Maximizing Engagement: How a Diverse Rewards Marketplace Can Drive Frequent Redemptions

In today’s competitive landscape, a rewards marketplace is not just a platform; it’s a dynamic ecosystem that caters to the diverse preferences of your customers. Whether they’re earning points or selecting from various reward form factors like gift cards, prepaid cards, physical merchandise, or instant win games, the marketplace is where loyalty converges with satisfaction.

In the rewards and incentives world, a marketplace is where your customers (whether they be consumers, business partners, employees, or even channel partners) come to redeem their rewards.  You probably have a credit card where you earn points and can log in to redeem those points for gift cards, travel or even cash back.  That is a marketplace.  

A marketplace does not have to be points-oriented.  At All Digital Rewards, you can send someone a $100 gift via email.  The participant clicks on that link to redeem the gift and is transported to a marketplace with items worth $100.  These can be gift cards, charitable donations, prepaid cards, select physical merchandise, or digital gifts such as a Netflix subscription.  This is a one-time gift and the user can click on the link at any time to redeem their gift.  Unlike a points marketplace, this can promote more of a sense of immediacy.  

A GREAT marketplace transcends borders, offering support in multiple languages and currencies. This inclusivity ensures that no matter where your customers are, they can engage, understand, and redeem rewards effortlessly.

The key to a successful marketplace is its freshness and relevance. Regular updates with new rewards and categories keep the platform exciting and encourage customers to return frequently.  This is why some consumers go to Home Goods weekly but very rarely visit the home section at places like Target.  

Understanding your audience is crucial. Teens might gravitate towards fast food gift cards and entertainment tokens, while professionals might prefer travel vouchers or luxury items.  In a project we did with an Ivy League hospital system, we wanted to change the behavior of Doctors.  In doing so, we did not offer them $25 Amazon gift cards.  We offered them Gucci bags, Rolexes, and high-end experiences.  

Here are some other ways we might target the marketplace to the user demographic:

• Employees – $25 gift cards to lunch places, movie tickets, $100 Amazon gift cards
• Market Research Voter Panel – $5 McDonald’s gift cards, $10 Walmart, Target, and Amazon gift cards, Instant Win games to win a $1,000 Prepaid card
• Channel Partners HVAC Installers – Reloadable Prepaid Card, Jiffy Lube Gift Cards, Home Depot and Lowes Gift Cards, Paypal payouts, Checks

A well-structured rewards marketplace is a powerful tool in your engagement arsenal. By matching rewards to user preferences and ensuring ease of access and redemption, you can create a compelling incentive program that resonates with your audience.

Click to schedule time with All Digital Rewards for a free strategy session on how to use incentives and rewards to make real change.