Incentive - April 2008 - (Page 47) THE INCENTIVE MERCHANDISE BUYER’S HANDBOOK CHAPTER 1 Identifying Your Objectives Audience Appeal CASE STUDY Making an Impact When Oracle decided to incorporate merchandise into an incentive trip to South Africa recently, the major software organization charged Minneapolis-based Carlson Marketing with using the company’s ongoing complementary goals for such trips—cost effectiveness and giving back to the destination—as its guiding force. “Oracle wants to make sure to have a positive impact on the host destination during the program and also wants to maximize its budget. By choosing merchandise created in the country where the program was held, we achieved both goals really well,” says Kelli Plachecki, global account director for Carlson Marketing. The five-day trip to Cape Town, South Africa, in September 2006 was meant to reward and recognize the company’s top sales people from more than 20 countries across Europe, the Middle East, and South Africa. Through the local destination management company, Plachecki’s team connected with four nonprofit organizations in the area, asking them to create distinctive gifts that the group of 700 incentive winners and their guests would treasure. The 35 women from 22 different villages that comprise the Gone Rural organization wove placemats from local grasses that were used at the group’s gala dinner, and then were given to participants to take home. The manufacturing project of a local church ministry, called Maranatha, sewed the 391 shirts and 326 sarongs of bright African prints that everyone wore at the dinner. For pillow gifts during the trip, Plachecki again turned to the local people. The artists of Mamelodi Wire Works Company created 391 silver wine corkscrew and bottle stops, along with handmade wire boxes in which they were presented. And the hundreds of Zulu women who are part of Abacus, an organization run by designer Jane Bedford, created 370 beaded Zulu necklaces. “You can actually go into Saks and Neiman Marcus to buy her designs, so people were thrilled to be receiving these special pieces in the actual place where they are made,” says Plachecki. “And part of the proceeds from her jewelry go back to the underprivileged, which made it even more special.” Target participants for merchandise awards include the following groups: Salespeople . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52.8% Consumers/customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45.6% Non-sales personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42.1% Dealers/distributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14.9% Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20.5% Source: 2008 Incentive Merchandise IQ Survey Goal Setting The first step in organizing any incentive program. Incentive survey respondents reported their intentions when using merchandise. Note more than one goal is often the norm. Employee recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.9% Thank employees/client gifts . . . . . . . . . . . .50% Build morale/job satisfaction . . . . . . . . . . .47.4% Increase sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45.4% Build customer loyalty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39.2% Service awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36.6% Improve employee loyalty . . . . . . . . . . . . .27.3% Improve customer service . . . . . . . . . . . . .26.8% Increase market share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17% Recruitment/increase retention . . . . . . . . .16.5% Foster teamwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14.9% • What will happen if many participants can’t meet their goals? • Has such a goal been met before, either by your company or a competitor? • Could factors in the industry hinder the desired result? 3. Measurable. Ideally, programs will be quantifiable. Think about the ways you will be able to prove the success of a program or the all-important ROI (return on investment). Sales-oriented programs are the easiest to measure in hard numbers. Progress in a safety program can be seen in the reduction of accidents on a factory floor; customer service improvements in the number of complaints from customers, etc. Determine if some measurements are too costly or time-consuming to be worthwhile. 4. Well-timed. Adjust your goals in relation to seasonal business cycles. Air-conditioners are unlikely to sell in January the same way they would in July, and no winter incentive promotion will match peak summer numbers. SPECIAL SECTION Sell new accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11.9% goals should be aligned with Improve safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.8% corporate goals and policy. Get feedback from colleagues and Build traffic to web site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.3% prospective participants to insure Introduce new products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.3% your plans are both achievable and in tune with the company’s overall Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.8% strategy. This may require conducting surveys and focus groups Improve employee health/ supplemental healthcare benefits . . . . . . . .8.2% before homing in on a workable objective, especially for non-salesSource: 2008 Incentive Merchandise IQ Survey based programs. Once you’ve made sure your goals are focused, achievable, measurable, welltimed, and corporate-aligned, get top management’s approval for the program. An endorsement can often make participants take the incentive more seriously, and reassure you that your efforts are on the right track. I 5. Synergistic. Incentive program April 2008 | 47
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