I’m surprised that companies don’t make a greater effort to reach out to the people who use their gift cards, in order to determine how satisfied they are with the experience. Customers who visit the venue regularly will probably report that they were perfectly happy to receive a gift card from that establishment. But the feedback from those who wouldn’t have gone there otherwise may speak volumes about what’s right — or wrong — with the business.

Did gift card users say it was hard to make the trip to your restaurant? Maybe you need more locations. Did they describe the menu options as too pricey? Perhaps you should offer a few lower-cost dishes. Whatever the specific questions you decide to ask, a certain subset of gift card users represents a valuable opportunity to essentially look into a crystal ball and learn how people who wouldn’t normally be your customers think. And if you harness this information properly, it can be a very effective tool for reaching a whole new group of prospects.