These days, if you want to keep your employees and keep them engaged, simply offering a recognition program isn’t enough. Optimizing your employee rewards based on your team’s preferences and needs is important to make sure they’re effective. That’s why Blackhawk Network (BHN) asked more than 1,000 employees about what they expect from their companies’ rewards and recognition programs. READ MORE: 7 Ways to Upgrade Your Employee Reward Programs 1. They Need to Be Flexible While three-quarters of respondents want to receive gift cards from their employer for occasions like Employee Appreciation Day, their intended uses of those rewards vary greatly. According to our survey: 46% would use a gift card or prepaid card to buy groceries 35% would buy clothing, shoes and/or accessories 33% would use it for a night out 30% would use it to buy gas 29% would spend it on household expenses Given the rising cost of living, it’s no surprise that many employees want to use their rewards for essentials and everyday expenses, instead of treating themselves. But the wide range of survey answers mean that your employee rewards can’t be one-size-fits-all. While a regular gift card allows them to pick the items they buy,...
With a new year comes new company priorities, new revenue targets, and new personal goals and quotas. It’s important to start strong and find ways to increase sales opportunities early, so you don’t get behind right off the bat in Q1. Using digital rewards can help you do just that. When you incentivize certain actions among prospects, customers and sales reps, you create countless ways to increase sales opportunities. Check out this roundup of our best tips and blogs on how your sales teams can take advantage of rewards now and all year long. DOWNLOAD THE SALES PLAYBOOK: Using Rewards for Prospects and Customers Turn Cold Outreach Into Qualified Leads After focusing on closing deals at the end of the year, your pipeline may seem a little light now. To fill it, your team is likely turning (at least in part) to cold calls and email cadences. But every salesperson knows how hard it is to turn those efforts into actual revenue. Digital rewards can help your communications stand out and get you a foot in the door for a meeting or demo. READ MORE: Let Rewards Turn Your Cold Outreach Into Sales Qualified Leads Cut Down on No-Shows Even...
Your holiday sales and discount strategies paid off, and you finished the year strong. But even before all the decorations are away, it’s time to reinforce the connections you made with both new and repeat buyers. By taking advantage of customer loyalty rewards at the beginning of the year, you can keep the momentum going. If you already gave out customer loyalty rewards in the form of client appreciation gifts, it’s still a good idea to touch base again. You can learn a lot about their latest experience with your brand and maybe encourage them to become advocates. Here are some templates you can use to follow up. Either way, as you review your performance during the holiday season and crunch those final year-end numbers, think about how customer loyalty rewards can help you start off the year right and set you up for success in the coming months. Check out these ideas to get started. READ MORE: The Best Promotional Gifts for a Digital New Year’s Campaign Send Extra Rewards to Big Spenders The people who bought lots of your products or services in November and December, especially those who did so over several transactions, are the kind of...
No matter what industry you work in, December is crunch time. Everyone’s focus is on meeting end-of-year goals and deliverables before statuses change to “out of office.” If you ran out of time — or budget — to recognize your employees for the holidays, it’s not too late: Consider sending new year gifts for employees instead. About three quarters — 74% — of employees say holiday gifts from their company help them feel energized for the new year, according to the 2024 Holiday Branded Pay study from Blackhawk Network (BHN). January is still a good time to show you value employee contributions and can help you set the tone for a productive year ahead. Our study also revealed that inflation and burnout are top concerns for employees. Building your campaign around these themes will make your gifts more intentional — and impactful. To help you start 2025 off right, here are some creative ways to give new year gifts for employees that they’ll definitely appreciate. READ MORE: Learn From These Worst Holiday Gifts for Employees Have Dinner on Us Not only were employees who participated in our survey concerned about inflation (72%), they worried about grocery/food prices (58%). A digital...
When it comes to data-driven insights and market research incentives, the message for the future is clear: You need more. For businesses looking to make more informed decisions in light of ongoing economic challenges, research is no longer a nice-to-have. And whether you work for an in-house research team or an agency, you probably already realize how much the demand for data is growing. Regardless of industry, business leaders and executives want actionable insights to drive growth with both big-picture decisions and day-to-day tactics. That’s why researchers must be “focused on providing not just more data, but data that can be immediately applied to shape business strategies, customer experiences and product development,” according to Qualtrics’ 2025 Market Research Trends report. Without the appropriate data and insights, Qualtrics’ report finds, more than a third of researchers say that decision-making at their organization would become riskier (37%), customer understanding and satisfaction would decline (38%), sales and revenue would suffer (39%), and the company would lose its competitive edge in the market (40%). New technologies and tools are, of course, key to scaling your research efforts and supporting business needs, but tried-and-true strategies like market research incentives aren’t going anywhere, either. Here are...
