Why you need store bucks.
* To reward a consignor for bringing items in at the beginning of the season.
* To add to a payout, if you’re a buy-outright, as incentive for that seller to shop.
* To thank a particularly helpful donor.
* As incentive for staffers.
One of the simple things that could be worth a million to your shop.
* As appreciation to a volunteer who went above and beyond.
* To add to a restaurant tip for that nice waitperson, or to surprise that nice cashier at your regular grocery store.
* To tuck in a birthday, “thinking of you”, thank-you card.
* As a “nice-talking-with-you” gift to the person next to you in the post office line.
* As a “thanks for being so enthusiastic!” gift for a customer wannabe who comes by when you can’t open for her/him.
* For anyone who does you or your business a favor.
What are store bucks? Basically, $X in currency redeemable in your business…good for anything anytime. It’s not very gracious, after all, to offer a $5 off on any purchase $25 or more is it? That’s a coupon, not a gift. Or to give a 25%-off coupon. (All that says to the recipient is buy something and I’ll take a little off.) Or to limit what store bucks are good for (that’s like, well, yes, come over for Sunday dinner but no pie for you little missy.) . Give with open hands and heart, or don’t give store bucks at all.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
[…] Store Bucks can work for your business. Here’s 10, to start you off. […]
I use store bucks to incentivize and appreciate customers, our volunteers, and paid staff here at The Junior League of Denver Second Time Shop. We call them STS Bucks. The Bucks have been a very succesful tool and they also provide me a low-cost way to offer perks that I would not have a budget to “pay” for.
I also offer a referral program. Our customers receive $5 in Store STS Bucks whenever they refer a new customer that comes into the store and presents their referral card with a 20% Off an entire Regular-Price Purchase. We track all the returned referral cards.
I love the idea and would like to try utilizing the store bucks for outside store marketing (placing in a waiter’s tip, maybe to thank a checker/bagger at the grocery store, at the bank, etc) to network and draw new customers in to shop.
This is a great way to share ideas.
Thanks!
Love the idea of using store bucks in the community, Darlene, to encourage potential customers to explore your shop! Cathy had a similar idea for her for-profit shop which she’s shared on our Thinking Outside the Box page on TGtbT.com
[…] like it. Here’s more ways to use store dollars to make your shop be all you dream it can […]
How long would you give the bucks out in the beginning of the season for clients bringing in items?
Hi Stacey, Short answer: 2 weeks.
More specific and helpful answer:
How long to use any sort of promotion, including store bucks, depends on your specific goal for that promotion. Sounds like you want to jump-start the next season by incentivizing (don’t you hate that word?) early-season suppliers.
Here’s what I’d advise if you were one of my consultant clients:
* Decide when you really want the new season to come in.
* Decide WHAT’s eligible, if you choose to go that route. Be sure, if you DO limit the promo to specific items, that the category is wide enough to include as many suppliers as possible, and that your interpretation of your own set limits is generous enough to please, not PO, your suppliers.
* Decide how much of an amount will get those folks moving.
* Decide who’s eligible. Experienced suppliers? New? D&R-ers only?
* Decide how you will reach these people.
* Decide how much lead time they will need to get things ready.
* Decide how flexible you will be. Then set your deadline a few days BEFORE that, so if someone shows up a day or three “late”, you feel comfortable giving her the store bucks “anyway.”
I’ve added mine to a couple of tips and the servers are intrigued and want to hear more about my business; It’s a great conversation starter for this introvert.
Great idea but I don’t think I’d leave store bucks as a tip…we of course wouldn’t want the same servers to come in using restaurant gift certificates to pay for their merchandise.
To steal an idea from the big box stores…use them as a reward for purchasing a specific amount… for every $25 spent you give $5…give a little incentive to add just a few more items…they do that at Kohl’s & I’m always scrounging around for those few last things to get me my $10 in Kohl’s cash 🙂
Hi Amy, thanks for you comments. If you re-read, you will see that I advocate ADDING store bucks to a tip as a “bonus”, not using them AS the tip. But thanks for pointing this out; not everyone reads as carefully as they might!
love this idea and am thinking how to use it around town, as I don’t often get to meet my own customers.
We don’t have ‘store bucks’ per se, but I ordered postcards with a picture of our store on the front and a line down the middle on the back, as suggested in another blog post here. I use them to jot thank you notes, but they can also be used as ‘store bucks’ by adding that we’d like to offer $5 off their purchase as our thank you for referring customers, etc.
Perfect, and even more personable when you write it in and thank folks. Anyone else start using postcards as an individualistic way to promote your shop?
More on postcards: https://auntiekate.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/ephemeral-email-tangible-postcards/
https://auntiekate.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/keeping-your-regulars-regular/
OK, the store bucks (and how to use them properly)is another great idea from you our dear Auntie Kate! Thank you!
Right now 8 of the shops in our small shopping center are having an Eggstravaganza event for 3 days. One of the components is that everyone making a purchase at any of the participating shops gets a plastic easter egg that is stuffed with some sort of offer from one of the shops. I organized the eggs so that each shop is giving out an egg with an offer from any one of the other shops except the shop in which the purchase is being made. This is to send business to each other and cross promote each other. Plus some of us put a little chocolate in the egg as well.
We decided to test a range of offers, ranging from $5 off $10, $5 off $15, $5 off $20 and $10 off $20.
Most people seem to love getting the little egg with the mystery prize.
It is interesting to see people’s reactions to the various offers from the other shops. One immediate observation is that business owners tend to totally take for granted that everyone knows what their business does. Probably the best offer of all the shops is something that I need to give a full explanation about. People get this offer, can barely read the small print, and ask, “What’s that?” After I explain what it is, the reaction is, “Wow, that’s really great! I’m going over there right now!”
Also some of the offers are so “boring” that I can’t imagine anyone will use them. For example, get 10% off any retail product. And this is from a place that sells make up. My thinking is that if a woman likes a line of makeup, they are going to be an ongoing customer for quite a while. Why not offer a free make up consultation and a complete set of sample cosmetics?
OK, back to dollars. We naturally call ours Dazzle Dollars. I look forward to using them in the new ways you have suggested and of thinking of even more ways! Tara of course immediately said that we need to eat out more often so we can use them as part of our tip!
Dollar-off with minimum purchase coupons of course have their place in marketing, and are certainly more effective than %age off coupons…people LOVE to see those dollar signs! So if an offer like you mention is something you feel will drive traffic (and not come to be an expected part of shopping in your store!), go for it.
But store bucks are another thing altogether. People don’t get them just because they shop with you or to encourage them to spend more… they’re little “extras”, gifts, that you use as rewards for whatever behavior you wish to encourage. Bringing in her cousins from Des Moines to shop. Wearing your store Tshirt to the giant festival downtown.
With the possible exception of the 1st & 2nd reasons above, store bucks are not an advertising ploy. You could, and depending on your situation maybe even SHOULD, use store bucks as an advertised way yo get your sellers to bring in what you need… such as “All designer jeans not only get premium pricing, but bring them in this week and we’ll say thank you with $5 in store bucks, good on anything in the store!”
Are you Dazzle-ing them up there in Idaho, Dwight?
Would you use this in an advertisement, or would something like $10 off if you buy $20 or more be OK to use in a mass distribution situation?