 GIFT & LOYALTY CARDS |
 Increase sales, profitability and promotional efforts with Merchant ServiceCenter’s Gift Card Program! Our proprietary software transforms a Credit Card Terminal into a powerful new revenue center and promotional vehicle. Our Custom and Standard card options enable both large and small merchants to take advantage of this great value-added service technology. Values (dollar amounts or point values) can be electronically programmed, activated, and maintained by the retailer or seller within the card's magnetic strip. A transaction (swiping the card through a terminal) is required to program or activate the stored values. The card is then used to redeem the stored values. There are a variety of stored value-based programs that can be created by the retailer or marketer of our gift or loyalty cards. Examples of programs utilizing stored value cards include:
- Gift Card Programs
This program creates upfront cash flow for the merchant before services are rendered. It can also be used to replace a paper gift certificate program with a sturdier, more manageable, and better-looking system.
- Loyalty Programs
The gift card becomes a loyalty card when it is used to generate repeat business. It's like a "punch card" in plastic form with no punches necessary.
- VIP/Club Cards
Just about everyone likes to feel special and part of an elite group. Using the gift card program as a "Club" card or VIP card with an upfront membership fee not only generates cash flow, it literally insures repeat visits from those who want to take advantage of the special offers their prepaid membership gives them.
- Store Credit/Returns
Most retailers would rather issue credit for returned goods than give cash back. The gift card can be programmed to accommodate credit for returned merchandise, which then requires the customer to return to the originating store as compared to cash which can be spent anywhere else.
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STANDARD GIFT CARD PROGRAM |
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- Standard style card, imprinted with corporate name and phone number.
- Cards are programmed at the point of sale.
- Program works on most Verifone and Lipman Terminals.
- Keeps track of all orders, statements and balances.
- Monthly statements and merchant management via MerchantServiceCenter.com.
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CUSTOM GIFT CARD PROGRAM |
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- Personalized style card, merchant can submit their own custom logo and design or our own design team can do it for them (artwork fees are extra).
- Cards are programmed at the point of sale.
- Works on most Verifone and Lipman Terminals.
- Keeps track of all orders, statements and balances.
- Monthly statements and merchant management via MerchantServiceCenter.com.
- Loyalty program can be implemented that rewards customers for making repeat purchases and awards bonuses at the point of sale.
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MERCHANT BENEFITS |
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- Improved Cash Flow
Collect money today for products and services to be provided in the future. You have upfront money and not one piece of merchandise has left the store nor one minute of service been expended. Since the average gift card purchase is $200, a lot of cash can be generated in a short period of time. For example, sell 50 gift cards during your first month, and you've generated $10,000 in cash for unused cash.
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Enhanced Profitability
Twelve percent (12 %) of total gift card sales are never redeemed. That money, known as “breakage”, goes to the bottom line as pure profit.
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Brand Recognition
Most people carry gift cards in their wallets. Each time the wallet is opened, your business name and logo are seen. Gift cards have been described as "portable billboards in the wallet".
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Generate Customer Loyalty
Achieving customer loyalty means you have turned a first time customer into a repeat customer and kept them from visiting your competition. Recent statistics reveal that 55% of gift card holders make more than one trip to your store, primarily because the full amount is typically not spent during the first visit. But on the second visit 61% of those customers spend more than the remaining value of the card. The best interpretation of these statistics is that for every $100 gift card sold, the merchant can expect an additional $50 of business sales.
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Eliminate Cash Refunds
Cash refunds become a dinosaur of the past when you can issue a store credit on a gift card. Not only will 61% spend more at your store than the credit value on the card (see customer loyalty) but merchandise returns that result in the issuance of a loyalty/gift card virtually guarantees the retailer that the customer will revisit their store. Also, credit stored on a gift card has far more credibility in the consumers' eyes than credit issued on paper.
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Considerable Marketing Impact
Forty-five percent (45%) of adult customers used an electronic gift card last year. That's a gift card, not a credit card. If nearly half of all consumers have made use of a gift/loyalty card in the last 12 months and you do not have a gift card program in your store, you could potentially double your business just by adding gift cards at the point of sale.
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Enhanced Security
While paper gift certificates can be copied or altered, plastic cards cannot. Because paper gift certificates are like cash, they must be stored like cash, in the register. Gift cards do not require a pre-programmed value prior to purchase, which dramatically reduces theft and employee malfeasance. Additionally, point-of-sale activation provides easier accountability (see below).
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Easy Reporting & Accounting
Complete online real-time reporting eliminates problem areas for accounting and taxing authorities. And the time it takes to purchase, activate or make a payment with a plastic electronic card is just seconds. Gift cards generally have a number printed on them and the number is encoded in the magnetic stripe on the back of the card. In the rare case were a number is not readable or the magnetic stripe doesn't work the consumer can be assured they will still be able to utilize the card without embarrassment. Gift/stored value cards can easily be reloaded with additional value over the phone, in person or even over the Internet. Most merchants provide the consumer with the ability to register their cards so that if lost or stolen, the card can be immediately deactivated and another can be reissued with the exact amount remaining on the lost or stolen card
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CONSUMER BENEFITS |
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- Prestige
In the consumer's eyes, paper certificates are less credible than plastic, because a plastic card has more substance to it. The card appears to be more permanent and longer-lasting than paper. The plastic gift card carries an image of higher value than paper, because the image of a paper gift certificate is that it is makeshift, short term and not very attractive. Carrying a plastic gift card in one's wallet indicates belonging to a special group, having special privileges thereby generating a feeling of uniqueness.
- Usefulness
The stored value card satisfies multiple needs - from simple birthday and wedding gifts to corporate reward programs to club membership benefits. Not only does the versatility of the card offer many options to the merchant, but creates equal options and new opportunities for use on the part of the consumer. Versatility creates desirability, which is an important benefit in the mind of the consumer.
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| Contact Us, for more details and to receive more information about Merchant Service Center. |
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