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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Gas Certifcate Advterisers FAQ



Advertiser Answers


1. What is it exactly that you offer?


We offer both gas and grocery rebate certificates (incentives) that any business owner, non-profit agency, or individual can purchase and GIVE away to get more customers, make more sales, increase donations, stimulate referrals, use as closing tools - this list is endless on how you can incorporate these into your organization's marketing mix.

 
2. Give me an example of how I can use them.

Car Sales: Offered a $100 Gas Certificate when a customer takes a "test drive" and a $500 Gas Certificate when they buy a new car.

Carpet Cleaning Service: A carpet cleaning service had a special to clean 5 rooms of carpet for $150. They gave their customer a $300.00 Gas Certificate. Customers felt like the company was actually PAYING them to hire them to clean their carpets.

Chiropractic Care: Offered new patients $150 in Free Gas on their first visit. If they "bought" a packaged care plan, then the patient received $300 in Free Gas.

Lawn Care or Landscaping Services: Offering a year round contract to customers this company gave away a $100 gas certificate when they paid month-to-month. If the customer paid in advance for the year, a $500 Gas Certificate was issued instead.

Car Wash: Using a $300 gas certificate to make more sales of their annual car wash pass for $199 which allows customers to wash their car as often as they wish.

Employee Rewards: Companies help their employees get to work by giving them a $100 Gas Certificate every four months when they show up on time. Outstanding employees received $300 or $500 certificates instead.


3. What denominations do the free gas and grocery rebate certificates come in?


Certificates come in seven denominations... $50, $100, $150, $250, $300, $450, and $500.

 
4. What do my customers get?

Consumers can earn BACK a maximum of $25 per month for each month they spend at least $100 in fuel (with a gas certificate) or groceries (with a food certificate). And honestly who isn't doing that today. So a $100 certificate is good for 4 months @ $25.00 per month while a $500 certificate will take 20 months before they will get full value ($25 per month x 20 months = $500.00.)


5. Do my customers have to jump through hoops to get their gas or food gift card each month?

Absolutely not. Here's the process. You know if you go to Best Buy and purchase a piece of software with a mail in rebate on it that you have to send in that coupon and the receipt for your purchase in order to get your $20, $30 or more rebate in the mail. Our program is very similar only it works with gas or food gift cards from most major brands of fuel and food. The consumer takes the certificate they receive from you, the business owner, for visiting your store, test driving a car, buying a product or scheduling a service or whatever you wanted them to do.

They activate it by going online and filling out a form (free) or mailing it in to the redemption company (there is a one-time non-refundable $4.50 fee to register by mail as the redemption company has to ship the vouchers back to the customer so they can redeem them) . At the time of activation they choose the brand of gas they will be using, or the supermarket or grocery store they do their food shopping at, for the entire redemption period. We issue them redemption coupons (mail in rebate forms) with their name, the activation number and the month and year that the coupon needs to be sent in to us.

Then, on the first day of the very next month, they begin to save their gas or food receipts (depending on what type of certificate they've received) when they fill up or go food shopping. Once they have at LEAST $100 in receipts, they mail those receipts and that month's redemption coupon in to our company (and the address is right on the voucher itself - the process is made very simple for your customer. 

Remember... we are not asking the consumer to do ANYTHING out of the ordinary. No membership to buy, no need to buy anything EXTRA... just simply continue to buy the gas or food they normally buy and are currently getting nothing for other than the gas, groceries, and an empty wallet. The one small thing they have to do to participate is send in their gas or food receipts using an envelope and a stamp. When we receive it, we process it and issue them a $25.00 gas card (for the same brand of fuel or for the supermarket where they purchased their food) and mail it back to them. When the consumer receives the card they can use it at any fuel station or food store that accepts that gift card.


6. Who pays the difference between what the gas or grocery certificates costs me and the $25 gas or grocery gift card?

The company we work with is the Fuel Redemption Company, who have strategic alliances with many major companies across the U.S., in Puerto Rico and in Canada to underwrite the cost of the gas and grocery cards that are sent to consumers when they redeem one of the gas or grocery certificates.


7. Can I put my logo on the certificates?

Absolutely. In fact we encourage it. What better way to remind a customer who gave them the opportunity to participate in the Gas & Grocery Redemption program than by having your logo and/or business name on the certificate they have to fill out in order to participate.


8. I only want 5 or 10 certificates to try them out?

We are very sorry, but the minimum order is 25 certificates of any one type (fuel or food) or denomination ($50, $100, $150, $250, $300, $450, and $500).


9. I want to try it first to make sure it works and to see what my customers will be going through, can you give me a certificate to try?

That is very admirable that you want to make sure you customers experience is a good one. We commend you highly for caring about your customer this deeply. Unfortunately, we cannot give you a certificate to try. If we did, we'd have to give one to every prospective customer who asked and that number is in the tens-of-thousands of businesses across the United States, Canada and in Puerto Rico. That is just not possible for us to do. Besides, if you do try a certificate to see if the program works it could be up to 10-12 weeks before you ever get your first gift card. Waiting that long will only give your competitor the opportunity to get your customers with this offer before you do. The answer is to try a test order of just 25 certificates. And then refer to #8 of these FAQs.


10. What specific brands of gas stations and grocery store chains participate in this program?

ALL GAS BRANDS AND GROCERY STORES (SUPER MARKETS) ARE AVAILABLE. Not all underwrite the program but a consumer can choose ANY gas brand OR supermarket they want. If it is not listed among the ones on the redemption site then they simply choose OTHER and tell us the NAME of that brand or market. We will contact the headquarters for that brand to see if they have gas or food gift cards available. If they do, then that is the card the consumer will get. If they do NOT have a gas or food gift card then we will replace it with a $25 VISA or AMEX card instead.


11. Does the $25 gift card that my customer receives every month have to be spent/used at the brand of gas station or supermarket they selected upon registering the certificate?

No, customers are given a $25 gift card that can be used to purchase anything, even more gas/groceries.


12. Do these gas or grocery certificates expire?

Certificates which are printed with an expiration date expire on the printed date. Otherwise the certificates are only good for 1 year from the date of purchase. We do not recommend you order them and then hang on to them. Give them away as fast as you can. That means more customers, more sales and more money for your business.


13. Is there a time limit that my customer has to activate and use their gas or food certificate?

Once your customer activates the gas or grocery certificate you gave them they should start collecting receipts the 1st of the very next month. When they reach $100, they need to send them to us so we can issue them their $25 gift card. They must submit gas or grocery receipts equaling $100 each month for the length of the redemption period.


14. What happens if my customer does not send in receipts one month?

Unfortunately, they will lose that month’s worth of redemption. The companies underwriting the program are looking for brand loyalty every month.


15. Can I buy the certificates from you and then sell them to my customers?

No. You cannot sell our certificates to your customer or any other consumer. The certificate MUST be given away or included in a bundle price for your product or service.


16. How many certificates do I have to purchase?

Not many. We have a minimum purchase requirement of 25 certificates. There is NO limit on the amount you can purchase, and the more you purchase, the better the pricing.


17. Can I mix and match the denominations of certificates?

As long as you buy the minimum of 25 certificates per denomination, of course you can mix and match between the $50, $100, $150, $250, $300, $450, and $500 denominations.


18. Ok, I'm convinced these will help me make more money. How do I get started?

That's an easy one. Contact us directly for additional pricing information or to place your first order. Our friendly and experienced sales team will walk you through the process, every step of the way.

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