GiftCard Partners Blog

It's the ultimate question that marketers would love to have the answer to, how can retailers deliver winning strategies for their own loyalty programs?  Loyalty drives sales, today, tomorrow and in the future, but how does a retailer keep loyalty fresh? Currently, U.S. households participate in over 20 loyalty programs, but less than 10% are actively using their accounts. Retailers need to produce winning strategies to have a successful loyalty program.  Based on the existing loyal customer base, 37% of retailers believe that customer retention will be the #1 contributor to growth in the next 3 years.  This customer retention correlates to same-store sales. 73% of smartphone users would like to connect their loyalty programs directly to their mobile devices. Recognition and rewards need to be differentiated. There is no one size fits all with rewards. In fact, lack of differentiation hinders program adoption. 69% of loyalty program members want to receive personalized discounts. Tracking technology allows retailers to gather shopper purchase history, spend, and browsing behaviors, allowing for retailers to offer personalized discounts. Lastly, well-planned implementation for loyalty programs is critical; the first 6 months of the launch being the most critical time for a loyalty program.  Almost 30% of retailers rank store loyalty as a top 5 technology-related challenge in their industry.
Read the infographic “How Sweet It Is: The Satisfaction of a Successful Loyalty Program” here!

No matter if you're in the mailroom or the corner office employee recognition has remained a constant in employee motivation. Regardless of the economy, or stage of career all employees want to be recognized and it inevitably leads to motivation and increased productivity. A lot has changed since the 90's, but back then high wages was an employees number one motivator. When employees were asked what motivates them the most more recently, full organizational appreciation of work done ranked number one. When asked for one thing that would motivate them more at work, 31% of employees mentioned better treatment including more praise and a sense of being valued within the organization. Employee recognition is a valuable tool. You can make grand gestures like a company retreat, or a paid vacation for top performers, or smaller expression of employee recognition that can be just as effective. A small denomination gift card to a popular retailer like
Crutchfield,
Boston Market or
Burlington Coat Factory, paired with a public call-out at a staff meeting can be a great way to give employees the satisfaction and sense of value that will motivate them and maintain a high level of productivity.
HR.BLR provides a great breakdown on what you can do to motivate your employees through employee recognition. When done the right way, employee recognition can motivate your whole organization and promote a culture of productivity and teamwork.

New research suggests that the best companies (top 20%) are a third more likely to use non-cash incentives, such as travel, merchandise, and gift card awards, in their sales incentive programs.  The study, which was unveiled last week, indicates that these awards are critical in getting the best performance out of sales teams. The respondents surveyed were asked to identify their top three choices that are most effective at yielding the strongest sales performance.  While financial compensation is still tops, the trend has really changed over the last year.  Back in 2012 98% of respondents preferred financial compensation, compared to just 76% this year.  The impact of financial compensation is being considered less of a dominant “no-brainer” in sales.  The runners up include the non-cash incentive programs, gift cards, travel, merchandise, etc, designed to augment the financial leverage that employers have over their front-line sellers. The highly successful organizations recognize that today’s sales personnel and account managers require a far more complex managerial landscape than their predecessors.  They are aware that there is a need to manage on a more holistic level and not just consider meeting quota expectations.  

In 2012 half of all companies with at least 50 employees had a corporate wellness program that incentivized employee wellness through either direct financial incentives or non-financial recognition. Companies larger than 50 employees were even more likely to have an employee wellness program in place, at 79%. These programs do simple things to prevent avoidable conditions like health risk assessment, weight management and nutrition education. The investment is a low-risk high-reward endeavor, especially as components of the Affordable Care Act take affect that further encourage employers to implement programs directed at employee wellness. The average investment in wellness has doubled since 2009, skyrocketing from $260 per employee to $594. The 2014 figure is also significantly higher than the $521 average investment made per employee for wellness in 2013. Employers increased investment and encouragement of employee wellness shows that it is working.
Check out this infographic and more great information from Modern Healthcare on where the employee wellness industry is going and growing in 2014 and beyond.

Remember the phrase "the truth will set you free?" Well, we aren't here to solve all of your problems, but we are here to tell you that the truth may be able to help boost employee engagement. It is time for all of the corporate hierarchy to melt away and for organizations of all sizes to work on open communication and employee engagement. Transparency and truth-telling will open up the lines of communication and engage employees in making the organization the best it can be, which makes employees do the best work they can. Dropping away fear and hierarchical force allows employees to feel comfortable enough to tell the truth. Here are three ways to use truth and open communication to engage employees.