If you have read any articles on business development, you may have heard of the term incentive marketing company. But what does it mean? How does one utilize incentives in order to make more sales? And how exactly can incentive marketing help a business?
First, let us define incentive marketing. To explain the concept, the Incentive Marketing Association utilizes simple words. It is a targeted approach to getting people to buy something you need them to buy. It pivots on an underlying psychological equation, which says that where there's motivation and power, there will be performance. For example, let's look at two virtual businesses like Bob, who own a digital camera store, and Jill, who owns an online flower shop. Bob is a very busy guy who loves to go places, while Jill likes to stay home and tending her flowers.
Bob's biggest challenge is finding ways to motivate his customers to buy more things from him. He does this by offering them various "rewards" for every order they make. These could include gifts or cash vouchers to his store or whatever he chooses. He has lots of incentives available to him, he simply needs to know how to best use them. He does this by asking people to sign up for his email list or to join a loyalty program. Once they are signed up, Bob can offer them various "rewards" for every order they make.
So what is incentive marketing all about? Motivation and power in a new way. Bob is offering customers a variety of small incentives such as cash vouchers and gift certificates for instance, in exchange for their loyalty programs. What he is hoping to do is create enough goodwill among his customers to create a sense of loyalty among those customers who do join his loyalty programs. By offering them digital rewards cards with the cards they have joined, he hopes to create a scenario where they feel that by using the card they are also participating in his incentive marketing programs. Incentives do that!
Loyal customers are crucial for every business in today's digital economy. Bob knows that he cannot just attract those customers through digital incentives alone. Bob needs to provide those loyal customers with additional opportunities to gain more rewards and to increase their level of satisfaction as well.
So how do you create more incentive marketing opportunities for your customers? Well, another strategy he uses with great success is social media marketing. Social media marketing provides his loyal customers with a way to interact with him and others. Bob can use Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to engage with his loyal customers and get their responses. These interactions can then be turned into valuable marketing opportunities.
Social media provides a unique way for digital businesses to reach out and connect with their customers. You can also find out what your customer preferences are. For example, if you offer rewards for different ways to purchase products from your business, you can take that information and incorporate it into your social media campaign. That way, when loyal customers use their reward cards at your business, they will see what they can expect to receive in terms of value.
So remember, there is no reason that your online business cannot use incentive marketing to build its brand name. This is not about you spending a lot of money on expensive advertising. It is about doing what it takes to ensure that your digital business provides value to your loyal customers. The key to doing that is understanding what drives your customers and how you can provide the opportunity to engage them in a way that increases the level of satisfaction with your incentive marketing company. By providing incentives to those customers who purchase from you online, you can easily meet your overall E-commerce marketing goal.