Rewarding customers is just as important for B2B companies as it is in the B2C world, since it can help your organization generate leads, improve retention rates, grow advocacy programs, and ultimately, enhance revenue. Whether recognizing your tried-and-true customers or those who have a complaint, a B2B gift card can help your business build the kind of relationships that are good for your bottom line. There are lots of opportunities where you should consider sending a B2B gift card. Don’t miss your chance to delight all kinds of customers — including these nine. READ MORE: 7 Ways a B2B Gift Card Is Better Than a Physical Gift The New Customer We don’t have to tell you that competition can be fierce in B2B markets. Your brand-new customers could have gone with your rival, but they chose your brand instead. Start the partnership off right with a B2B gift card reward to welcome them. A prepaid Mastercard or Visa, for instance, can be used in more than 150 countries, making it ideal for celebrating new international business relationships. And because it is so widely accepted, it’s a great, flexible option in the U.S., too. The Repeat or Loyal Customer These days,...
If your Employee Appreciation Day gifts aren’t already in the works, there’s no time to lose. The March 1 occasion is coming up fast, and our recent research proves that you can’t miss this opportunity. According to our survey, 90% of employees have concerns about their employment, and more than two-thirds of employees (68%) are currently seeking new jobs. The top concerns are no surprise, namely salary, benefits, and flexible working options. But if you’re competitive in those areas, what can you do to differentiate yourself and increase retention? A rewards and recognition program may be the answer, since only 45% report working for a company that has one. And Employee Appreciation Day gifts are the perfect place to start. Employee Appreciation Day Ideas That Aren’t Working Every leadership team knows the traditional Employee Appreciation Day ideas for gifts: a free meal, company-branded merchandise like clothes or office supplies, an incentive trip, an office party. But our research shows that these are definitely not what most employees prefer. Only 28% of survey respondents say they want a free lunch, all the way down to 11% who want an office party. Even salary bonuses (49%) and extra vacation days (40%) come...
It’s no secret that millennials and Gen Z are a bit different from their older counterparts. For starters, both groups are known for being tech-savvy and practically grew up with social media. Sometimes called digital natives, they’re more than comfortable with doing everything online, from banking to shopping to renewing their driver’s license. At more than 40% of the population, millennials and Gen Z probably make up a large portion of the recipients in your incentive rewards program, whether they’re customers, employees, or research participants. To help ensure your incentive rewards are working hard for your organization, check out these stats to help you optimize your program for the younger — and most influential — generations. Digital First Is Expected Seventy-five percent of millennials have used a digital gift card, the most of any generation, according to Capital One shopping research. Similarly, our own survey found that 72% of millennial respondents say they have used e-gift cards. At the same time, incentive rewards research clearly shows both of these younger groups are leading digital gift card adoption. Our survey found that 41% of Gen Z consumers and 39% of millennials buy e-gift cards at least once every three months. That’s...
Market research incentives can mean the difference between attracting high-quality participants and, well, not. That’s why keeping a close eye on your market research incentives is a critical part of achieving your data collection goals. The good news is that by tracking just a few key metrics, your organization can learn valuable information that will help you manage a successful rewards program. Not only do you need the right market research incentives to help you make the most out of your budget, but they’re also important so you remain compliant with any mandated regulations. So, what exactly should you be monitoring within your incentives program? Here are four key metrics to follow. READ MORE: What Is a Market Research Participant Looking For? Participation or Response Rate This metric should be the starting point for determining how effective your market research incentives really are. If the reward doesn’t appeal to the audience you are trying to reach, you won’t get the candidates you need to complete your research. Incentives have been shown to increase response rates, with an $10 incentive resulting in 18% more returned surveys. When your participation or response rate goes down, it’s time to consider whether your incentives...
What do a survey respondent, a webinar attendee, a loyal customer, and an engaged employee have in common? They all want the e-gift cards they receive as rewards to be flexible. According to a Deloitte industry insight report, more than 80% of consumers say they desire more flexible or customized ways to earn — and redeem — benefits. Similarly, a PwC survey on the best personalized rewards experiences reveals that 43% want a loyalty program with flexible rewards. As your rewards program matures, then, it makes sense to take your target audience’s preferences into account so your incentives can be as effective as possible in encouraging certain actions. But exactly what do we mean by flexible rewards? Unlike traditional e-gift cards that can be spent only at a single merchant, like Starbucks or Macy’s, some reward options come with more choices built-in. There are three kinds of flexible e-gift cards to consider adding to your rewards program to meet — and exceed — your recipients’ expectations. READ MORE: Prepaid Rewards Card vs. Multi-Brand Gift Card Multiple Brands in the Same Company Companies that own more than one retailer or restaurant often offer flexible e-gift cards that can be spent on...
