You’ve probably heard of the term ‘incentive marketing’ before and you’ve come to wonder what exactly is it. As the name suggests, it’s a form of marketing strategy that uses an incentive program where gifts and rewards are given. It’s a powerful tool that many companies use to help increase their brand awareness and motivate their customers to achieve certain goals. Here’s an example that you may be familiar with. “For every 10 coffee drink you buy from us, you get 1 for free. So what are you waiting for? Join our coffee club now!”.
This gives coffee shop drinkers the ability to join the coffee club for free because there’s a reason behind it (the free coffee). They get rewards based on their performance which is buying 10 coffee drinks in order to get one for free. Many coffee shops implement this loyalty program where they give out incentives when a customer reaches a certain goal. When customers are recognised based on how they perform, you’re guaranteed to have a return customer. They’ll keep coming back for more because they know that there’s a gift or reward waiting for them.
Whether it be through a one-off promotion or a customer loyalty program, putting out special offers to convince customers to purchase your products will help build your brand recognition. Incentive marketing provides business owners with an opportunity to grab the attention of their target audience with special deals and offers. Essentially, what you’re doing is you’re using prizes and rewards to advertise your products. If done correctly, you’ll be able
Here we’ll be discussing in full detail what incentive marketing is and how you can utilise it to help boost your brand’s visibility.
Why is incentive marketing important?
One of the main benefits of utilising incentive marketing is that you can reach a segment of consumers that may end up considering the products/services that you are offering. It’s a valuable marketing strategy that can help increase foot traffic and garner enough interest for consumers to actually buy into what you are selling.
Incentive marketing can foster customer loyalty which is important for any business. In today’s world, incentive-based programs have become a must-have since consumers have come to expect a form of savings opportunity or loyalty offerings for the businesses they frequently engage with.
How you can utilise incentive marketing
Knowing how to effectively utilise incentive marketing is key if you want to see tangible results. Here we’ve compiled a quick guide on how to properly use incentive marketing to help promote your brand.
- Be smart when crafting your incentives.
Although higher value promotional product gifts can be a great incentive, it’s not the only approach to get return customers. It’s easy to just give free stuff to customers whenever they achieve a certain goal, but try to think about other methods that offer a good cost vs reward tradeoff and diversity your strategies.
Your incentives should be linked back to your business. For example, you can incentivise your customers by giving them a 20% discount with their next purchase when they spend $150 or more today. These types of incentives will not only prompt your customers to purchase things at the moment, but also encourage them to buy again in the future because of the discounts you provide.
- Your incentives should be able to solve problem points.
When crafting your incentives, think about how it will solve an issue or problem that consumers face in your industry. When you provide a solution-based program to your customers, they are more likely to be satisfied with your products/services because you are directly addressing their needs. Some companies heavily advertise a product and once it goes out on the market, it doesn’t quite fit the bill.
You can help remedy this issue by incentivising your customers with a money back guarantee. For example, you can say “If our product’s performance doesn’t meet your expectations, we will provide you with a money back guarantee.”
- Keep your incentives simple.
If you really want to build an effective incentive marketing strategy, then you have to keep things simple. Overcomplicating your incentives can make it quite hard for consumers to understand what you’re actually offering. It’s best to incentivise your customers in the simplest and most direct way possible. We find that one-declarative sentences are the best forms of incentive marketing. Here are some examples
- Buy two shirts, get the third one for free.
- Register today and receive your one-month free trial.
- Place an order by tomorrow and get a free USB Charger (Which could be customised with you branding)
You can get creative with your incentives, just make sure that it’s easily understandable from a customer’s point of view.
- Think about which gift you will reward to your customers.
If you do decide to incentivise your customers in the form of gifts, then you need to choose the right type of product that will give them satisfaction. The most popular incentive rewards are tech-related gadgets and devices. Power banks definitely come in handy and is something that most people can appreciate as a reward. You can also hand out novelty items depending on the preferences of your target audience.
Whatever rewards you choose to give, make sure that it fits with your brand image and is something that your customers will get plenty of use from.
Conclusion
Incentive marketing can help you draw in more interest from potential consumers all while fostering customer loyalty from your regular clients. If done correctly, you’ll be able to increase foot traffic to your business while also building your brand recognition. Follow these steps to help you utilise incentive marketing to its fullest extent.