Guide For Local Businesses to Launch Digital Vouchers For Free

If you are a local business or small-medium enterprise, you know that Coronavirus (COVID-19) is creating a global widespread economic uproar. Vouchery wants to help local businesses boost cashflow during this tough time with VoucherAid. VoucherAid is a platform to easily set-up, manage, and sell digital vouchers and gift cards for future use. The discounted vouchers are simple to use and redeemable on mobile. And it is completely free.

It's Been A Difficult Time

While people are practicing social distancing, businesses are being severely impacted. Businesses are already running on razor-thin margins, struggling to keep afloat, and now forced to undergo mandatory shutdowns. Many businesses are reaching into personal savings or retirement accounts just to survive. Currently, it is unclear how long the shutdowns will last, but according to many reports, the severity of this pandemic may last until June or July. As a result, the shutdown will drastically hurt the economy and is reported to potentially decrease global GDP growth to below 2%.

For a local business or SME, hearing this is extremely scary. In the United States alone, it is reported that a 4-week shutdown can cost a restaurant approximately $40,000 USD, whereas, an 8-week shutdown can cost way over $80,000 USD. Businesses will be in the red till at least July to October. This leaves local businesses in a vulnerable position with high levels of uncertainty.

If you don't own a local business or SME and is wondering why this will severely impact your local economy? Oberlo reported that small and medium-sized businesses account for over 90% of the business population and are major drivers of global economic growth. In the United States alone, there are over 30.7 million small businesses and create over 1.5 million jobs annually. As a result, the closure of many small and medium businesses will cause a huge threat to the global economy.

Launch Discounted Digital Vouchers Redeemable in The Future

During this time of adversity, Vouchery wants to support your local business. We simplified our technology to build a new product, adapted to the needs of local businesses. VoucherAid lets small businesses launch and sell digital vouchers and gift cards during tough times, easily and securely. Launch digital vouchers on our platform to get immediate cash during the lockdown. It is completely free to launch, simple to set up, and customers can easily access the digital vouchers on their mobile phones.

With VoucherAid, any business can sign up to sell discounted digital vouchers for free and any customer can purchase them to support any local business. Ready to launch your digital vouchers? Below will be the ultimate how-to guide for everything you need to know about VoucherAid's digital vouchers.

• The Benefits of Discounted Vouchers

• How To Get Started

• Tips & Tricks

• Frequently Asked Questions

The Benefits of Digital Vouchers

1. Get an Interest-Free Loan

Digital vouchers assist your business to offset the lost income and might provide a quick injection of cash amidst the global shutdown.

Digital Vouchers "...are like interest-free loans. We've actually sold a lot this week, and I've been surprised that people are buying them" - Steve McHugh, owner of Charcuterie-Focused Cure

2. Simple And Easy to Use For Both Customers and Businesses

Purchasing and selling a digital voucher is simple. Utilizing our VoucherAid platform, within the click of a button, a digital voucher can be set up. Customers easily purchase vouchers through their mobile phones or computers and redeem them utilizing a unique QR code. There is no need for printing. At the same time, businesses can also use their mobile phone to verify the voucher and deduct the voucher amount.

3. Keep Loyal Customers Engaged

Although loyal customers are under mandatory lockdown and the economy is extremely fickle, many are still willing to support their favorite local businesses by buying discounted vouchers. Social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are filled with loyal customers posting and sharing their support for local businesses. Even large influencers and celebrities are posting and sharing their support for local businesses.

Mark Cuban, a multi-billionaire from Shark Tank and owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks, has been supporting local businesses on LinkedIn and other social media platforms.

Tips & Tricks

Consider Creating Gift Cards Instead of Single-Use Vouchers.

Multi-use vouchers, like gift cards, enable customers to utilize digital vouchers until their credit is up. If you're a small business, chances are, your average basket value is fairly low. In that case, it's worth selling gift cards, instead of single-use vouchers. That will allow you to sell higher value vouchers as Customers will be able to redeem smaller amounts over multiple purchases. Thanks to that, you'll distribute vouchers cost over the following months, instead of taking a one-time hit on your bottom line.

Enable Secure Voucher Validation & Redemption

Vouchery's platform offers businesses to track the success of their campaigns with the Campaign Dashboard. The campaign dashboard allows you to track your active campaigns, distributed vouchers, redeemed vouchers, total sales, and more. Whether you plan on using our technology or another, make sure you can account for every issued and redeemed voucher - distribute unique codes and make sure you are able to validate it in real-time when the offer is being used.

Share Your Digital Vouchers On Social Media

With the rapid changes created by Coronavirus, communicating with customers through social media has never been more important. Carissa Hill, a social media expert, states that social media posting and engagement are imperative and are a key reason why your business will thrive during the uncertainty.

