Incentive - April 2008 - (Page 52) THE INCENTIVE MERCHANDISE BUYER’S HANDBOOK CHAPTER 3 choosing the merchandise awards PLANNING Award Checklist ash may be an easy way to say thanks for a job well done, but from a motivational and creative standpoint it pales in comparison to merchandise. While no employee will turn down a bonus check, you won’t find it displayed on a desktop, credenza, or mounted on a shelf in the den. It’s the iPod, Rolex, or plasma TV that has employees crowing over the water cooler and inspiring them to work harder. Merchandise brings both immediate and intangible beneWISE fits that provide a winwin incentive reward all around. C Keep in mind these factors as you put together an awards portfolio: • ATTAINABLE— Participants must feel that an award is within reach. Using a tiered structure reflecting good, better, best awards ensures everyone has something to strive for and the offerings jibe with their position and expected objectives. • VARIETY—Everyone wants different things depending on lifestyle and status, so your catalog of awards should offer a range of choice in different product categories, taking into consideration what’s trendy in the marketplace and what’s practical, tried and true. • TIMELY—The sooner an award is delivered or presented, the more satisfied the winners, and the more likely their winning behaviors are reinforced and remembered. • QUALITY—Don’t try to save money by ordering items that are out-of-date or poorly manufactured. Many planners prefer to deal with known brands for their product reputation, innovation, and wide assortment. Almost 55 percent of respondents to Incentive’s Merchandise IQ survey this year stated that brand names are at least somewhat important to their award choices. GOOD FROM THE GET-GO Whether used for an entire program or as a complementary element, merchandise provides a hook for any type of incentive, from retaining loyal customers to inspiring new sales staffers. Its intrinsic value runs through every aspect of the incentive, from planning to the nuts and bolts of a budget. According to a 2005 survey and study prepared by the Center for Concept Development for the Incentive Federation Inc., about three quarters of respondents indicated that they could build a more exciting, memorable program around merchandise and travel than cash, while almost 80 percent felt that merchandise would be remembered longer than cash. Incentive magazine’s own 2008 Merchandise IQ Survey found that on average almost one third of respondents’ incentive and recognition budgets are allocated to merchandise awards. Those respondents also reported that the average amount spent on a merchandise award last year was $173, enough to land an MP3 player or camera. And 63.9 percent of those surveyed said their budgets were likely to remain in the same range this year. If you are putting your money (or more appropriately, your employer’s money) where the merchandise is, do it for good reason and with the bigger picture in mind. Among the potential benefits of using merchandise: • Trophy/branding value—With merchandise, recipients get a hands-on reward of immediate worth and permanence, and a constant reminder of their achievements. They can see, touch, and show off a Sony digital camera or a TAG Heuer watch to their peers, and in the process relate the story of how they won the award. Equally important, the winners won’t be shy about telling everyone their company gave it to them. • Practical but pleasing—In a challenging economy, incentive participants will be grateful about applying points to a program’s big-ticket items such as appliances, housewares, and electronics, products that they might be otherwise reluctant to spend their own hardearned cash on. • Cost-effective options—Merchandise needn’t cost the part to look it, as the perceived value of a leather jacket, flat-panel TV, or mountain bike can prove more 52 | April 2008 SPECIAL SECTION
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