237+ Unique Digital Gift Ideas for Everyone in your Business Ecosystem
Businesses can use digital gift cards like any other reward. They can be part of reward programs or sent out as unexpected tokens. Gift cards can also be used internally within the company to boost sales, encourage a specific work ethic, build better relationships with channel partners, etc. So, there is no ‘best time’ to send a gift card. Any time is a good time.
But how does one choose gift cards to send out? We have put together a compilation of digital gift card ideas for employees, colleagues, coworkers, sales teams, vendors and channel partners that we think may help with choices:
20 Best Digital Gift Ideas: As Per Personas
Persona | Budget | Options |
Employees | $10 to $1000 |
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Sales Teams | $500 to $5000 |
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Channel Partners | $10 to $10000 |
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Consumers | $10 to $100 |
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Gig Workers | $50 to $200 |
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60 Best Digital Gift Ideas: As Per Occasion
Persona | Occasion | Options |
Employees | Festivals |
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Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Special Occasions |
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Appraisals |
| |
Sales Teams | Festivals |
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Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Special Occasions |
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Performance Incentives |
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Channel Partners | Festivals |
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Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Special Occasions |
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Performance Incentives |
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Consumers | Festivals |
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Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Special Occasions |
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Consumer Promotions |
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Gig Workers | Festivals |
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Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Special Occasions |
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Tips or Bonus |
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60 Best Digital Gift Ideas: As Per Price
Persona | Price | Options |
Employees | Small Budget |
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High-End |
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Luxury |
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Sales Teams | Small Budget |
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High-End |
| |
Luxury |
| |
Channel Partners | Small Budget |
|
High-End |
| |
Luxury |
| |
Consumers | Small Budget |
|
High-End |
| |
Luxury |
| |
Gig Workers | Small Budget |
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High-End |
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Luxury |
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100 Best Digital Gift Ideas: As Per Category
Persona | Category | Options |
Employees | Adventure |
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Gadgets |
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Food and Lifestyle |
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Travel |
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Hobbies |
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Sales Teams | Adventure |
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Gadgets |
| |
Food and Lifestyle |
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Travel |
| |
Hobbies |
| |
Channel Partners | Adventure |
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Gadgets |
| |
Food and Lifestyle |
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Travel |
| |
Hobbies |
| |
Consumers | Adventure |
|
Gadgets |
| |
Food and Lifestyle |
| |
Travel |
| |
Hobbies |
| |
Gig Workers | Adventure |
|
Gadgets |
| |
Food and Lifestyle |
| |
Travel |
| |
Hobbies |
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How to Set up a Successful Digital Gift Card Program Campaign
More and more people are using digital gift cards as an alternative to traditional paper gift cards. Here's how to set up your own successful digital gift card program with least efforts.
1. Set clear goals
Figure out the Why? In your gifting campaign and allow it to direct you to set clear goals. Set out why the campaign is necessary, who it is for, and the goals that the program ought to achieve. Once these goals are clear, it will help set out a clear blueprint on which the business can build the digital gift card program.
2. Study the persona of the gift card recipient
The gift card recipient may be a customer, employee, sales team member, or channel partner, depending on the nature of the program. The approach to choosing gift cards for each persona and the delivery mechanism (in terms of distance, numbers, and time constraints) will differ.
Since gift cards allow a certain level of personalization, understanding the receiver's persona becomes paramount to achieving the best possible outcome from the program.
3. Set aside a budget
Setting a budget for any campaign is necessary. Otherwise, it’s pretty easy for a campaign to become more of a liability than a contribution to revenue through increased sales. When budgeting, think of each individual, the scale of the program, and the resources available to allocate to the program as a whole.
When setting a budget, let the idea that guides you be the question: What will move the receiver's needle?
4. Find a good gift card partner
A good gift card partner will allow you to choose from a wide variety of digital gift cards in your campaign. But the choice is not the only thing. When choosing a gift card partner, convenience, speed, efficiency, and usability also influence a decision, among others. You will find a detailed list of things one must look for in a digital gift card partner as you read on.
5. Zero down on the gift cards
With all of this groundwork done; it’s time for the fun part! It’s time to choose the gift cards to be used in the campaign. You can choose gift cards based on various considerations - persona, budget, purpose - all depending on how and when the business wants to use them.