The ever-advancing technology used for sales engagement tools has definitely changed the way your teams sell. The days of going door to door, sending emails one by one, and manually calculating revenue totals and quotas are over. The technology makes a lot of tasks easier, but sometimes, learning and managing all those tools can be overwhelming. READ MORE: Boost Your Rewards Strategy for Sales by Understanding These Buyer Trends The Landscape of Sales Engagement Tools So how many platforms do salespeople actually use? On average, it takes 10 tools to close deals, according to Salesforce’s State of Sales report. Reps have noticed. In Salesforce’s survey, nearly two-thirds (66%) say they’re drowning in sales engagement tools. Juggling all that also “is one of the reasons reps don’t spend enough time selling” — only 28% of their week, compared with 34% in 2018, Salesforce says. Despite all the tools that sales teams have at their disposal, it’s still not easy to get prospects to engage. Gartner reports that recipients open less than 24% of sales emails, and it takes an average of 18 calls to connect with a prospect by phone. Increase Engagement With Rewards One way to help both the overabundance...
If you’re only using gift card incentives to attract new customers, you’re missing out on an even greater benefit. BHN research shows businesses that use rewards have a 99% higher year-over-year improvement in customer lifetime value, compared with businesses that don’t use rewards. And that’s just for starters. Rewards Users vs. Non-Rewards Users What’s more, Forbes predicts that customer experience (CX) will gain even more momentum in 2024, with customers increasingly willing to pay more for good experiences. So while you may be tempted to offer discounts, building a smart CX strategy — one that leverages gift card incentives — will be a far better use of your marketing dollars. READ MORE: Consider These 5 Channels to Create a Digital Customer Experience Not sure where to start? Here are our top recommendations for using gift card incentives to increase customer lifetime value — and ensure your business grows organically and sustainably. Reward Loyal Customers Your first step should be to reward those customers who choose to buy from you again. After all, they could shop anywhere. A reward-based promotion also gives you the opportunity to engage with your customers in a creative way that showcases your brand’s commitment to a...
Even a well-executed employee reward system probably won’t be enough to compensate for frozen salaries and toxic work environments. But it can give you some ammo when you need your team members to go above and beyond. Every manager has projects and moments that require help from an employee that’s outside the scope of their normal, day-to-day job. What then? The normal benefits your team receives through your employee reward system are probably enough to keep them enthusiastic and motivated about their own work. However, they may not be willing to volunteer for that extra task, no matter how easy it is, without further incentive. Offering additional points or rewards can be just the push they need. Here are three scenarios where an employee reward system can help you get that little extra from your team. READ MORE: Empower Every Department to Reward Employees With Gift Card Incentives Getting Help With Business Development From Technical SMEs Whether you work at a software company or a government contractor, your technical subject-matter experts (SMEs) are usually the brains of the operation. Your business development, sales, and/or marketing teams may not know the inner workings of all your products and services and often...
The difference between your business flying high and crashing and burning is how quickly you can adapt to changing consumer expectations. To remain competitive, your team needs to meet your customers where they’re at — today. Updating your B2B corporate gifting strategy to keep up with the times is critical. Here are four consumer trends to consider as you refine your rewards program. READ MORE: 7 Ways a B2B Gift Card Is Better Than a Physical Gift Trend 1: Consumers Expect Even More Personalization From marketing communications to customer service interactions, the expansion of digital channels has heightened the importance of personalizing experiences to nurture strong relationships across all platforms. Seventy percent of consumers expect a company to provide personalized responses to customer service needs, according to the 2023 Sprout Social Index. And Deloitte’s TrendRadar: The Future Consumer (2023) takes the idea of personalization even further, predicting that hypersonalization will become more prevalent in the next four to six years. “Through hyperpersonalization, companies can send highly contextualized communications to specific customers at the right place and time, and through the right channel.” No matter how you’re using your B2B corporate gifting program — to generate leads, help resolve an issue,...
When you’re doing research for a higher education institution, it’s a whole different ball game than conducting your everyday corporate or consumer study. And your tools — including your rewards platform — need to reflect those special needs. Just like any other researchers at a firm or corporation, those at colleges and universities need incentives to boost participation and engagement. But given the limited budgets, government funding sources, and increased oversight, they need to make sure that those incentives are done right for everyone involved. The right academic rewards platform can help. Here’s how. READ MORE: 6 Ways to Use Rewards and Incentives in Higher Ed Reduce Researchers’ Administrative Burden Academic researchers are typically working with limited budgets and resources, so they’ll love a rewards platform that can simplify and streamline the administrative task of managing incentives. The ability to integrate with popular survey tools, especially Qualtrics, is key, since that opens the door to automate reward delivery. By setting up workflows that automatically send an incentive upon survey completion, academic researchers can cross a lot of tedious, manual tasks off their to-do list for good. But automation is just one of the things to look for. The right academic...
