Everything you need to know about the gift card aggregator
Many players are involved in your brand’s gift card program. Today, we will be looking at B2B aggregators.
The B2B segment refers to all the professional third-party players who wish to purchase your gift card. When it comes to multicasting, third party players are retailers who are looking to expand their catalogs. They buy gift cards from your brand and resell them to their end customers.
What is a gift card aggregator?
The aggregator helps cross-distribute your brand’s gift cards to third-party resellers or distributors (CSE/HR solutions, loyalty programs, cashbacks, CSR solutions, B2C consumer and local marketplaces, etc.).
Its goal: to connect your brand with a network of pre-established third-party resellers. Then, it helps you acquire new customers on this channel and increase your revenues.
The aggregator takes a commission on the gift cards sold through the third-party resellers, along with a possible subscription fee or costs on additional services.
Why do brands use a gift card aggregator?
You might wonder why a brand would add an intermediary, instead of directly dealing with each distributor.
There are two main reasons: lack of time and lack of resources.
To start cross-distributing your gift card, you need to build a network of distributors, with whom you will have to negotiate commercial and legal contracts. These tasks require full-time resources.
Then, there is the constant flow of gift card codes and currency between your brand and the different resellers. If you can’t generate codes automatically, then you will have to do it manually. Again, this time-consuming task will require time and resources.
You will also need to manage distributor partnerships, advertising campaigns for increased visibility within the reseller’s platforms, etc.
Finally, the more distributors your brand has to deal with, the more resources it will need internally. This is not a scalable model over time.
This is where the aggregator steps in
The benefit of an aggregator is that it gives you quick access to a pre-established network of third-party distributors/resellers. It speeds up your exposure to the main players, and allows you to achieve a positive ROI quickly.
The aggregator helps you with commercial management, legal (compliance assured), invoicing, etc. A large part of the tasks and flows are automated and extra security is put in place to guarantee the deliverability of the gift cards to the end customer.
How to choose a gift card aggregator?
As you can see, the aggregator saves time, resources and revenue. However, you will have to work with it on a recurring basis. Therefore, choosing the right aggregator is essential. Here are some characteristics to consider:
Transparency: your brand will not have a direct relationship with the distributors. The aggregator will be the intermediary and the main contact point. Make sure that the aggregator is fully accountable to your brand, whether it is in terms of commissions, commercial conditions, etc. Transparency is a key element.
The quality of the third-party distributor/reseller network: One of the aggregator’s added values is the network it has built and provided by its solution. Ask about the number of distributors, the sales volumes generated, their type (CSE/HR or loyalty for example), the area covered, etc.
Support: Check the scope of the aggregator’s support for your brand. Does it manage the business partnerships? Billing? Contracts? Compliance (legal)?
Distributor connection system: Will your brand require a one-time connection to access the aggregator’s network of third-party distributors, or will it have to connect technically to each distributor?
Security and workflow automation: Are gift card codes generated automatically or manually? Is security ensured on the codes sent, but also on the payments made by the distributors?
Brand image management: The gift card represents your brand. What guarantee do you have regarding the use of your gift card by retailers? In rare cases, some unethical retailers resell the gift card themselves to other retailers without notifying the brand. Make sure this is taken care of.
Data: What data is provided? Since the aggregator is the middleman, and the end customers are the distributors’, the brand will not have easy access to this data. Choose aggregators that provide maximum visibility and choose them as your data processor if they offer it. This will give you access to all gift card purchase and spend information, reconciled and aggregated with the sales origin by distributor.
The management back-office: Can you easily monitor and control your gift card distribution activity from an online dashboard? It’s best if you can have access to this for greater convenience and transparency.
Distributor/Retailer outreach: How will the aggregator manage the brand’s visibility to third-party distributors? Do they run any marketing campaigns? Make sure your brand will be featured and properly advertised.
