Small Budget? Here’s How to Maximize Your Gift Card Spend
The holidays are coming up soon and as we know, the more time goes by the faster it seems to go, so you as someone who holds responsibility for other team members, employees, etc. have a job to do and that’s allocating your gifting budget to celebrate a year’s worth of hard work.
We are nothing without those who are taking care of day-to-day work, while we oversee bigger projects, plan ahead to the future, and further our standings as a business. This means we have a duty to give back and show our employees that we recognize their efforts- (even when they, and us, would rather be home with hot coco in our hands watching Christmas movies as we move closer to the actual holiday itself).
Oftentimes in some places we have to work right up to the 25th and that can suck, you know this, so this is why it’s important to look over your funds and give back. But not every business has the luxury of spending big, that’s why we’re going to go over how to maximize your gift card spend, why it matters, and how you can make the most of what you have.
In this article you’ll read about:
- The Importance of Gifting in the Workplace
- Why Gift Cards are the Way to Go
- Maximizing Your Gift Card Spend
- Benefits to Choosing PerfectGift for Your Orders
- Conclusion: Small Budget? Here’s How to Maximize Your Gift Card Spend
The Importance of Gifting in the Workplace
As we mentioned right up above, gifting is an important aspect of corporate culture, it keeps and builds rapport amongst all levels of employees through recognition. Think how in your life when someone does something extra for you that you weren't expecting; that right there is a feeling that carries over past that initial surprise.
From GiftAFeeling Inc. “companies that invest in corporate gifting see up to 5× ROI in client retention and employee engagement,” and the 2023 Tremendous Holiday Employee Gifting Study reports “92% of respondents experience a positive attitude shift for a month or more after receiving a good holiday gift.” and “46% reported having a better attitude for a year or more.”
Statistics don’t lie and through this we’ve seen how gifting can improve employee retention, reduce turnover, and improve business.
Why Gift Cards are the Way to Go
There is no “one size fits all” gift, it works that way when you’re out shopping for your family and friends, and it definitely works when you’re talking about your employees who often have even more differences than those close to you.
This means you need to find a common thread between them all so you don’t spend a lot of your smaller budget trying to fit the needs and interests of all of your employees by picking individualized gifts.
With gift cards you can:
- Pick a “universally accepted” gift card. And what we mean by universally accepted is a gift card that the everyday person could use, i.e. a Target, DoorDash, AMC Theatres, or Visa.
- Choose to deliver them digitally or in-person/through the mail. This way remote teams are still included in the holiday gift experience.
Gift cards are the easiest and most efficient way to make the most of your budget, especially when you need to get something that works for a lot of people all at once.
Rewards like gift cards can suit the needs of your employees' preferences without being a huge expense on the employer, especially when you’re going to maximize your gift card spend even with a small budget.
Maximizing Your Gift Card Spend
We’re going to first think about your own life and how you shop for yourself and others. Lots of people will tell you to “wait and strike when the iron is hot” but what does that mean for gifting specifically? Well, let’s take a look at some ways to keep your small budget small until you can allocate more funds to your gifting budget for the future.
- When we think of shopping during the holidays we think about Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals which apply to ordering gift cards as well. Many websites will set up deals all through the month or starting after Thanksgiving so businesses like yours can maximize their gift card spend.
Budgeting doesn’t have to be hard, in fact with the right tools it can get easier and easier.
- If this isn’t your first rodeo in giving then we recommend going back to previous year’s data to see what was spent and how much your employees used to adjust accordingly. A lot of the times you go big at first when in reality you don’t have to spend as much if your team isn’t using their gift cards in-between gifting periods.
- Look for bulk-order deals. A lot of the time when you’re ordering a custom amount, companies will offer special promotions regarding the value you’re buying. You can also spread costs over months, this way by the time the holidays arrive or the end of the quarter happens you will have put the necessary funds together to make up your budget needs.
- Speaking of, planning ahead is a really great way to make sure you’re not scrambling to fit your budget the closer it gets to the holidays. A lot of the time merchants will mark down or offer promotions on their inventory after significant holidays which means if you keep an eye out you can buy ahead to stay within budget.
- Do you have a company credit card that has points or rewards you don't really use? There are many credit cards out there that will allow you to use those points to buy gift cards with and that means you can extend your budget a bit per year depending on how often you use your company’s card to make purchases.
By looking for bulk-order deals, run of the mill promotions, planning your quarterly spending ahead of time, and looking at past data, you will definitely maximize your gift card spend not just for the end of the year, but all throughout it too.
Benefits to Choosing PerfectGift for Your Orders
Combining the efforts and knowledge of our sister sites, GiftYa, GiftCardGranny, and GiftCards.com, we've made this site the perfect place for you to find the exact right gift for your employees. With robust branding with logos on physical & digital cards and packaging, you’ll be able to make your gift cards stand out from others. Next time they’re out shopping they will look down to see the company’s logo and know that their next meal or purchase is thanks to you which is a great way to further rapport.
When it comes to your budget and wanting to stay within a specific margin, we oftentimes have promotions going on for gift card orders which can be found here. Utilizing these specials is an easy way to make the most of your holiday spending.
A Versatile Gift Card Option: PerfectGift+
A PerfectGift+ gift card is unique to PerfectGift.com as it allows you to allocate the gifting budget that you would be putting on a regular gift card, but this time instead of tying it to a specific merchant, you’re not, the recipient is. Your employees/team members get to choose any merchant they want from our vast catalog. This way they get access to hundreds of major merchant gift cards with everyday discounts.
Small businesses will be able to pick between ordering 1 to 50 cards with a $10,000 limit.
Corporations will be able to buy 50+ cards, with major emphasis on the + because we are the only on-demand fulfillment center in the country that can print & ship up to 50,000 cards with your logo - same- day cards at a time.
Though it’s good to note that corporations will have to create a business account with PerfectGift to get started on an order of substantial size. Here you can hit your business goals and create incentives to further improve employee retention amongst both those who work at location and remotely.
We also have a list of brochures, fact sheets and guides all about our company, product resources like our merchant gift cards, custom solutions resources like customizable API, and capabilities like how having a corporate account includes exclusive benefits and our fulfillment program.
To get the most out of your gift card budget we recommend going for our Visa gift cards:
We pride ourselves on our Visa gift card experience as like any gift card on our website, you can add your company’s logo to create a custom Visa gift card that’ll get to your office fast. PerfectGift prints and ships our own Visa gift cards, so we can guarantee same day printing & shipping (if ordered by 4:00pm ET Monday through Saturday).
We are all in-house, no one else can beat our turnaround time since a lot of other spaces use third-parties to get their stuff ready. With secure card activations for VISA, we offer a safe way to connect further with your team through these types of rewards.
Plus we have dedicated account manager(s) with 365-day support so if you need to get things moving quickly we can help you ASAP.
Conclusion: Small Budget? Here’s How to Maximize Your Gift Card Spend
When you’re these helpful tips and tricks, you’re able to maximize your gift card spend even when you have a smaller than average budget. Remember, the biggest boon you can give to your employees is effort, the effort you put into thinking of them not just during the holidays but through random times throughout the year they may not be expecting a gift.
This guide doesn’t just have to be for the end of the year, you can use this to build good company culture so your basis stays solid until the holidays come back round again. Even with your small budget you’re able to give back to your employees in effective ways to boost morale and keep your business inside and out thriving.
