Rewards and Incentives create demand

The Internet has changed everything, especially when it comes to rewards and incentives. Not least the way that the great British public goes shopping. British consumers are opportunistic, web savvy bargain-hunters who go online to find a deal. Brands that understand that, will sell more.

When we commissioned our research into the Power of Rewards and Incentives, one of the first questions we asked was relating to the different marketing channels that actually got people interested in a product or service in the first place. We offered a range of answers and expected to learn that advertising, or even word of mouth, is a big driver when it comes to stimulating demand. What we didn’t expect was that so many British consumers would say that a reward or incentive had prompted their awareness of a product or service.

The independent research found that 27% of UK adults look online to see if there are any products or services offering a reward or incentive. Compare that against 9% who say that an advert made them do it. Now if this research is only half right, and 13.5% of the UK shopping population is looking online to find an incentive or reward, that is still a lot of business to be had.

Rewards and incentives are undoubtedly one of the most powerful and, in my opinion, under-utilized tools in the marketers’ toolkit when it comes to closing a deal. This research suggests that rewards and incentives have a significant role to play in getting the conversation between a brand and a prospect started in the first place.

And let’s not forget that like PPC a reward or incentive scheme is performance related. If a customer buys the product or service, then they are entitled to a reward. If they don’t, the brand doesn’t have to pay for what it is not using.

I am not saying that all above the line advertising and promotion needs to stop, but the case for having a robust rewards and incentives programme in place has never been stronger.