalty cards, or membership cards, although we’ve seen several companies use embossing for their luxury business cards.

Add Foil Stamp: Foil Stamped Loyalty CardFoil stamps are the most flexible and fun way to personalise your card design. Foil stamps are custom die cut foil pieces that are stamped into the plastic. By resting above the overlay, the foil provides a brilliant shine in the design of your choosing. The foil dies are precise and can be used for geometric shapes like circles or stars (Hint! Sterkinekor uses gold foil stamped stars on their cards!) or organic swirls or text (Hint: Truworths uses foil stamped text on their gift cards!). The design options are huge!

Although most frequently seen on gift cards and business cards, foil stamps are moving into every industry including security, loyalty, and membership. Foil stamps are available in many different colours, as well as a fun mirror finish.

Adding little touches like these to your plastic card campaign will make your card just a little edgier than the rest of your competition and secure a little extra loyalty from your very important clients.

If you would like to add extra features to your plastic cards, contact us for a complimentary consultation and quotation. We want your campaign to succeed!

January 3, 2012

Warning: This one colour could jolt energy into your plastic cards.

The world doesn’t need more grey. We’re covered on the charcoal, silver and greige front. What consumer products need is a jolt, a shot of energy and boldness, all of which comes from Tangerine Tango, the reddish-orange hue that Pantone announced late December as its top color for 2012.

“There’s the element of encouragement with orange, it’s building on the ideas of courage and action, that we want to move on to better things. I think it would be a disservice to go with a relaxed, soothing color now,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, the research division of Pantone Inc.

Consumer spending is a big player in reviving the slow economy and it needs adrenaline, she said. Orange is a more urgent call to action than last year’s hot-pink hue Honeysuckle. Calls of action are good news for retailers who need to inspire extra business and motivate cash flow.

Pantone also released a full palette of colours that they expect to be particularly popular this year.

Colours of the year

We love this palette. There is a wide range of diversity, optimism and vibrancy that can be used powerfully as a call to action in your plastic cards. since we know how much colour influences purchases.

What does this mean to you?

This gives you power! These are the colours that your cardholders will be seeing at the stores. They will be buying dresses, shoes, kitchen appliances, stationary, and hip little gadgets in these colours. These colours will be seen as the trendy, chic colours for 2012- just as pink was last year. They want these colours around them…giving you the market edge.

The added benefit of Tangerine is that it is a powerful call to action. Orange is impulsive, capitalising on BUY! BUY! BUY! This is good for retailer, and it is good for you. According to a recent study, orange is prime for retailers, fast food outlets, and clearance.

And let’s not forget. Orange looks GREAT on plastic. We give a thumbs up to Pantone’s new palette.

October 24, 2011

How Colour Affects Purchases [infographic]

We’re often asked how to best use loyalty cards to propell buyers into making purchases. Of course the way that you set up your loyalty and gift rewards is a personal decision that effects your campaign significantly, there are other factors in whether a card holder buys from you or from your competition.

We’re card people, and we believe in the benefit of plastic cards! With a brief primer (such as the one below) you can tailor your plastic cards to reach not only your prime target market, but also to encourage them to purchase from you, using colour!

Let’s have a look at our colours can influence your buyers:

4 ways you can use colour on your next plastic card design to help entice buyers to purchase from you:

1. Use colours that entice your target market. I recognise that this breakdown is specifically for North American buyers, however, South African buyers often mimic the US buyers in trends. Adding to their breakdown, our trends often add one or two colours triggering elitism and excusivity- two factors that are important to the South African buyer.

2.  Layer colour influence by combining big message images with enticing colours. Avoid large blocks of colour, but combine the colours that entice your Target Market with “big message” images. Combining two types of influence, will maximiser your effect on the buyer.

3. Use your branding vividly. Colour increases brand recognition by 80%!

4. Use Power Words. Calls to action are extremely powerful, and you can use this power to your advantage by advertising your power words like guarentee and sale right on your card.

Armed with more information on colour, you can ensure that your plastic cards entice your card holders to buy more from you!

September 27, 2011

5 steps to take control of your year end

September is quickly rolling into a close and before we know it we will be knee-deep in year-end tasks and holiday obligations. This means that those you rely on to get things done or make commitments will be distracted and difficult to track down. Your customers will be upping their purchasing requirements and deadlines will loom.

