How to Design a Restaurant Gift Certificate in Microsoft Word

With over 1 million restaurants in the USA, according to the National Restaurant Association, it is bound to be a competitive market. You need to be creative in marketing to ensure you encourage customer loyalty and raise brand awareness. Using gift certificates will help you achieve both and more. If you're ready to start designing your restaurant's gift certificate, we have some tips below that you can use when using Microsoft Word.

1. The More Practical the Format, the Better

Gift certificates can either be in paper or digital format. Choosing what medium you should use in your gift certificate means that you need to consider its monetary value and what you gain. For example, it is not practical to use a digital format for your gift certificate if your cashier system is not automated. Choose what suits the equipment and materials that you already have in your restaurant.

2. Branding is Key

Gift certificates are useful marketing materials that you can use to establish your resto. By giving good discounts and particular value to old and potential clients, they can experience your product and services, which in turn will help in strengthening your brand recognition, awareness, and loyalty. Highlight your restaurant name, contact information, logo, and other branding elements in your gift certificate layout.

3. Learn to Balance

Achieving a balance between your designs and texts can make all the difference. Your designs must not overwhelm the small space; learn to determine the right number of graphics and illustrations to use according to the length of your texts. For example, you can add more designs and artworks when your content is only 1–3 short sentences, and use fewer designs when there are more details.

4. Don't Overdo It

Keeping the layout and overall design simple will not make the gift certificate dull. Most of the time, customers only need the essential details about the discount or promo more and don't necessarily care about the designs. Hence, using a simple yet smooth layout and clear format for your gift certificate is always better than overdoing it.

General FAQs

  • What details to include in a gift certificate?

    The following are the essential parts of a gift certificate:

    1. Name of recipient or bearer
    2. Name of sender
    3. Name of establishment
    4. Amount/Value

  • What are the most common types of restaurants?

    Here the most common types of restaurants in the market today:

    1. Fine Dining
    2. Casual Dining
    3. Casual Dining
    4. Ghost Restaurant
    5. Family Style
    6. Family Style
    7. Food Truck, Cart, or Stand
    8. Cafe
    9. Buffet
    10. Pub

  • How does a gift certificate work?

    A person can buy a gift certificate in-store that he/she can use personally or use as a gift. The amount or face value of the certificate serves as the store credit added into the certificate by a unique code. The recipient or bearer of the gift certificate can then use it as an equivalent for cash when purchasing in-store.

  • Are gift certificates effective marketing materials?

    Yes, gift certificates are useful marketing materials considering that the branding elements are present in the layout. Not only will you provide pertinent information about your business, but you can also include a glimpse of the product and services you provide. 

  • Are gift certificates expensive to create?

    Gift certificates are relatively cheap; hence, their abundance despite the surge of digital discount codes. You can use affordable paper stock or use downloadable generic PDFs for digital gift certificates.