6. Prepare a media tool kit - emails, ads and banners, brochures
What’s the point of a kick-ass gift card program if no one knows these fantastic gifts are awaiting them due to their performance or loyalty? So the logical next step is to let potential recipients know that there is a digital gift card program they can enjoy? A media tool kit for each campaign ensures standardization across platforms and makes the program look more professional and inviting.
7. Create the campaign as per the instructions from the gift card partner
Work closely with the gift card partner of choice to create the campaign to help bring out the most effective result and meet all the goals set out. Every partner can contribute to your program in different ways. Some, like Xoxoday, stick with you through every leg of the process.
8. Roll out the campaign
It’s time to make people happy! Sending out gift cards must also be done thoughtfully. Send out a digital gift card with an email or a message acknowledging the receiver and letting the person know what the reward is for. It adds another element of personalization and more value to the reward.
9. Track and measure to improvise future campaigns
There is no point in sending out rewards, incentives, and gifts if they are not reaching the desired recipient. So, once the program is in place and the cards are sent out, it’s an integral part of the program to track the cards and see who’s using them and how to use the data you gather to make programs in the future better.
6 Tips to Make Your Digital Gift Card Programs a Success
Gift cards are the gift that keeps on giving – to your bottom line. But there are a few key things you need to know before jumping in and making your program a success. Here are some tips to make your digital gift card programs better.
- Ensure that the receiver's digital gift cards rolled out are easily accessible and usable.
- Enable purchase, transfer, and redemption of gift cards across all channels (online, in-store, and mobile devices).
- Allow digital gift cards to be sent via text message or integrated into digital wallets seamlessly. Consider working with a top text message marketing provider for this service.
- Ensure instant gratification. The time gap between the promised reward (the digital gift card) and its receipt is negligible.
- Use gift cards with minimal terms and conditions attached.
- Choose a reward that resonates with the target persona.
How to Choose a Digital Gift Card Management Software and Partner
Having the right digital gift card management system is vital to the success of any reward program. Software that allows smooth integrations reduces admin effort, offers hassle-free redemptions, etc., is also imperative. Here is a list of features and factors that help choose the right gift card management partner and software:
- A vast catalog: Choice is a significant consideration. Everyone has different tastes, so it would be best to have a partner that can offer hundreds of brands.
- Automation: A robust gift card API is essential for the program to grow with the business.
- Reporting: Reporting is a feature that can quickly identify fraud or misuse and can help in liability reduction.
- Tracking: Tracking redemptions offers insight into which brands each recipient likes most. This is a powerful tool to analyze what’s working in a program and build ahead accordingly.
- End-user focus: The receiver is the most crucial person in the program. So, the software must aid quick and effective redemption, which helps build meaningful, long-lasting relationships.
- A global presence: Why let boundaries limit you? Find a partner that helps reward people anywhere and supports multiple currencies and languages.
- Integration: Find software that allows integration with existing platforms that may be used in your business to make running the program more efficient and more manageable.
- Personalization and customization: A partner that provides you options for personalizing and customizing is a bonus and can add tremendous value to your program.
- Discounts and fee: Check if you can avail of discounts when buying gift cards in bulk or for limited redemption options. Another consideration is understanding if there is a setup fee and other charges involved.
Key Takeaways
- Digital gift cards are the undisputed future of incentives. Not only are a large number of businesses making the shift, but these have also become a receiver favorite, too, especially since a large part of the target audience is tech-savvy.
- Physical gift cards are cumbersome, especially logistically for an organization building a campaign around them. Digital gift cards, on the other hand, are easier to disburse, more convenient to use, and allow for freedom of choice when it comes to redemption mechanisms.
- Digital gift cards serve as universal and versatile rewards that can cater to all reward campaigns - customers, employees, sales teams, and channel partners.
- Digital gift cards are available in various options that allow extensive freedom of choice for both the giver and the receiver.
- Digital gift cards allow the giver flexibility of budget and thus cater to different persona to fulfill different goals.
- The blueprint for a successful gift card campaign clearly defines objectives and takes systematic steps toward campaign roll-out. Tracking and measuring are vital parts of the campaign to ensure better campaigns in the future.
- Choosing the right partner is sacrosanct. The program's success depends highly on the partner and software chosen to run the campaign. Having a partner that doesn’t provide the requisite support needed during the course of the campaign could lead to a major failure.
Since choosing the right partner is so important, we’re sure you’re on the hunt for one. You don’t need to go too far! You’re in the right place. Come over and take a demo with Xoxoday so we can understand your needs and help put together a digital gift card program that aligns with your needs and goals.