Sure, gift card incentives are intended to drive engagement and sales, encourage survey participation, recognize employees, thank customers, and help you reach your business goals. But that doesn’t mean they can’t also give back. While volunteering and donating to charity are a common theme this time of year, with the holidays and Giving Tuesday on the calendar, your goodwill campaigns shouldn’t stop there. Helping others all year — from responding after a natural disaster and promoting environmental causes to supporting medical research and other charitable acts — is not only the right thing to do, it also highlights your reputation as a business that cares. And that reputation can boost your customer acquisition and employee recruitment efforts. Whether they’re choosing a place to work or a place to shop, consumers are more interested than ever in helping charitable causes and seeking out companies that are committed to addressing social, political, and environmental issues. Our research finds that 60% of survey respondents would like to purchase gift cards that give back. Among younger generations, half of Gen Z’s and 43% of Millennials say they have turned down a job or assignment that didn’t align with their personal values, according to Deloitte’s...
The coming of the new year is not only a time for people everywhere to make resolutions, it’s also a great opportunity for companies to reflect on their efforts and plan improvements for the future. And your corporate rewards programs are an easy place to make adjustments for better effectiveness and efficiency. Giving rewards and incentives to customers, prospects, employees, and research participants is a key strategy for meeting your business goals. If you haven’t even implemented the most basic of corporate rewards programs, now is the time to start. But if you’ve already begun rewarding and want to optimize your programs, here are five resolutions to make for the new year. READ MORE: 6 Corporate Reward Programs That Will Boost Your Bottom Line Explore Untapped Reward Opportunities When you think of corporate rewards programs, employee recognition and customer holiday gifts may be the first things that come to mind. But there are endless opportunities to expand your rewards to help your organization reach goals across different teams. Consider making these programs available for: Sales. Incentivizing demo or meeting attendance will help reduce no-shows, while offering a limited-time reward with purchase can create a sense of urgency and speed up...
When done right, your employee recognition award program drives performance, supports retention, and fosters a sense of camaraderie at work. Rewards are a great way to engage employees and let them know you appreciate their contributions. If your program is rewarding only certain types of employees, however, it may be doing more harm than good. At best, your employees will perceive the program as a joke. At worst, they’ll think you’re playing favorites. Either way, it could be sinking your organization’s efforts to create a positive workplace culture. November is an ideal time to evaluate your employee recognition award program through the lens of inclusivity. Not only is the holiday rewards season just around the corner, this month is home to World Kindness Day (Nov. 13) and International Day for Tolerance (Nov. 16). What better reminder to ensure you’re approaching your rewards equitably? READ MORE: Research Insights to Optimize Holiday Gift Cards for Employees Now’s the time to evaluate whether you are truly showing ALL of your employees that you value their efforts. To help you look at your program with fresh eyes, here’s a checklist of what to consider. ✓ Right-Size Your Budgets If every department is given the...
Building your brand awareness and equity needs to be a key part of any business strategy, since it affects your success in marketing, sales, public relations and more. To grow positive brand equity, you should consider a combination of tactics, including using digital e-gift cards for rewards and payments. New technology — whether it’s for distributing loyalty rewards, accepting payments, or providing fast support — is becoming increasingly important to your customers’ experiences and perceptions. Here’s how implementing digital e-gift cards as rewards can help improve those experiences and perceptions. READ MORE: Using Rewards in Every Department to Drive Organizational Goals Give Customers What They Want Consumers prefer the convenience of digital e-gift cards and prepaid cards because they arrive quickly and in a form that can be used right away. Two-thirds of U.S. consumers — and more than three-quarters of Millennials and Gen Z — say digital prepaid cards are the payment option that most excites them, according to our Blackhawk Network (BHN) research. Another BHN survey on promotions and rebates finds that 89% would prefer to do business digitally because it’s faster and easier. Personalize Future Interactions If you offer customers a coupon with their purchase or even...
It’s clear that employees aren’t happy at work. Quiet quitting has given way to the “Great Detachment.” And companies must find a way to reverse the trend, including employee appreciation incentives. Consider that in the first quarter of 2024, the U.S. had a ratio of 1.8 engaged employees for every actively disengaged employee. That’s compared with a ratio of 2.1 to 1 in 2023. In addition, Gallup’s latest measure in May shows half of U.S. employees (51%) are watching for or actively seeking a new job, continuing the trend toward higher turnover risk. Younger and remote employees are especially likely to feel disconnected from their employer. Employee appreciation incentives can play a key role in your organization’s efforts to increase employee engagement and improve plummeting employee satisfaction scores. Here’s a roundup of seven top tips for ensuring that your organization uses employee appreciation incentives to maximize engagement. Look for Reward Opportunities Everywhere It’s a fact. Your employees want recognition. If you don’t have the right rewards program in place—or your employees aren’t engaging with it—it’s time to make sure you are using employee appreciation incentives to their full advantage. One program may be more effective than another, and you may...