It is essential to understand what channel incentive programs are and why they are crucial to a successful company’s marketing strategy. An underdeveloped and poorly implemented program can underwhelm important channel partner incentive programs that are vital to you meeting company business objectives. It is surprising how brands fail to consider or successfully execute an indirect go-to-market approach that uses channel partnerships to help scale, expand into new markets, build brand recognition and enhance product value. Below are some essential ideas to help energize partners and increase sales. Start with the Basics What is a channel partner incentive program? A channel partner incentive program motivates your product partners, including resellers and distributors, to engage in certain behaviors by offering valuable rewards and incentives that help them grow their businesses. Channel partners often vary in shape and size depending on your market and don’t necessarily have to be in your industry to be successful. They can be affiliates, resellers, distributors, independent retailers, and even value-added providers. Anyone that sells your brand and doesn’t work directly for your business is a potential channel partner. The best way to ensure that your brand stands out above the competition is through well-executed channel partner […]
Tag: incentives
Incentive Program Strategies: Fact-finding and involvement
The first step to building an incentive program strategy is to conduct internal research on business operations, current customers, employees, and competitors. Incentive programs are always more effective if you can get input from members of your participant audience. Try and get feedback on the rules, rewards, and any other aspects of the program that will increase ownership and engagement in your research. Meet with departments across the organization to identify what goal/objective needs to be accomplished, such as increased sales, improved attendance, etc. While you’re setting goals, identify which individuals or teams can achieve that department’s organizational goals and objectives; those are each department’s program participants. Work with management to build the foundation of the Incentive Program carefully. You will help them to understand whether they will need an open-ended or closed-ended program design and identify the organization’s fixed and variable costs. If they have current programs up and running, get a better understanding of them. Find out if you can improve on the operational efficiencies or increase engagement. Rewards should be consistent with your participant demographics as well as the organization’s brand. The more information you can get from your audience on the types of rewards they’ll appreciate, […]
The Case for Incentive Technology
With acquisition and engagement costs on the rise, along with shifts in managing privacy, there has never been a better time to invest in incentive program technology. Incentive program technology is the key to future-proofing the internal and external engagement initiatives of your business. It’s not enough to rely on a decentralized one-off view of single application type incentive programs to manage programs such as employee recognition,health and wellness,sales incentives, channel, and consumer promotions. to drive brand revenue, engagement, growth, and longevity companies look to advanced Platform technology developed on the foundation of security standards that can build and engage an internal and external participant base. A loyalty and incentive programs are the ideal relationship-building tool to overcome these monumental changes because it provides a clear value exchange for participants. Acquisition costs on the rise Customer acquisition costs (CAC) increased over 60% in the past six years and showed no signs of slowing. Because programs have moved primarily online to interact with participants – participants notice when technology, convenience, or delays affect their experiences. Organizations can combat rising costs by focusing on retention. Benefits from an enterprise-level reward incentive program can include higher participant engagement, better insights, increased operational efficiencies, […]
Successful Loyalty Program Buying Process
Well-executed incentive programs encourage relationships between businesses and their customers, instead of relationships between customers and their reward points. Technology has moved loyalty programs beyond standard point accrual. The behavioral and emotional components of loyalty and how participants interact with your brand are now front and center for loyalty program strategy, planning, and engagement. Keep in mind that successful incentive programs use simple logic and are friction-free. A successful program is easy to join, incentivizes engagement, provides a variety of relevant reward products matched to the participant demographics, and excites and delights the members. Understand the responsibilities of the primary stakeholders in the buying process and at what stage each team should join throughout implementation. Several primary stakeholders have varying focuses, concerns, needs, and goals for the incentive program and solution to manage the reward fulfillment, including marketing, customer service, IT & development, and finance teams. It is necessary to include the product manager if you do not cover that function for the program the incentive program is under consideration. Be prepared to acknowledge who’s responsible for, accountable for, and needs to be kept informed of the loyalty program buying process. Evaluate and understand solution providers that align with your […]
Get Up to Date with the Latest Research on Teams and Incentives
Incentives are a popular way to motivate workers and teams. The question is, how do incentives benefit team dynamics? The Incentive Research Foundation recently released an article addressing this very question. When asked whether they’d rather work on a team or as an individual, ¾ of workers surveyed said that they preferred to work as individuals. Despite these preferences, the majority of workers also acknowledged that teamwork is important to their company’s success. If used strategically, incentives can have a positive effect on team performance. Most leaders tend to choose to recognize individuals over the team as a whole. The IRF postulates that this may be a result of individual successes being easier to observe and measure, rather than team performance. However, rewarding individuals doesn’t do a lot to improve the team’s performance, and there is a risk of creating jealousy or resentment. Rewarding an entire team can be tricky, but it can also be very beneficial to your organization. According to the IRF, team rewards tend to do a better job of improving performance than individual rewards. Many researchers have found that the best results come from a hybrid model of individual and group rewards, particularly when you have […]
White Paper: What Are Best Practices for Creating a Consumer and Customer Rewards Program?