"Regular and new customers should be able to find a business on Facebook or Instagram tosee if the business is still open, how they have adjusted to social distancing measures and what products and services are still available" - Carissa Hill, social media expert

Here are some ideas on how to promote your digital voucher on social media:

• A pinned post on your Facebook page sharing updates about the business in relation to the Coronavirus and highlighting the digital voucher as a way to support

• Create a video or post sharing the promotion, explaining your situation and the Team behind your company

• Host a live video on Facebook or Instagram to engage with your followers and showcase how to purchase the digital voucher

• Create a contest online to win a discounted digital voucher

Distribute Digital Vouchers To Various Directories

Many local customers have created websites and online platforms to support their favorite businesses. Take this opportunity to feature your business, restaurant, and service in the various directories. We are driven to support local businesses and will update this list as we find more directories:

• Toronto, Canada: GIFTforward for local restaurants

• San Francisco, USA: SaveOurFaves for local restaurants in the Bay Area

• Berlin, Germany: CoBerlin for all services affected by the lockdown

• Italy: TorniamoPresto for all small restaurants and services across Italy

• Singapore: ChopeAndSave for local stores in Singapore

How To Set Up Your Digital Vouchers on Vouchery

Step 1: Create A Deal and Add A Timeframe

Create a digital voucher by customizing your business's voucher name, value, selling price, and more. Set the timeframe for the future, eg. 6 months from now, to give yourself more time to get back on your feet financially.

In the bottom section, enter your business information and company details, like company description, logo, and a brief message from your team. Also, businesses get to control the terms & conditions of the voucher. Be sure to add as much information to make it simple for loyal customers to purchase.

Step 2: Review Your Voucher Page

Verify the digital voucher and ensure all the content is accurate. This is what your voucher offer will look like to the public.

Step 3. Connect The Payment

Connect your Stripe or PayPal account. ( If you don't have any, please register here or contact us for help ). The revenue will be deposited between 0 to 5 business days after the customer buys the online voucher. This can vary depending on which payment option is selected and bank payout options.

Step 4: Voucher Campaign is Live

The digital voucher is ready to go. Share your URL - when the Customer makes a purchase, our platform will generate a unique voucher QR code and display it to the Customer. They can also forward it to their email or save it directly in their mobile Passbook.

Step 5: Set Up Your Voucher Scanning App

Download Vouchery Point of Sale mobile app that scans and redeems the digital vouchers generated on Vouchery. The app is available for both iOS and Android systems. After setting up your digital voucher, Vouchery will provide additional information to best prepare your business for success. Here is more information about How It Works.

Ready to get started? Click here to create your free digital voucher.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

We will be updating our blog based on questions asked by businesses. If you have a question, don't be afraid to get in touch with us via email at hello@voucher.io, website chat, or call +1 415 417 1470.

Q: What does Vouchery do?

A: Vouchery is about smarter, easier, and more efficient discounting. We help marketers micro-segment coupon sides, create a thoughtful, tailored-to-customer coupon strategy and in effect, decrease the marketing spend and revenue share driven by the vouchers

Q: Who is eligible for free digital gift cards?

A: Digital vouchers are currently available to any business type worldwide. There are no restrictions.

Q: How much does it cost?

A: It is completely free, specifically for COVID-19 relief. We will not charge any commission on vouchers sold or redeemed.

Q: How do my customers pay for the discounted vouchers?

A: Customers can pay to utilize credit cards through Stripe payments or PayPal.

Q: How do my customers receive discounted vouchers?

A: Customers will receive an email with access to their personal digital vouchers. Digital vouchers are valid the moment the customer pays and will expire on the expiry date set by the business.

Q: How do I get paid for vouchers sold?

A: When the customer buys a voucher, they pay directly to your PayPal or Stripe account, we don't hold your money.

Q: How do I manage the gift cards activated?

A: The campaign dashboard will help businesses to track how many discounted vouchers have been activated and used. The campaign dashboard will give an over of the number of vouchers purchased, value, and more information.

Q: What if no one buys my digital vouchers?

A: Get in touch, we will review your offer and help you post it across various deals & coupon websites, for free.

Q: What are the terms and conditions for my customers? Do the discounted vouchers expire?

A: Vouchery allows businesses to dictate the terms and conditions. When creating an online voucher, businesses can determine expiry dates, price values, and additional terms and conditions ( eg. excluding specific product categories from the offer ).

Q: I've never utilized online promotions. Where can I learn more about them?

A: Head over to our blog, we have many different articles written on how you can drive sales with an online voucher and coupon marketing. Also, you will get access to the Vouchery User Community Slack to get product updates, exchange ideas, give us feedback and get Community Support from users all over the globe.

About Vouchery

We are Vouchery - AI-powered coupon management and automation system. We help scale a business's e-commerce promo strategy for truly personal, real-time interactions with your customers. Vouchery is a solution to help businesses find and deliver the right incentive to every customer, and as a result, create long-lasting relationships.

In this global humanitarian and economic crisis, everybody has been impacted – businesses, employees, consumers, families. As a small business with a passion for entrepreneurship, we recognize the hardships facing our peers now and the need for creative solutions to help our community through these tough times. This is why, with close friends, we have worked over the past week to develop a platform to help affected businesses earn revenue and keep afloat during the economic slowdown, absolutely free of charge, in the hope that we all get through this together. Consider this our gift back to a community that has offered us so much in the past.

Know a local business in need? Let us know and we'll reach out.