But it doesn’t have to be this way! You can take control of your year-end, starting now, with just 5 easy steps.

As Michael Althsuler says, “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”  and you can fly into holiday mode with everything under control!

5 steps to take control of your year-end

1. Decide what needs to get done

Taking a few moments to plan for the next few months will be instrumental in how much you complete by the year’s end. Do you have enough printers to meet the demands the holiday season brings? How are your consumable stock levels? A quick inventory can save you the panic of sourcing a ribbon in the last hour.

2.  Set deadlines

Christmas is right around the corner, and if you are planning to address your market with a loyalty or gift card programme for the holiday season, you still have enough time. Setting deadlines will ensure you have enough time to plan, design and implement your ideas. I like to set my deadlines to be managed within 4 weeks. This gives me enough time to actually complete a few things and be able to re-evaluate at the 4 week deadline anything that I may have over looked and still have some time to act if necessary.

3. Forethought

A little forethought will ensure that you colleagues and co workers are on the same page as you. Do you need a budget sign off by January? You will have better luck tracking down the right person in November than in December.

4. Seize the deals when they pop up

Since you know what you need (see point 1), you can confidently seize deals when they arise. CardsPlus offers specials on a monthly basis and jumping on one of our deals alone can save your company thousands of rands!

5. Call in the professionals

Sometimes, you can’t do everything yourself, and saying no to some things will ensure that you have time to act on the important things. Whether you need the tap repaired, or someone to print your 2012 Identification cards, you can offload some of your To-Dos and head into holiday mode knowing that everything is being taken care of.

So hop on into that pilot seat and fly your way into a relaxed (and productive) end of the year season!

January 7, 2011

10 colours to include in your 2011 marketing and loyalty campaigns for added benefit

What is going to get the attention of your clients this year?

Pantone predictions
Colour authority Pantone released their predictions in late December and as we noticed late last year– exotic, vibrant colours are on the up and up.

The colour of 2011 is Honeysuckle – a fresh, cheerful and versatile shade of pink. You can expect this colour to feature across the industries in new marketing campaigns, clothing designs and even home industry trends.

Pantone also gave Russet, Regatta, Coral Rose, Peapod, Blue Curacao, Beeswax, Lavender, Silver Peony and Silver Cloud the thumbs up for 2011.

This palette is strong, intriguing and healthy with a particular nod to saturated African and Indian inspirations.

How it will help you

Forecasting
Armed with this knowledge, you have the edge in trend appeal. You can choose to embrace the power of popularity– much like the turquoise of yore, these colours have mass staying-power and will still look hip and fresh for the next few years according to trend analysis.

African Influence
Local is Lekker and with the unique African influence these colours are primed and ready to pounce on your target audience.

Colour Association
Harnessing the power of colour provides subconscious messages to your audience.
These colours are energetic and vibrant. Using these colours for a marketing or loyalty campaign associates your campaign is associated to youthful vibrancy and positivity.

Putting it on plastic
We love this new palette of dramatic , rich shades– even more so because they look so good on plastic. Pair Coral Rose with Regatta and Honeysuckle for high energy impact – or Peapod and Blue Curacao with a touch of Silver Peony for a subtle chic result.

Give it the 2011 twist with increased interest in striking colour combinations. You can’t go wrong in this palette– so go big and reap the benefits of trend appeal.

November 3, 2010

Seize the holiday spirit today!


Christmas is on the way bringing hustle and bustle and lots of money to retail establishments! Families are preparing their holiday plans, purchasing gifts, and readying themselves for the most expensive time of the year for consumers. Are you ready to seize the moment?

People often express anxiety as to how to bless their friends and family over the holiday season, and you can make it easy to ensure their money is spent at your establishment.

Globally, companies have been grabbing the moment to cash-in on the holiday season. United States companies like Facebook and Amazon.com have formed partnerships to allow their clients the added bonus of giving gift cards to their friends and family.

In South Africa, gift cards are rapidly replacing paper gift certificates for their ease of use, fraud prevention and the added benefit of data collection.

Other benefits include:

* Frequent shopping and convenience – Cards can be reloaded, creating opportunities for repeat store visits.

