12+ Best Restaurant Gift Certificate Templates – PSD, Vector EPS
Restaurants giving out gift certificates is one of the best marketing strategies that have stood the test of time. It helps ensure both regular and new customers keep coming back to the restaurant since they will be claiming the reward stated in their blank gift certificates. It may be an additional cost for the restaurant, but the long-term benefits of handing out gift certificates create a better chance of success in the business.
Free Restaurant Gift Certificate
Free Restaurant Gift Certificate Template
Free Multicuisine Restaurant Gift Certificate
Gift certificates are key to a restaurant’s sustainability
The difference between gift certificates from flyer templates, tarpaulins, and posters is that the latter are external marketing efforts and don’t necessarily translate to customers coming in and tasting dishes offered by the restaurant. Passersby may be fascinated by the posters or tarpaulins, but actually going to the restaurant is a different story. Gift certificates, on the other hand, are only given to customers, which makes it an internal marketing strategy for the restaurant.
Free Gift Certificate for Restaurant Template
Free Restaurant Christmas Gift Certificate Template
Free Cafe Gift Certificate Template
As in all marketing strategies, they are an added cost to the business. Though the cheapest promotion tool is the use of social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), most of the time it is not enough to spread the message regarding the business’ new products and services.
Additionally, social media platforms are offering paid services for increased visibility throughout the Internet, making the free tools on their respective platforms inadequate. Thus, a combination of traditional and digital marketing tools are needed to ensure customers within the company’s vicinity and even abroad will be made aware of a business’ offerings.
In actuality, despite restaurant gift certificate templates creating an additional expense for the restaurant, these restaurants don’t have to spend a lot to cover the discounts or other promotions which are listed on their gift certificates. These certificates are also not given to every customer, but only to customers who have eaten a specific number of times in the restaurant.
The great thing about these gift certificates is that they can’t be used during the time when the customers first receive the certificate. The time period where restaurants allow customers to redeem gift certificates is usually a few weeks to about a month after their initial visit, which ensures customers will definitely return.
The restaurant’s sustainability is not dependent on serving food alone. Similar to other businesses in other industries, adapting to the newest trends and the newest products are needed to ensure continuous cash flow excel and business operations. Taste palates and eating preferences of people are hard to predict even if the restaurant is serving the best-tasting dishes. For example, people don’t like to eat pasta, ramen, or grilled food every day for the rest of their lives.
Variety is needed, and one of the methods used to encourage loyalty in customers is to offer gift certificates. Giving out food discounts is one option; another would be offering gift certificate templates where customers can claim souvenirs and other restaurant collectibles such as mugs, shirts, pins, or key chains.
This colorful free gift certificate uses light colors and is very easy on the eyes. The template is best for restaurants specializing in pastries and baked goods.
Mexican Gift Certificate
This Mexican-style email gift certificate uses some distinctly Mexican art styles. You can edit the text in this template and use it for your own Mexican-inspired restaurant.
Restaurant Entrance Gift Certificate
This restaurant entrance gift certificate wonderfully uses a door or entrance as the main design element for the gift certificate. Restaurant doors are not the most common ideas when it comes to designs, but this template is an exception and it looks wonderful.
Simple Gift Certificate Template
This is a multipurpose gift certificate you can use for your own restaurant. The border colors are pre-designed, and all you need to do is to add text and you are good to go. This simple gift certificate lets you choose between four colors: dark blue, sky blue, black, and brown.
Classic Gift Certificate
This simple business gift certificate may not have a spectacular design, but is very effective in giving information to customers as no images are incorporated in the template. In this manner, the text is emphasized.
Multi-Purpose Gift Certificate
This beehive design gift certificate uses some vector image effects formed to look like a futuristic beehive. Use this template if you have a casual, modern setting for your restaurant.
Christmas Gift Certificate
Is your restaurant offering some Christmas discounts and promos? Then use this Christmas-inspired gift certificate template. This doesn’t only get your customers excited to visit your restaurant again, but it also gets them excited for the holiday season. A Christmas tree with lights in the background is wonderfully positioned in the template.
Tips when choosing gift certificate designs
Simplicity is preferred
Sample gift certificates don’t need to have layers upon layers of text and images to make them effective. This is also to avoid confusion for customers who don’t have to navigate the gift certificate design just to see what kind of discount or free gift they are availing. As seen in the gift certificate templates above, simplicity is better and more preferable. The gift certificate’s value should be seen by the customer the second he sets his eyes on it. Although aesthetics and visual appeal are still important when it comes to designs, a minimalist design is more suited for gift certificates.
Mix and match colors
Since a minimalist design is more preferred for restaurant gift certificates, the color should be the most important factor. A black-and-white color scheme should be avoided as it resembles a photocopied piece of paper. But if a black-and-white combination has been ultimately decided on by management, images should be incorporated to balance the blandness of the gift certificate design.
The color in the gift certificate’s design should follow the restaurant’s theme or concept to create a uniformity throughout the restaurant’s interior and exterior designs. If the restaurant is mostly selling Italian food, use red, green, and yellow colors for the gift certificate design as the colors resemble Italian food like pizza and pasta. Furthermore, a seafood restaurant is better off using a green, grey, and blue combination for its gift certificate designs as fresh seafood like fish, oysters, shrimps, and crabs would stand out against such a background.
Purchase from experienced designers
Not all sample gift certificate designs found in online graphic design shops have the same quality. Although most look attractive, there are others which are just not worth the purchase. But even for high-quality designs, there are still concerns if the quality is retained once the customer purchases the product.
Unfortunately, there are designs which look great on the designer’s page but look far different once they’ve been printed. To avoid this dilemma, customers should take a hard look at the designer’s page and check the reviews from customers who previously purchased from the designer. They should also check the collection or previous works of the designer to see if his designs are consistent.
Purchase digital designs
The difference between physical and digital designs is that digital designs can easily be accomplished and sent to the restaurant owner or manager’s email or website in a few hours or a few days. If the purchase is a veteran and experienced graphic designer who offers his services by doing all the designs, it will definitely save the restaurant much-needed effort and time.
The problem with physical designs is not the quality of time it takes to make the designs, but the time it takes the product to be shipped to the restaurant’s location. If the restaurant is located near the designer’s office, then shipping won’t pose any problems. But if the design they chose is made by a designer in another country, shipping can take from a few weeks to a few months depending on the distance between the restaurant and the designer.
Never trust information stated on the designer’s page where it will take only a few days for the item to be shipped as numerous couriers will be handling the product, especially if it was ordered from another country. If the project management team is in a hurry to print out and distribute the gift certificates to customers, then digital gift certificate designs are more preferred.
Hire a third-party designer
Most of the time, making restaurant gift certificates is not that difficult. If gift certificates are purchased online, there are usually instructions on how to make the design. Help files are very useful especially if the user is still new in graphic design or still learning the ropes on how to use design software such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
If there are concerns when it comes to making the purchased design, especially if some instructions are unclear or some steps are difficult to accomplish, the only option is to hire a third-party graphic designer. Graphic designers don’t come cheap, but the best ones will give you your money’s worth.
So there you go with some of the most attractive and affordable restaurant gift certificate templates you can use. You can print these out and give them to your customers for added profitability and increased visibility for your restaurant. Gift certificates are very important marketing tools for restaurants, so use them to your advantage. Additionally, don’t forget our tips when choosing gift certificate designs or templates.
More in Design Templates
