GiftCard Partners Blog

Rewarding employees is important because a happy employee is a more productive one. Thanking your employees for their hard work motivates them to work even harder. It's important to say thanks, but sometimes it's tough on a tight budget. Luckily, there are a few ways you can still offer rewards without breaking the bank.
Give them a day off. If you don't have cash to spare for a sizable bonus, you can always thank your employees by giving them an extra day off. If you'd rather not pay for a full day that he or she isn't working, you can always give the option of a late start or an early release instead. You can also think about expanding breaks or lengthening lunch hours. The point is that rewarding with time is both affordable on a small budget and still a great way to say thanks.
Hand out free food. Everyone loves a free meal or a tasty snack. Order lunch to say thanks for a successful advancement in the company. Bring in breakfast one day each month. Surprise your team with ice cream or candy one day. It doesn't always matter what you do -- it's more about making an effort to make sure your employees feel valued.
Learn the best way to motivate your employees. Everyone's different and has different preferences. What excites one employee, may not be the best way to reward another. Take polls and ask your company what they prefer. Not only will you chose rewards that better suit them, but they'll feel valued just for you asking.
Read the full article on LinkedIn.

When it comes to business, retention is everything.
Returning customers cost less to market to and spend more money on any given purchase. That means that building customer loyalty is one of the main keys to success. But there are a few concepts you may be missing surrounding customer loyalty.
1. In-Store Money Back Rewarding customers with credit to your own company will both make the consumers happy, while encouraging them to keep spending at your company at the same time. REI
offers it's members 10 percent off, which they receive back in an REI credit at the end of every year.
2. Personalization and Customization When it comes to showing customers that you care, personalization and customization are everything. The
80/20 rule says that about 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your customers. It's for this reason that it pays to go the extra mile to add a personal touch for your customers. 
Tesco, for example, collects data and uses it to create  segmented promotions, specific to individual consumers. These promotions are based on a customer's buying habits and the odds of them returning again in the near future.
3. Gift Card Loyalty Programs Gift card loyalty programs are a great way to ramp up your customer retention rates by rewarding consumers for their loyalty. At GiftCard Partners, we work with you to help reward customers with gift cards to some of the leading retailers on the market. Because of our flexibility and bulk discounts with gift cards to some of the most popular brands out there, we are one of the nation's largest developers of B2B gift card programs. For more information about our customer loyalty programs,
visit our program page today.

At GiftCard Partners, one of the nation's largest developers of corporate gift card programs, we form deep rooted partnerships with our clients to help them build robust loyalty, reward or incentive programs. We offer gift cards to many of the country's leading brands, including Speedway. Speedway is the fourth largest gas station chain in the country, operating over 1,400 different stores. But Speedway offers more than gas. With a whole chain of convenience stores connected to the fuel stations, Speedway sells everything from snacks to important, everyday buys. Speedway gift cards are one of our most popular brands for employee incentives, fundraising and loyalty rewards programs. From gifts to giveaways, loyalty rewards to sales promotions, everyone loves to fuel up their programs with the Speedway Corporate Gift Card Program. With our Speedway Corporate Gift Card Program, we offer you:

At GiftCard Partners, we strive to provide incentive and loyalty options featuring cards to the most popular brands on the market. One of our top-selling brands is The Cheesecake Factory, a restaurant known for its delicious food, Earth-shattering cheesecake and, of course, its homey, welcoming feeling. With over 30 years as a casual dining restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory uses fresh ingredients on over 200 different recipes. 

Because  The Cheesecake Factory gift cards can be used at any of the restaurants, nationwide, they make for a convenient and popular reward at countless loyalty, reward or incentive programs. At GiftCard Partners, we offer these cards to businesses of all sizes. That's why we have two options when it comes to ordering gift cards from The Cheesecake Factory:

For small businesses... We know how tough it can be to find reasonable prices as a smaller business. Because smaller companies sometimes miss out on discounts that larger ones get from buying in bulk, we want to make your gift card purchase as affordable and convenient as possible. That's why we offer:

As technology keeps expanding and growing, so do our payment systems. We're starting to see forward-thinking payment trends involving everything from mobile to loyalty rewards. Here are some of the latest movements in payment technology:
Mobile Capability With so many now owning smartphones, online shopping has seen a huge jump in mobile business. Because of this jump, companies are now placing a higher focus on mobile capability payments.  Plus, now the focus goes beyond smartphones as payment systems are also being developed and tested for tablet optimization as well.
Focus on Omniconsumers While mobile functionality is a very important factor for those in the payment industries, it's not only about mobile right now. Younger users are known for paying on a variety of different platforms, meaning the highest functioning payment systems will have to cater to a variety of different channels.
A Blur Between Physical and Online Shopping Consumers are not sold on only in-person or only online shopping. Many prefer to utilize both. That means that a majority of complaints that come from these double shoppers is centered around consistency between the products offered and product pricing. Smart companies are working to create consistency between off and online, especially when it comes to utilizing coupons and coupon codes.
Loyalty Rewards Loyalty rewards are becoming tremendously popular with consumers. Now, 73 percent of consumers carry loyalty rewards cards for their favorite businesses. And they don't keep it down to just one. One out of 10 customers carry six or more loyalty cards on any given day. This only goes to show the tremendous growth that the loyalty and reward businesses are seeing and will continue to see in years, and even months, to come.
For more information, read "The Ten Hottest Trends in Payments."