Punch tab mythbustin incentives programs whitepaper
- 2. BUSTING the 5 Myths
of Incentive Programs
Sure, you can motivate people to do almost
anything you want by paying them… and
there’s no question that offering incentives
can be a powerful way to get your customers
and prospects to take the actions you want.
The trick, of course, is to do it right. With that
in mind, we present the 5 Myths of Incentive
Programs – BUSTED! Since what better way
to learn about the do’s and don’t of incentive
marketing? Enjoy!
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5. Incentives for B2B
2. Incentives to Driving
Online Activities
3. Incentives for Huge
Give Aways
4. Incentives for Keeping
Customers
1. Incentives for Coupon
& Sweepstakes
- 3. MYTH #1: Incentives Only Attract
Coupon & Sweepstakes Hunters
BUSTED: The right combination of audience,
actions, and rewards will attract, engage, and
retain more of the audience you want.
Everyone likes a good deal – but which actions you reward can
have a huge impact on the success of your incentive programs.
That doesn’t mean you can never use coupons or giveaways – just
that you don’t have to go straight to the discount. Think about ways
to delight your target customers… can you offer them something
special, or unexpected?
The most successful incentive programs we see are designed
around three key elements:
AUDIENCE
Who are you trying to reach? What do they care about?
ACTIONS
What action do you want them to take? How often?
REWARDS
What’s in it for them? How does this drive your business?
Alexia Foods
Program Summary
AUDIENCE:
Foodies, people who entertain
at home
ACTIONS:
• Write product reviews
• Share Alexia content
• Join the Alexia email list
REWARDS:
• “Frequent Foodie” badge
• Discounts on Alexia products
EXTRA:
Those earning 5,000 points or
more can become an official
“Alexia Ambassador” and gain
access to even more exclusive
content from taste-makers.
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Visit the Alexia Foods
Ambassadors Facebook Page
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- 4. BUSTED: You can use incentives to
drive a variety of Online and off-line
activity, including mobile!
MYTH #2:
Incentives Are Only Good
for Driving Online Activities
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Incentives are a proven method for
driving Online activity like email
subscriptions, social sharing, and
connecting with your brand on
Twitter or Facebook… And they can
absolutely be used to drive mobile
and off-line behavior, too!
Picture this… Instagram and
Foursquare drive foot traffic
To support a recent product launch, Arby’s rewarded Foursquare
check-ins and Instagram photo uploads of people purchasing and
enjoying the new sandwich to drive foot traffic into stores. I know, I
know… tweeting pictures of your lunch is so cliché, but there’s no
denying that these participation numbers are pretty #Gourmazing!
ARBY’S CASE STUDY KEY METRICS
Checked in
on Foursquare
Uploaded a
Photo
12%
20%
© 2013 PunchTab | www.PunchTab.com 4.
Arby’s Case Study
- 5. Find out how Green Day used incentives to build
massive buzz around their exclusive NYC concert
and latest album release.
Green Day Case Study
© 2013 PunchTab | www.PunchTab.com 5.
MYTH #3:
Incentives Only Work if You
Give Away a Huge Prize
BUSTED: Effective incentives exist for
every conceivable budget.
Incentive program rewards do not need to
be expensive, and don’t be afraid to get uber
specific here - the right rewards are those
that fit your brand identity and are uniquely
valuable to your target customer.
Social Recognition
Show your customers a little love and give them something
to brag about. For example: retweet them, feature them on
your Facebook page, highlight them on your blog, or invite
them to a special “elite” customer club.
Virtual Rewards
This includes things like achievement badges, points, virtual
currency, levels and statuses.
Exclusive Access
Providing early or VIP access to people, content or events
can be a powerful way to collaborate with customers and
prospects and test ideas.
Real World Stuff
Gift cards, t-shirts, tickets to special events, upgrades and
VIP treatment. This category also includes new cars, luxury
yachts, parties with rockstars, and million dollar giveaways, if
you’ve got that kind of budget.
SOME OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF
INCENTIVES YOU CAN OFFER:
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- 6. BUSTED: Your incentive program can
guide new customers toward long-term
engagement.
MYTH #4:
Incentive Customers Don’t
Stick Around
Keep it Simple
Elaborate, multi-step actions
and complicated redemption
processes are a huge turn off.
Instead, make it clear the top
3-5 actions you want your
customers to take.
Would you accept a marriage proposal on a first date? How
about loan a stranger $1,000? What if the ring was really shiny?
What if the stranger offered to pay you back with interest?
Still no, huh?
Then why would you expect new customers to make a
commitment to your brand based on a single offer – no matter
how good that offer might be? In fact,you can expect that 5-10%
of your incentivized users will churn out after the campaign
ends, which means you’ve a good shot at keeping 90-95% of
your newly acquired customers.
Keep it Fresh
Rotate in new content,
actions, and rewards as you
go – every new opportunity
to earn points, redeem an
offer, or get a special reward
is a reason to reach out and
engage your customers.
Keep it Interesting
You want your program to be
organized, but you don’t want
it to become boring! Limited
time rewards are a great way
to sustain the energy and
engagement of your program
over time.
Focus on the Keepers
Incentivize actions that bring
new customers into the fold
– ask them to subscribe to
your email list, like you on
Facebook, join your Linked-
In groups, or follow you on
Twitter so you can stay in
touch.
Use these “four keeps” guidelines to turn first-time visitors into long-time customers.
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- 7. B2B Incentive Ideas • Exclusive access to premium content
• VIP treatment at industry events
• Access to key executives
MYTH #5:
Incentives Don’t Work for B2B
B2B COMPANIES CAN ACTUALLY USE
INCENTIVES WITH A FEW DIFFERENT AUDIENCES:
Prospects
Engage prospects earlier in the sales cycle; use incentives
to drive content sharing with peers, and to identify where
prospects are in the decision process.
Customers
Use incentives to mobilize your customers; prompt customers
to review and recommend your company, participate in a case
study, or generate highly qualified leads by referring in new
business.
Partners
Selling through a channel can be tough – use incentives to
keep your company top of mind with resellers and partners.
Staff
Good practices start at home! More and more enterprises are
adopting incentives and gamification to increase adoption of
internal productivity tools like Salesforce.
Just because you sell to other businesses
doesn’t mean that incentives won’t work.
Why should it… since every business is
filled with real people driven by the same
desires, needs, and aspirations as everyone
else!
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BUSTED: B2B companies can use
incentives to improve both internal and
external results.
© 2013 PunchTab | www.PunchTab.com 7.
As always, the key is to align the incentives to
the audience and the action you want them to take.
While internal staff may thrive on the sense of
accomplishment that comes with updating their
customer records in your CRM (hey, it’s possible!),
partners may be more inclined towards VIP access
to company execs or special visibility to key accounts.
- 8. Want to Learn How PunchTab
Can Help Your Business Use
Incentive Programs?
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