Crunch time is here, meaning it’s time to get in gear for corporate holiday marketing, incentives and promotions. With the flurry of time sensitive tasks needed to maximize holiday sales results, it’s no wonder you’re on a search for Gift Card checklists and tips. Whether you’re a leader at an enterprise level company or designing a gift card program for small business, the news is good. There’s a very simple way to organize your holiday gift card rewards program into an actionable view, easy as 1-2-3. By doing so, you can transform that dreaded feeling of overwhelm into a sense of control, confidence and ease. Check out this checklist for corporate holiday marketing.

A Strategic Approach to Corporate Holiday Marketing

A Simple Gift Card Program Strategy: Before, During and After

The structure of Before, During and After offers a simple overlay that lets you itemize, organize and plan your marketing related actions and tasks. Every single thing you need to do, on a per project basis, will fall neatly into one of these buckets.

Before…

Whether it is a sales promotion, marketing incentive or holiday gifting project, the question remains the same. What are the tasks required to plan, execute and measure?

Here’s an itemized list of actions, documentation and decision points to help get you started:

  • Budget
  • Specific, Measurable Goals
  • Audience Definition
  • Program Description
  • Special Offer Statement
  • Key Messages
  • Creative Design Brief
  • Execution Deadlines
  • Team Alignment Schedules
  • Approval Deadline
  • Launch Date

BTW, when Gift Cards are a component of your holiday marketing program, you will be able to go faster and do more with a turnkey gift card platform. With access to a catalog of the best gift card brands, the ability to compile lists, and simple tools to compose custom messages, the “before” phase will be a breeze.

During…

This is where the confidence and ease factor kicks in. Everyone knows that staying closely tuned throughout any program activation period is essential for a smooth execution. However, having an automated gift card delivery system affords you the opportunity to rest a bit easier during the holiday itself.

During the eye of the holiday storm, you can have a chance to sit back, relax and watch your plans unfold.

After…

As the saying goes, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

Now is the time to see how well your program performed. Unless you have a clear beat on performance, your next outing will be more challenging than necessary. In short, Performance Tracking and Measurement are marketing imperatives.

Here are some hints to help you get organized around post-activity reporting and measurement.

  • Measure performance against goals
  • Understand ROI
  • Develop future funding plans
  • Produce Lessons Learned documentation
  • Follow-up with stakeholders
  • Organize your next “before” plans based on these results

The “Before, During and After” context provides a strong foundation to focus your energy, take the right actions and reap the rewards of smart program management.

And, chances are you’ll have a special holiday to remember.