Incentive - February 2008 - (Page 31)

PricePOINT Merchandise Incentives $25–$300 Just the Thing The perfect products, programs and approach for your budget By Maggie Rauch hat does it cost to inspire great performance? Say thank you for a job well done? Welcome a new client to the family? It all depends on your audience, what you’ve done in the past, and the value of the behavior you’re trying to encourage. But as the designated incentive buyer, your company won’t always leave it entirely up to you. Keep in mind though that numbers alone don’t dictate motivational appeal. Whether you set the incentive budget yourself or someone else determines it, choosing the right product mix has as much to do with your program’s success as choosing the right price point. To help you with your next program, Incentive talked with industry experts about picking products and designing strategies within three different cost ranges: $25-$50, $51-$150 and $150-$300. They gave us the inside scoop on hot products for 2008, and some insight on setting prices for everything from spot recognition to sales rewards. W PRICE SETTERS “These are definitely price points that we’re working with every day,” says Jill Andersen, merchandise manager at Carlson Marketing in Minneapolis. While programs of all types—safety, customer loyalty, length of service, sales—could theoretically fall into any of these tiers, experts agreed that they have observed a few general patterns. Client gifts and spot recognition rewards generally fall in the lowest price range, and sales contests often use products in the $150 to $300 range. Of course, budgets vary depending on the significance of the particular behavior being incentivized. “With a years-of-service award, you might use the twenty-five to fifty range for someone who’s been there for five years; the fifty-one to one hundred fifty for someone’s ten-year anniversary; and the one-fifty to three hundred for the twenty-year or quarter-century mark,” explains Andersen. Her colleague Rick Green adds that customer loyalty programs can also grow progressively. “We do a lot of programs with financial institutions,” says Green, business development manager for merchandise and fulfillment at Carlson. “Let’s say they’re trying to get people to use their credit card. For new customers, maybe they get something in the twenty-five to fifty range in the first year. And after a few years, they move up to the next level, and so on.” For Foodies: Michael's Cookies Double Decadence Two Dozen Gift Box— delicious goodies for $49.99. ENTRY LEVEL: $25-$50 “This is about as high as spot recognition programs go,” says Rex Remigi, awards line manager at O.C. Tanner in Salt Lake City. “For day-to-day recognition, consumable items are good because you need things that you can repeat—gift cards to Starbucks and Block- Cleaning Innovator: Clean gutters faster and easier with the award-winning iRobot Looj, available for $99.99. Muscle Relief: Relax with the Therapist Select Shiatsu Massaging Cushion with Heat from HoMedics—$99.99. SPECIAL SECTION February 2008 | 31

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - February 2008

Incentive Magazine - February 2008 Editor’s Note: Archie and the Boys In The News Cover Story: On The Ball Incentives Incentive Primer: How to Use Sporting Events Incentive Interview: Jim Avery on Doing the Right Thing Employee Empowerment Motivates and Pays Dividends Hospitals, Nurses Win With Flexible Scheduling Legal Ease: Safety Programs and Unions Case Study: The Weitz Company Retains Its Boomers Potentials: Here and Now Star Power in the Kitchen Awards: Gift Card Trends for the New Year Travel News The Manhattanization of Las Vegas Classics Renewed: Monaco and France Advertiser Index Off The Cuff: Tumi’s Mike Landry

Incentive - February 2008

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