* In-store credit – Instead of using paper credit vouchers or cash back, gift cards can be issued for merchandise returns and in-store credits.

* Advertising – A card in the customer’s wallet is a constant advertisement. We like to call it the ‘mini-billboard’.

* Promotion – Plastic cards are great as a marketing tool! Gift cards can be treated as a new product line that you can broadcast to your customers and clients. The added option of utilising a cleverly designed hang-tag gives more promotional weight to your card system.

* Increase Sales-

  • 61% of customers spend more than value of gift card
  • 50% of the money on the card is spent at retail price than discount sale price
  • 10-20% of a card’s value may never be redeemed
  • Acquire cash upfront before delivering the product or service
  • Money is turned into store credit
  • Customer’s cash kept in-store
  • Gain new customers
  • Encourages repeat business

Truth is, there is no better time to launch your Christmas Gift Card programme than today! CardsPlus has all the tools you will need from plastic cards printed in a jiffy to a manage-it-yourself gift card programme, RewardsPlus… all at a very reasonable cost!

Call us at 086 16 CARDS (22737) or if outside South Africa (+27) 11 894 3914 for more information about how CardsPlus can equip you with everything you need to Carpe the Christmas time Diem!

October 6, 2010

FAQ: I need help helping my client! What kind of support can I expect from you?


In today’s market place, where businesses are slashing budgets and dissolving projects that once seemed very promising, we understand that our re-sellers have a tough job ahead of them.

Communication can be so difficult as a reseller with a manufacturer, can’t it? They don’t typically seem very interested in ensuring that you have what you need in order to keep your client’s happy. Typically, they only seem interested in getting the job done.

Well, CardsPlus isn’t the typical manufacturer.

We refuse ‘good-enough’ and ‘oh well, maybe next time’. Instead we strive for excellence, especially in communications with our resellers.

We are continually working on establishing the ideal parameters for retailers- so that you always know what to expect and when to expect it.

It’s not just our quick quoting processes, or speedy order processing that we utilise to ensure you have the tools to provide excellent service. There are digital documents available to all our resellers and clients with specialty tips and tricks to ensure your card order flows smoothly in the order process. We have dedicated account managers to ensure that you always know who to talk to when an issue arises.

If you are looking to partner with CardsPlus, we would love to have a chat with you! Schedule an appointment by calling: 086 16 CARDS (22737) or by email: moreinfoplease(at)cardsplus.co.za

September 16, 2010

FAQ: What benefits should I be getting from my Loyalty Programme?

Many POS systems allow for an additional module to provide client loyalty, but many companies don’t know what type of benefits a loyalty system actually provides!  Are You Squeezing the Most from Your Loyalty Programme?

We have put together a list of 8 benefits of implementing a loyalty programme.

  • Increases Total Revenue
  • Enhanced product purchasing
  • Increases Brand Awareness
  • Increases ability to track client purchasing trends
  • Multiplies Product Purchases
  • Tracks Sales trends
  • Enhances Marketing Effectiveness
  • Boosts company image

Implementing a loyalty programme gives you the ability to grow your business faster and further!

If you would like a manage-it-yourself solution to start reaping the rewards of client loyalty, please give CardsPlus a call today.

What benefits are you enjoying from your loyalty programme?

September 4, 2010

ICMA welcomes CardsPlus with open arms


CardsPlus is proud to join the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) this year!

Joining the select few of the world’s finest card manufacturers is a great kudos to our team who has worked hard to ensure that the cards leaving our factory is only of the highest international standard.
What is the ICMA?

According to ICMA, “The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) serves the dynamic card industry and the various companies and organizations involved in manufacturing and personalizing these cards. Billions of cards now fill pockets and purses throughout the world. As the complexity of card manufacturing and applications has increased, so have the production, standards, quality, security and environmental issues surrounding the cards. The need to bring together these diverse elements of the card industry led to the formation of the ICMA.”

What does this mean to our clients?

If your preferred plastic card supplier is a member of the ICMA you can rest assured that the provider has met and exceeded the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) standards. The ICMA ensures that all of it’s members adheres to a strict set of guidelines that consistently provides high standards and excellent quality.

We are very excited to add the ICMA’s recommendation to our printed plastic cards! Want to see you for yourself what all the fuss is about? Why not drop us an email?

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