How often do you visit the other stores and restaurants in your business area? It’s easy for most of us to get so caught up in the day-to-day drama of running our own shop that we don’t appreciate what our local colleagues have to offer. Promoting together, especially under the buy local theme, is a great way to increase everyone’s success – including your own. But you have to start by gaining an appreciation of all your area has to offer.

The Monroe Street Merchants Association recently had a mix & mingle event featuring a gift card swap. Each business was asked to bring up to five $10 gift cards to put in a big bowl, and for each one contributed they got a ticket.  When everyone had arrived, we invited attendees to dip into the bowl and draw one gift card for each of their tickets.

The bank, of course, didn’t have gift cards, so I brought some extra gift card envelopes to be filled with a $10 bill. Another business that didn’t have cards put in $10 cash with a request that it be spent at their place. There were a mix of sizes of cards, which was perhaps not ideal for randomizing the bowl’s contents, but everyone closed their eyes and took whatever they grabbed. I’m looking forward to using my five gift cards!

We use a similar concept to promote Monroe Street on Small Business Saturday. Every participating business contributes a $25 gift card, and is given a SBS tote bag with a gift card to a different business to use as a customer prize. That encourages customers to visit more than one of our many locally owned shops and restaurants.

Another way that we use gift cards is for our Holiday Glow on Monroe event. Shoppers need to visit at least five stamps from some of the two dozen participating businesses in order to be entered in a prize drawing. One lucky person wins a shopping and dining spree made up of a $25 gift card from every one – a prize worth well over $500. The beauty of this promotion is that doesn’t cost any individual business very much at all.

Gift cards can be a great promotional tool – both for your own store, and for your shopping district.

Happy Retailing,
Carol “Orange” Schroeder