HOLIDAY GIFT CERTIFICATES AND GIFT CARDS
22 NOVEMBER 2016
WHAT'S NEW: You can now offer both Gift Cards and Gift Certificates, redeemable and trackable, though your go.Platform powered by The Flybook.
- NEW. A brand new feature is the ability to sell, send and redeem gift certificates, a voucher of monetary value that typically covers the entire cost of a given service. Note: on the other hand, gift cards (already available from the go.Platform) are typically purchased as a credit in the set amount to be used toward any service offered.
- AUTOMATIC. Gift Certificates may be fully automated so a customer can purchase them online and the system will email or paper mail an attractive gift certificate worthy of putting under the tree.
- FLEXIBLE. Not sure if you want to email or paper mail automatically? That's OK. The settings are extremely flexible so you can make the process as manual or automated as you are comfortable with.
Read on for more details about how to take advantage of both Gift Cards and Gift Certificates this holiday season!
#OptOutside
Many companies in our industry embrace the #OptOutside message spearheaded by REI and encourage people to head outside to play on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. That said, consumers are embracing the opportunity to give gifts of experiences instead of things. Today, we are making it one step easier for you to provide them with the opportunity to purchase gift certificates and gift cards redeemable for your adventures and activities, and help increase off-season cashflow for those of you with seasonal operations.
We have added new Gift Certificate and Gift Card functionality in the go.Platform that can automatically email or mail certificates with no oversight from you. The go.Platform is the latest and most advanced reservation and ticketing software powered by The Flybook. Now available in the go.Platform, gift certificates and gift cards redeemable for your activities are easy to generate, track and redeem.
Gift Certificates and Gift Cards: Which is Right for Your Business?
The go.Platform offers you two ways to provide redeemable, pre-purchased gift vouchers in the form of Gift Certificates and Gift Cards, which are particularly useful for the holiday season.
The Gift Card feature, which you may be familiar with, is a quick and easy way to offer a gift with a value of a set amount to your customers; for example, a $20 Gift Card, $50 Gift Card, or $100 Gift Card. The Gift Card is not a physical card (unless you choose to create one independently), but an email to the recipient with a Gift Card number redeemable for their next adventure with you.
On the other hand, for companies that want a more robust way of managing and issuing gifts, as well as more options for how they are delivered, the Gift Certificate feature is well worth the multi-step setup process. The Gift Certificate feature makes it much easier to offer very specific activities as gifts, for example a "Family Adventure Climb" or "Couples Snowshoeing Tour." This feature also allows you to choose whether gift certificates are fulfilled with a printed certificate you already have, a printed certificate generated by our system, an email certificate, or any combination of these.
Use the go.Platform to Mail Gift Certificates Automatically
One of the most exciting benefits of the Gift Certificate feature within the go.Platform is your choice of fulfilling the gift certificate purchase with your own printed certificates or to have the system generate a certificate you can customize using our template as a guide. In its most advanced settings, an online Gift Certificate purchase triggers the system to automatically send a certificate via email or postal mail based on your preferences. The settings are flexible and up to you, allowing you to control whether the system-generated gift certificate is delivered by email, regular mail, printed by the customer or any combination.
While the Gift Certificate set up and implementation requires a few more steps within the go.Platform than the Gift Card feature, it is a much more comprehensive and flexible tool for managing the way gift certificates are organized, fulfilled and delivered. Some of the parameters you can set for Gift Certificates are a date range for redemptions, blackout dates and whether the recipient can apply the promo online. There is almost no limit to the way you can structure gift certificates within the go.Platform, and a best practice is to create one for each activity, rental or tour.
We are excited to share more details about our new Gift Certificate feature in the go.Platform and encourage you to contact our support team to schedule one-on-one time so we can help you get started!
More Details on Gift Cards
Setting up and implementing Gift Cards within the go.Platform is a simple process that includes naming the gift card, setting a range for the value it may be purchased at, adding an image for the card, and entering text that will be seen by the buyer and recipient, including a description of the gift card and any policies for redeeming it.
Many of our customers create separate gift cards for different holidays, for example, "Birthday Cards" and "Holiday Cards." Gift Cards may be sold on the backend and/or online. Once the Gift Card is purchased, the recipient receives an email with the Gift Card number and the buyer receives a confirmation email.
Go to Setup >>> Gift Cards
Click here for a quick tutorial on setting up Gift Cards.