How to Increase Motivation With Incentive Marketing

Business Dictionary defines incentive marketing as an act or process of selling goods or services in return for some other reward. To me, however, the term incentive devices sounds more like something an alien robot pretending to be an advertising director would say as he motioned slowly towards a large board labeled with numbers that read thousands of dollars in commissions. The incentive marketing company would offer big money in rewards for every sale. The customer who buys the item would then receive an additional bonus of another thousand dollars in the form of a check. The salesperson then adds his own bonus and the whole system is working on autopilot. Of course, this only works in well-organized markets where the demand and supply of the product or service can be predicted.

In less organized markets, the incentive marketing strategy takes a little more thought. For instance, maybe your market has a lot of low-income families and the members don't usually spend much. Yet, they often vote with their dollars because they value your company's good reputation. So you could create special loyalty programs that keep customers coming back to your store time and again for that extra value. Loyalty programs are among the most successful incentive marketing strategies. Here are some ideas:

* Create a gift that's unique to the customer's needs and demands. Buy one, get one free loyalty program. Every time they make a purchase, you get a check. Make it even better - buy one, get one free loyalty program. Each time they make a purchase, you get a check.

* Build in an incentive for using the telephone. You could set up a loyalty program by having a percentage (a discount on the cost of calls) added in the price of a new phone account. Reward your customers for each call made and every time they call back. This would be a great incentive marketing strategy to give out at an affordable cost. Just make sure you track your return on investment.

* A popular incentive marketing strategy is offering a coupon or gift card for purchasing a certain number of a product. Incentive coupon programs have been used by some very successful companies. These companies know how to use a coupon marketing strategy to build their businesses into profitable ventures. The coupon cards can be sold or given away at meetings, conventions or fairs. Incentive coupon programs are a very powerful tool for small, new businesses. Companies who offer them are sure to experience great success.

* Customers love discounts. It's amazing how many people ask for discounts. Incentive rewards or "rewards" are just what they sound like - incentives to get people to buy more. People love to save money. Using incentives to ask people to take particular actions is a powerful marketing strategy.

* Social media marketing is a great way to combine incentive marketing with social media marketing. If you offer reward marketing online, for example, you can also provide social media incentives for buying or registering. Your customers will be thrilled to get their "friends" or followers to purchase a product or service because they are getting free publicity from a well-designed incentive program. Incentive reward programs that include social media marketing are a powerful tool for growing your business.

* Motivational devices are great incentives for consumers. When you give people something for free, they are much more likely to think positively about your company and its products or services. One way to encourage consumers to think positively about your company is to createincentive marketing program s that provide rewards for good behavior. For example, ordering a free coffee when you shop, or signing up for an email newsletter, or sharing your URL on social media sites are examples of good behavior.