GiftCard Partners Blog

In a world now dominated by technology and nationwide services, companies have a tendency to lose touch with their social roots. As 1-800-FLOWERS.COM's CEO Jim McCann discusses, gone are the days of word-of-mouth advertising and, with it, a sense of community for many companies on the rise. McCann makes an effort to avoid this through what he describes as social consciousness. McCann works to keep the community conversation open in his own company, even as he sees an increase in success and his business gets bigger and busier. 
"We face a host of enormous challenges in the world today--everything from climate change to hunger to economic turmoil. It’s not possible for any one entity to solve problems when they reach this scale, but it is still our responsibility to participate in the solutions--particularly in the discussions around new and better solutions that might be developed," said McCann. For 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, it's not enough to simply contribute money to good causes. They strive to participate in the conversation. They not only hunt for opportunities to connect with customers, but also for opportunities to connect their customers to one another and with their own community. Other growing companies can follow suit by ingraining a similar mentality of social consciousness into their own business practices.
Read the full article here.

Offering healthy rewards to your company is a great way to lower the cost of employee healthcare and improve your employees’ wellness while you do! Healthy rewards encourage employees to lead healthier lifestyles by offering them incentives to stay proactive about their health. Even if you already have one in place, expanding your existing employer wellness program can control healthcare costs even more. Workplace wellness programs come in a variety of forms, many of them based on employee participation. Some programs with healthy rewards include:

Managing assets wisely is the hallmark of every successful company. Today's highly competitive environment shines a spotlight on the one resource you depend on most, your employees. Productivity and profitability, intimately tied to worker performance, are suffering due to an alarming rise in obesity and poor health.
Many employers now offer a company wellness programs and institute policies designed to promote healthy lifestyle changes. More than talk, the approach includes a wide range of information, support and healthy lifestyle incentives including cash rewards and gift cards.

Today, the team at GiftCard Partners is participating in the annual ThinkAThon. The 2014
ThinkAThon brings together big brains from all over the payment industry in a competition to solve some of the area’s most puzzling questions. This year’s problem-solving will focus on finding creative solutions within the following areas:

The New York Times reports on an interesting new shape for customer loyalty programs, and it’s not as simple as just maintaining, focusing on, or improving a loyalty program. This centers around GE Capital’s relationship with Kobie Marketing to unify shoppers’ profiles, to not just track purchases and create offers and rewards based on what is paid for on plastic, but also monitoring shoppers’ retail social media interactions. The New York Times article explains, “That means they can be monitored across any platforms they might use to interact with the company, like Facebook, Foursquare or an app, and their purchases can be integrated into that profile regardless of how they pay.” The article shows how, “Membership and loyalty programs have been a part of the retail landscape for years, but they have become increasingly important as retailers vie for customers both online and in their physical stores.” An example of the importance of such programs is Sears Holdings’ rewards program, “Shop Your Way”, accounted for 70% of their 3rd quarter 2013 sales
¹. Sears Holdings’ year end results
² may have been even more disappointing WITHOUT the strong boost their loyalty program offered them. Loyalty program evolution and growth is important to retailers and merchants who continually need new and innovative ways to engage with and retain customers. Click for more of the article GE Capital to help Set Up Loyalty Programs for Retailers. Sources: 1. TNYT: GE Capital to help Set Up Loyalty Programs for Retailers 2. TNYT: Sears’s Sales Fell 9.2% in Tepid Holiday Season