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You’ve smartly decided that adding gift cards or loyalty cards is a next step in marketing for your business. One of the key items to consider in this process is the design of your card. Let’s explore some of your choices. There are some common errors people make in this process, but with a little help you can avoid those mistakes.

Standard or Custom Designs?

After you have teamed up with a gift card provider to help launch your program, you will discuss various design options. One of the questions will be whether you want a custom card design or whether you can utilize a standard design. Custom cards help marry your existing marketing initiatives and branding as completely as possible.

Standard designs, on the other hand, are ready-made designs that your gift card supplier has in stock. Many gift card providers have designs that cater to specific categories of business. Therefore, they do not have to be bland. These standard designs also can be personalized by adding your business name, website and telephone numbers and even a logo (but usually in a single color).

Choosing the best option for business takes an understanding of your options. Custom designed cards have several key advantages. You will often see the “big box” retailers use these because they are able to carry their same branding and marketing with a custom design. These custom cards are usually very attractive. An attractive card makes an attractive gift and you can often increase impulse buys with this added eye appeal. Merchants also can try some unique things such as custom die cuts to make specially shaped gift cards. Merchants can use more distinctive materials (such as metallic inks, foils and different card stocks). There are even some cutting edge ideas where the cards have additional digital information or can even play music. The two disadvantages to a custom card design are that the price is more expensive and that the turnaround takes a little more time.

There are many unique printing features you can do with standard cards, such as adding clear card stocks, using metallic ink, or even some die cuts. Personalization is limited with a standard card. The amount of text you can use, the color choices on overprinted text, and the number of standardized designs available are all some of the typical limitations. However, there are many advantages. Standard cards don’t usually cost as much since the card supplier has large quantities in stock. Standard cards also have the advantage of speed to market since the turnaround time is days instead of weeks.

Creative Considerations

With standard cards, your job is pretty easy — select your card design from your choices and determine how to personalize it. For the custom card, however, there are more choices. If you have an existing agency that handles your creative work, you will likely work with them to create your design. If not, you will work directly with the supplier. Some suppliers may even have their own in-house creative departments to help you with your design. Either way, you will need to provide the designers some direction. You may need to supply them with some of your existing artwork so that they can base their designs on your current branding. For example, if you run a restaurant, you may want to provide them with the art from your menu. Or, maybe your business has brochures or ads that use your art and would be suitable for this purpose. These materials will help tie in your current marketing to the card.

Some additional Do’s and Don’ts for providing you artwork:

1. DON’T take the art from your website. These graphics often aren’t of high enough resolution to use for printing.

2. DON’T provide graphic images than must be enlarged. This will, again, not give a high enough resolution to the images as they lose quality when enlarged.

3. DON’T use images that have already been printed. Any artwork that has been printed commercially has likely been converted into a series of microscopic “dots” that make up the printed image. This works well the first time the image is printed but when the same process is repeated on a previously printed image, the result is an image that has what is termed a “moir” pattern and the artwork will not print satisfactorily.

4. DO try and use original computer files from which you have printed other pieces. These original files will be perfectly clear and will allow the designer to more quickly and effectively create a quality design.

5. DON’T clutter your design with too much info. It’s a very common error that people make, trying to hit every marketing point. Keep the design simple to keep your visual impact high.

6. DO utilize your logo. Carry your branding through to your design. Your logo is recognizable to your customers, and your gift card acts as a small billboard. Take advantage of your logo.

7. DO consider customized merchandising tools to complement your card design. A custom gift card affixed to a custom-designed carrier or card hanger presents a coordinated, attractive package that has a higher perceived value that will increase card sales.

There is nothing like opening that first box of gift cards and seeing your colorful designs ready for selling. Whether you go with a full-custom design or with a standardized card (so that you can start selling in a week), get started soon. Start pulling in those additional revenues and promoting your gift cards as soon as your customers arrive at your door.