Consumer and customer rewards programs are a widely popular method of engaging with an organization’s customers, increasing brand loyalty, sales, and more. Over the years, our team at All Digital Rewards has seen changes in participant reward delivery preferences. Evolving participant preferences has sparked a much-needed innovation in promotional and loyalty technology, the security systems that protect it, and the type of rewards and incentives issued through it. Experience has shown All Digital Rewards that some best practices need to evolve to meet ever-changing market demands for reward and incentive promotions and programs. Here are our top 10 best practices. Having objectives is essential to any venture, but unfortunately, it is more common than not for an incentive program manager to outline the program objectives inadequately. You’d be surprised at how many companies want to start a customer incentive program with the vague goal of simply boosting sales. Increasing your sales isn’t the only target, but more profound questions to answer to hone into the program’s true objectives. Consider, is your problem 1) that you’re not bringing in enough new customers, or 2) that your competition is getting all your potential customers? If it is the latter, why? Is it […]
Top Instant Issue Gift Card Rewards
Gift card rewards can attract and engage market research panelists, customers, channel partners, and employees. They increase brand awareness, motivate sales teams, help retain panelists, and so much more. People engage with gift card rewards in a similar way to how they interact with cash. They’re incredibly appealing and can be used by anyone. Gift cards help build trust with your reward program participants through brand recognition. Some of the top gift card brands reward program participants love to claim are: Walmart, Starbucks, Sephora, Amazon, Target, and Chipotle. You can use either virtual or physical gift cards in your reward program. Virtual gift cards work as instant issue gift cards, which have the added benefit of immediate redemption. This increases their effectiveness with your end-users, as it gives them an extra level of satisfaction. If implemented correctly, gift card rewards can help drive up your reward program ROI. Gift cards can be used for a range of different types of rewards programs such as channel sales, health and wellness programs, sweepstakes, employee recognition, market research, and points-based programs. All Digital Rewards can help you select the right gift card and e-gift card products to reach your organization’s reward objectives best. […]
White Paper: The Secret To The Right Rewards
An effective rewards program benefits both recipients and the sponsoring organization. When participants get recognized for targeted behavioral outcomes, they have an increase in interest, satisfaction, and involvement in organizational activities. As a result, the organization experiences greater outcomes, efficiency, and an increase in revenue and productivity. According to one popular theory of human motivation, actions often are inspired by a desire to gain outside reinforcement. In other words, human beings are programmed to perform when they know they will be rewarded or recognized for their actions. This motivation theory suggests an eagerness for the addition of a reward and that it may not only be wanted but needed to motivate behavior. Rewards have a range of uses. They can be good for recognizing people who have stopped performing specific actions, as can be seen in health programs that reward activities like smoking cessation. More importantly, rewards are used to reinforce desirable behaviors, such as increases in sales, engaging in healthy living, performance improvements, and more. The more importance an individual put on the reward offered, the more influential it becomes in changing their behavior. An extensive offering of rewards increases your chances of building better behavioral outcomes for audiences […]
Alternatives to Travel Incentives and Experiential Rewards
Experiential rewards have been one of the most desirable rewards among incentive program participants. Everyone loves winning a free vacation or tickets to a concert. However, with Covid-19 still making travel difficult or unappealing for most people, incentive program managers are looking for alternative ways to entice their participants. These can result in some creative things, like paying celebrities to appear in a work Zoom call for some team motivation. Still, there are many other options out there to maintain your incentive program’s engagement levels. Here are some possible alternatives to travel-based experiential rewards for your incentive programs. Fortunately, the pandemic has not dampened people’s fondness for gift cards and other cash equivalents. With a gift card, particularly one for a brand that offers online shopping, participants can enjoy their reward from the comfort of their home and pick something perfect for themselves. Also, if you go with a virtual gift card instead of a physical one, participants can be rewarded immediately, giving them that sweet feeling of instant gratification. The same goes for prepaid cards, which can also come in a virtual or physical form with your company’s custom branding. For internal programs, such as employee recognition programs or […]
