Your Regulars Already Recommend You. Now They Can Gift You
Digital Gift Cards
You already have people talking about your business. They tell their friends about you, tag you in posts, recommend you in local groups and bring people through the door saying, “You have to try this place.”
That kind of word-of-mouth is incredibly valuable for a small business. It comes from people who have actually experienced what you offer and genuinely want others to discover it. You cannot create that kind of recommendation with an ad.
But there is a gap between recommending a business and giving someone a reason to actually visit it.
Imagine one of your regular customers wants to introduce a friend to your business as a Christmas gift. They might love your café, regularly visit your salon or keep coming back to your studio, but when Christmas comes around, there may not be an easy way for them to turn that recommendation into a gift.
Perhaps you do not offer gift cards at all. Or perhaps you do, but customers need to ask at the counter, arrange a physical card or work out how to get it to the person they are buying for.
At the same time, the big retailers have made gifting incredibly easy. Their gift cards are everywhere, they are easy to find online and they can be sent instantly. So even when someone would rather support a local business, they can end up buying a Westfield voucher simply because it is the easiest option available to them.
That is the opportunity we saw with Okuru.
Giving your customers an easier way to recommend you
Okuru gives your business a digital gift card that customers can purchase through the Okuru app. They choose your business, select an amount, add a personal message and send the gift directly to the recipient's phone.
For the business, there is no need to print physical cards, integrate with your POS system or take on complicated technology. You simply apply through Okuru and, once approved, you can typically be live within 24 hours.
The important part is what happens next.
Someone who may never have heard of your business before receives a gift from a friend, family member or colleague who already knows and trusts you. When they come in to redeem it, you have an opportunity to turn that introduction into a new customer relationship.
It is a different kind of customer acquisition. Instead of paying to get your business in front of someone who may or may not be interested, you are being introduced through someone who already believes your business is worth trying.
Why Christmas is a good time to do this
Christmas is one of the biggest gifting periods of the year, and gift cards have become a normal part of how people shop for gifts.
The challenge for small businesses is not necessarily that people do not want to gift them. It is that the major retailers have made their gift cards so visible and convenient that they are often the first option people see when they are looking for a quick gift.
That creates a real opportunity for local businesses.
If your customers already recommend you throughout the year, Christmas gives them another reason to do it. A digital gift card makes that recommendation easier to act on, while giving the recipient a reason to discover your business for themselves.
For businesses joining Okuru this Christmas season, we are offering 0% commission on gift card sales until 31 December 2026.
There are also no setup fees and no monthly fees, making it a simple way to test digital gifting during the busiest gifting period of the year.
Who is Okuru a good fit for?
Okuru can work for any business that has something people would genuinely enjoy receiving as a gift.
That could be a restaurant or café, a hair or beauty business, a Pilates or fitness studio, a photographer, florist, children's activity provider, cooking or art class, tour or experience provider, or boutique retailer.
The common thread is not the industry. It is that your customers already value what you offer and would be happy to recommend it to someone else.
If someone is already telling their friends about your business, a gift card simply gives them another way to make that introduction.
A simple way to turn word-of-mouth into a new customer
Small businesses spend a lot of time trying to get noticed. But sometimes the most valuable marketing is already happening through the people who know your business best.
Your regular customers are already recommending you. They are already telling people where to go, what to try and who they trust.
Okuru gives them a simple way to take that recommendation one step further by turning it into a gift.
Join Okuru this Christmas and pay 0% commission on gift card sales until 31 December 2026, with no setup fee or monthly fee.
