When the bottom line needs a lift, companies often try offering new products. The idea is simple enough to understand. The more a company has to offer customers, the more chances it has to win add-on sales at each point of contact.
Of course, add-on sales and boosted revenue are easy in concept and much harder to achieve in reality. Finding new product lines can be costly — and risky.
Searching for new products takes time and requires money out of pocket. Those are two things that may be in short supply. Businesses must also ensure any new product meets their audience’s needs and expectations. That can be a tricky feat to accomplish. Even if a customer wants something, they may not want or expect it to come from you.
Is there a can’t-miss, sure-to-work product that almost any company can add to its offering to boost sales? Yes. Moreover, it’s a low-risk, high-reward option that works in most situations. The answer is business gifting. It’s flexible enough to fit many markets, industries, and opportunities. Plus, it comes with a no to very low out-of-pocket cost if you partner with a team like Shutterfly Business Solutions. They are experts at removing the high costs and difficult challenges that can come by adding business gifting.
To demonstrate the powerful opportunity of business gifting, we’ll show how Shutterfly Business Solutions turned it into an add-on sales engine for the event website industry.
The competitive world of event site hosting
Most events come with a dedicated website that provides attendees with relevant details (time, location, attire, etc.). It’s an idea that began with weddings and spread rapidly to baby showers, reunions, birthdays, and beyond.
Building and hosting these event sites is a highly lucrative business category. It’s also extremely competitive. Companies like Joy and The Knot battle each other while facing competition from build-your-own site providers like Square and Wix.
In that type of competitive arena, business gifting can create a unique advantage by delivering a clear user advantage over competitors. Plus, business gifting creates further distinction from DIY options.
Adding business gifting means an event site can create a richer, fuller, and more complete solution for the event organizer. The event website company that adds business gifting also adds to its bottom line — a true win-win for all involved.
Events site creates user advantages without costs
Event site platforms are searching for new ways of distinguishing themselves while remaining cost-competitive. It’s a tight path to walk. How can you get better without getting more expensive for users?
The answer is business gifting. It provides a significant point of difference and a powerful new revenue stream.
Event site users need to search, source, and order gifts. They don’t need to be sold on the idea; it’s already on their lengthy to-do list. For the hosting company, it’s an add-on sale. For the customer, it’s a much-appreciated convenience.
Adding business gifting ads profits
Why does business gifting make sense for event sites (and many other industries)? First, it aligns perfectly with the core idea of those sites — celebrations. That aspect is vital to acknowledge. As our blog introduction mentions, any new product must meet and connect to existing customer expectations.
Giving gifts has always been part of the event experience. It’s a tradition to honor people with gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, and more.
It’s also tradition for hosts to provide gifts to their guests as a thank you for coming or playing a role — think bridesmaids and groomsmen.
Until recently, most event sites missed the revenue opportunity business gifting provides. It was a massive miss for their bottom line. Most of their customers (likely all) need and buy gifts elsewhere. Savvy event sites are now capturing otherwise lost revenue by adding business gifting to the offering.
The success of business gifting is creating a trend, and many event sites are now choosing to capture the gift revenue rather than allow it to escape.
Examples of business gifting and how it works
How does business gifting work within an event site experience? It can play a role at multiple points of the process, cover multiple gift types, and be used by both the host and the guest.
Let’s explore some ideas:
Save the date cards
After setting up the event site, the hosts still need to announce the event. That can be done by email, but mailed cards are still preferred. An integrated business gifting tool empowers hosts to select, personalize, and send cards easily to guests.
Host gifts
Maybe it’s a wedding party, maybe a girl’s trip, perhaps a bachelor party, whatever the occasion, business gifts can play an essential role in saying thanks for participating. Tumblers, glassware, luggage tags, and more all make fun and functional accessories for the occasion. Especially when each one features the event theme, design, and personalized names or photos.
Event gifts
Event guests can also create, personalize, and order gifts to give to hosts. Rather than turning to big box online retailers, guests can use personal photos or special messages to personalize home decor items and more. What’s great is that it’s so easy. The same site they use for details and to RSVP can be used to shop, personalize, and order a gift.
Follow-up and thank-you gifts
Be it cards or actual items, the hosts can return to the event site to thank all who attended and shared in the moment. What’s truly special is how the hosts can use photos from the event to deepen the memories and create a wonderfully personalized thank you.
Those are just four ways business gifts can become part of an event website experience. All four add to the enjoyment for hosts and guests by creating a richer experience.
Who else should add business gifting?
Business gifting isn’t just a win for the event website industry. It works for all companies and industries. But it’s especially beneficial for companies with digital-only product offers like websites or service-only companies.
Adding business gifting not only expands the product offering but also creates a physical/tangible product for them. Why is that important? It means products are seen, used, and talked about — perhaps daily. That type of frequent exposure creates opportunities for the company behind them, such as an event website hosting company, to be remembered, preferred, and shared with others.
Business gifting is a perfect fit for these industries
- Event planners
- Videographers
- Photographers
- Bakers
- Event spaces/venues
- Video game producers
- Movie theaters
- Theme parks
- Tour companies
- Resorts
- Travel Agents/Services
- Cruise Lines
- Airlines
Isn’t business gifting a lot of work
An old saying asks, “is the juice worth the squeeze.” It’s a critical question that’s easily forgotten in business planning. At the end of the day, the effort behind any new initiative, business gifting included, has to make sense.
Does business gifting pass the squeeze test? Yes.
There are a number of ways a business can add business gifting. At Shutterfly Business Solutions, choices range from do-it-yourself to 100% do-it-for-us. That allows companies to match their business gifting aspirations and needs to their internal teams and capabilities.
What about business gifting logistics?
The logistics of business gifting can be complex — but you’ll never have to deal with any of the details. A partner like Shutterfly Business Solutions will handle the inventory, receive the orders, take care of all personalization and production, and even ship. Yep, it’s all done for you.
Start creating add-on sales using business gifting from Shutterfly Business Solutions
Adding business gifting to a product or service mix adds new revenue streams to many businesses. It also extends the talk value and recall of a company. Requiring minimal to no setup, there’s almost no reason a company should not consider the benefits of business gifting.
As powerful as it is, business gifting is only one solution. Shutterfly Business Solutions has thousands more that are ready to deploy. Using our expertise, scalability, nationwide presence, and massive Shutterfly platform will maximize your communications.
Let’s discuss how Shutterfly Business Solutions can improve your omnichannel communications in business gifting, direct mail, transactional mail, greeting cards, and books.
Capitalize on Shutterfly Business Solution resources and workflows to solve your communication challenges.