2020 Incentive Trends and What Incentive Trends to Expect for 2021 – ADR
2020 has been a crazy year full of changes and surprises. In the incentive industry, some interesting things have been happening. The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) recently released their report on the Industry Outlook for 2021, which included some trends from 2020 and what they are predicting for 2021. When IRF conducted their 2019, 85% of companies expected to have a strong financial performance in 2020. The IRF’s new study showed that only 64% believe their companies will have a strong financial performance in 2021 and 50% think that the U.S. economic outlook is strong for 2021. These percentages are still reasonably optimistic, considering the situation with COVID-19. There was a 10% rise in incentive program cancellations in 2019 from 18% to 28%. The rate of incentive program cancellation in 2020 remained fairly steady at 29%. The IRF study showed an increase in preference for gift cards and merchandise, but a sharp, but not unexpected, decrease in offerings of experiential rewards. Many people still desire experiential rewards, but most program managers have chosen to exercise caution in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRF believes that the distribution and adoption of COVID-19 vaccines may cause these trends to change in […]
Use These Cash-Based Incentives to Wow Your Market Research Panel
One of the main staples for motivating your market research panelists are quality Market research incentive programs. Incentive programs are used to maximize response rates from market research panel participants, improve recruiting, increase motivation, and create a positive culture. If you choose the right rewards and incentives it will ensure that your panelists will have an amazing experience with your market research program. Here at All Digital Rewards, our case studies have shown outstanding returns on investment for companies that have chosen incentives that are the right fit for their market research panel incentive programs. Cash Equivalent Survey Incentives for market research participants are a popular choice among companies and their program participants. Panelists adore cash-equivalent and cash-based incentives. These can include physical and virtual gift cards, Visa® prepaid cards, checks, and so much more. Using digital cash-equivalent incentives allows you to save both money and time. Your participants can receive their rewards instantly, and you don’t have to take the time, effort, or cost of mailing out individual checks to your participants. All Digital Rewards has an extensive catalog of digital reward offerings, to include name brand gift cards to your participants’ favorite stores. Cash-based incentives can also be […]
Studies Show the Solution to Raising Performance and Productivity
Incentives have long been recognized as one of the most effective ways to motivate others. The importance of incentives is known internationally. A research paper by Calista Lai of the Jyväskylä University of Finland explores the benefits of incentives. When it comes to channel sales teams, employees, or anyone else, the equation for productivity is: Ability + Motivation = Productivity According to Calista Lai’s research, the difference between Incentives and rewards is as follows: “An incentive is defined as something that triggers a particular course of action, a reward is given following a desired behavior to increase the probability that the behavior will be repeated.” Ideally, rewards and incentives are used together, both to encourage desirable behavior, and to reward positive action. There are three categories that rewards/incentives fall into: Examples of monetary incentives could include stock options, bonuses, paid time off, etc. Tangible non-monetary incentives include Visa Prepaid Cards, Gift Cards, merchandise, experiential rewards, etc. Intangible non-monetary rewards typically take the form of social recognition. A study in Performance Improvement Quarterly found that incentives can improve performance by as much as 44% and increase productivity by 27%. If you’re ready to start an incentive program or take your current […]
