Govalo FAQ: Part 4 - Strategies and Promotion

In our fourth and final installment of our FAQ series, we’re delving into Shopify and how to strategize when using Govalo.

Missed the last three parts of our series? You can find them on over on our main blog page.

For now, let’s look at how Govalo contributes to stores in ways besides gift cards and our other features. 


#1 - How do I choose the right plan for my Shopify store?


First things first, consider the needs of your business and store. We advise merchants to think about their goals in using Govalo and the possibilities. We also want Govalo to be accessible and an asset to any store, which is why we offer a three tiered pricing structure and a week long free trial. Merchants can download the app and experiment with the features, choosing whether or not to upgrade, gaining access to additional features. For example, our Essential plan is a great place to start, but if a merchant uses a variety of tools, they might want to upgrade and have access to our integrations.  


#2 - What are the benefits of Govalo’s Essential plan?


Essential is our free-to-install plan, and merchants can get started in under 30 minutes as we offer features that make it easy to sell gift cards right away. We also have extensive support documentation to walk you through the process, step by step. 


Our Essential Plan allows for the following:

  • - Merchants can view Govalo's dashboard and event timeline, better understanding how customers engage with your gift products.
  • - Customers can send a gift card directly to a recipient, and choose which date they'll receive it, as well as providing the option to send a gift card when a product is out of stock.
  • - Every plan comes with a 7-day free trial period.


#3 - What are the benefits of upgrading my Govalo plan to Premium or Enterprise?


Though our Essential plan is a great baseline, upgrading to Premium or Enterprise plans allows merchants to unlock additional features of Govalo, including more tools for customers and our integrations. Merchants gain exclusive access to enhanced tools that will enrich any store's gifting experience.


Each of our plans builds off of the one below, so upgrading provides access to all of the Essential features too. Every plan comes with a 7-day trial period, allowing you to experiment with different features. 


With our Premium plan, merchants get access to:

  • - an increasingly personalized gift card buying experience
  • - a customized gift card redemption page
  • - a balance lookup tool
  • - and our integrations with Klaviyo & Omnisend. 
  • - integrations with Recharge and Bold for gift subscriptions

With our Enterprise plan, merchants also gain:

  • - a dedicated account manager
  • - custom template integrations
  • - priority access to support
  • - and volume discount. 

These features cumulatively provide merchants the ability to:

  • - Issue and manage store credit, delivering a more flexible returns process, gaining insights, and managing store credit separately with our user-friendly dashboard.
  • - Customize their gift card redemption page, perfectly tailoring the experience to your store’s aesthetics and voice.
  • - Deliver a simpler, customer-led experience with our balance look-up tool.
  • - Bulk issue gift cards in a straightforward and fast manner, managing and tracking them for those big promotions.
  • - Create and send gift cards directly through our email partners, doing more with the tools you love to foster relationships.

#4 - How should I promote my gift cards/gift subscriptions?

 

We know how important it is to promote gift cards, and want to do all we can to help our merchants boost their gift card sales. Promoting gifting year round is crucial, and helps merchants to increase their gift products’ visibility, especially as the holiday season quickly approaches. Here are our best tips:

  • - Consider when someone would need a gift card throughout the year, and promote for those occasions.
  • - Promote gift cards on par with other products in gift guide and collections, especially during the holiday season.
  • - Strategically place links to gift cards throughout your store, e.g. product pages, sitemap, gift collections etc.
  • - Draw attention to gift cards during promotional events, and even consider running a gift card promotion e.g. 50% off gift cards, or buy-one-get-one-free. 
  • - Retarget gift card customers - send personalized email recommendations, and create an automated workflow tailored to gift customers. 
  • - Place gift cards front and center on your store page, whether in the navigation or the header menu.

Merchants can also utilize emails, as they are the best method of communication with anyone engaged in a brand. We offer integrations with Klaviyo and Omnisend to make this hassle free. Through email or other advertising campaigns, we also encourage merchants to promote gift cards close to key sales periods and issue gift card use reminders.


#5 - Where should I place gift cards and subscriptions on my store?


Visibility and accessibility are vital if you want customers to be able to discover and purchase gift cards. Therefore, we recommend adding gift cards and subscriptions to your header menu, or primary navigation, so that they are not an afterthought nor are they difficult to discover. If you have more than one gift product, you could instead create a "Gifts" category in your primary navigation, which links out to gift subscriptions, gift cards, gift guides etc. You could also add them to your footer menu, or sitemap.


Adding gift products to a store’s navigation surfaces the gift card to customers, meaning they will see it more easily, and in turn are more likely to buy one.


#6 - How can Govalo help with supply chain issues/disruption?


Gift cards can be a great way to help combat the challenges that come with an unstable supply chain. The ability to integrate gift cards into a store helps with supply chain issues/disruption by:

- Negating shipping concerns as gift cards and the gifting experience are digital

- Solving the mystery of what to give a “picky” gift recipient by giving them the option of choice

- Providing a thoughtful option for last-minute gift buyers

- Resolving the problem of out-of-stock products by prompting customers to instead purchase a gift card

 

Gift cards can also help ease inventory management. If stock runs low or there is a gap in inventory, gift cards help to bridge potential seasonal supply gaps. By having gift cards as an option, merchants can improve their customer experience by solving real problems their customers have.


We hope that through our FAQ articles, we’ve shed some light on some of the most common questions you may have when considering Govalo for your store. If you want to check out the other articles in the series, head over to the following links:

Part 1 - Basics & Benefits

Part 2 - Features

Part 3 - Integrations & Customization

To find more information on the questions answered, see the below support documents:


Changing your Govalo Plan: https://support.govalo.com/article/135-changing-your-govalo-plan

How much does Govalo Cost: https://support.govalo.com/article/19-govalo-pricing

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