Incentives and rewards are two sides of the same coin. Both enable you to recognise your employees, customers and partners - increasing engagement, delight and motivation - and ultimately driving your business forwards.
There are many benefits of incentivising and rewarding - from improved employee performance to a more positive culture, and boosting your reputation.
Did you know that 90% of HR professionals agree that an effective recognition and reward program helps drive business results?
However, incentives and rewards aren’t just for the largest Enterprises - there are a range of different businesses that can benefit from leveraging incentives and rewards in creative ways, to drive growth, satisfaction and retention.
And digital gift cards are a convenient, quick way to incentivise and reward the people that matter most to your business.
This trend is on the up. According to Business Wire, digital gift card adoption among businesses will see a 23% increase by 2025.
In this blog, we’ve put together some example use cases to give you an idea of how digital gift cards can help you reward and incentivise successfully.
Rewards and incentives: what you need to know?
1. Incentivise and motivate employees
88% of employees agree that it’s important that employers reward employees for great work.
And 70% of Gen Z and Millennial employees would stay at their job for another year if given rewards amounting to only $150 over one year (daVinci Payments).
There’s no doubt that small acts of recognition can really help employees feel valued, motivated and more invested in their work.
As well as publicly praising employees’ efforts, sharing a digital gift card can help employees feel seen and appreciated. According to WorldatWork, nearly a fifth of organisations give employee-of-the-month awards to boost productivity, retention and culture.
And when your employees are happy, they’ll be prepared to go the extra mile for your customers - it’s a win-win.
“Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers” - Steven R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Using digital gift cards to incentivise and reward employees can be a quick win for your culture, especially if you already bulk buy digital gift cards to support any of these other use cases…
2. Reward participation
Does your business rely on getting information from people? Do you sometimes struggle to get enough people involved?
Well, digital gift cards can be a great solution.
For example, research and survey organisations often need large numbers of participants and respondents to take part in their surveys.
Most survey organisations use digital gift cards to incentivise and reward users for giving up their time and participating in their programmes - from the ONS to organisations like Valued Opinions.
Another industry we’ve seen using digital gift cards in an interesting way is recruitment; some recruiters now share digital gift cards with clients and applicants for a range of use cases:
- To thank existing clients for their business
- To incentivise new customers to use their services
- To incentivise new applicants they’re currently headhunting
- To reward or incentivise CV referrals
- To congratulate successful applicants in their new role
3. Drive new customer acquisition
Enticing new customer sign-ups can be tricky - especially when you might need to lure them away from the competition.
But a free takeaway on you or a voucher to their favourite shop is sure to peak your customers’ interest.
Many businesses recognise the benefits of “Refer-a-Friend” schemes where both the referrer and the referee get rewarded with a digital gift card for signing up.
This is particularly popular in banking, utilities, and recruitment but you’ll see these schemes everywhere once you start looking!
For example, BT offers a £50 gift card in exchange for referrals, to both the referrer and the friend. And Capita IT Resourcing offers a digital gift voucher if you refer a contact and they’re successfully placed in a role.
4. Generate reviews/testimonials
Whether your business is B2B or B2C, reviews and testimonials are key to driving customer acquisition.
According to TrustPilot, nearly nine out of ten (89%) customers worldwide make an effort to read reviews before buying a product or service.
Reviews are essential for building trust, growing your brand reputation, and ultimately driving greater profits.
However, getting customers to write you a review or take part in a testimonial isn’t always easy. So how can you incentivise them to take part?
You guessed it, digital gift cards can be beneficial here too.
Offering a voucher in exchange for a review is a good way to say thank you to your customers for taking the time to share their thoughts. However, always ensure that you’re getting genuine reviews and take customer feedback on board.
5. Drive upsell/upgrades
When it comes to upselling and upgrading, it’s all about helping the customer get a better deal (as well as benefiting your business).
Giving your customers a strong incentive to spend more with you, can also help drive delight and customer loyalty; a Bond report showed that to maximise loyalty benefits, 66% of consumers will modify their brand spend.
Personalisation is key here too - understand your customers better to share more relevant offers. In the same Bond survey, customers would spend 3.5X more with the brand if personalization was done well.
How might this work in practice?
Car dealerships sometimes offer incentives in terms of digital gift cards for purchasing a car with specific (more premium) specs.
House builders might also offer digital gift cards to prospective buyers to encourage them to upgrade on products that they’re fitting. For example, offering a digital gift card voucher to the furniture store of their choice if they pick a more expensive bathroom finish. Or offering a voucher when the customer spends X amount in total.
6. Payments Claims and compensation
Not only do insurance providers use digital gift cards for customer acquisition (many of us have received this kind of benefit when signing up for house insurance, car insurance or even breakdown cover), but some insurers also use digital gift cards to settle claims.
This use case is not just applicable to insurance however. Many businesses offer digital gift cards as a form of compensation - when dealing with customer complaints, for example.
Rather than having to send a cheque (which needs to be posted and then cashed in by the recipient) or process the customer’s bank details, gift cards are quick and simple to issue.
In this case, being able to offer a wider range of digital gift card options is an extra bonus so customers can be sure to pick their favourite brand.
Bulk Buy Digital Gift Cards With Tillo
The use of digital gift cards is growing in the UK, with the total market value expected to hit 8.71 bn by 2025 (GCVA).
Businesses are using digital gift cards to get ahead of the competition, and delight customers and employees more - whilst growing their business.
If any of the use cases we’ve shared above sound relevant to your business, check out our Bulk Buy page where you can share your requirements or call our team to discuss your gift card needs.
Claim a reward of your own - a £50 digital gift card of your choice - when you place a bulk order with Tillo. (Note, there’s a minimum order value and eligibility criteria.)
