Whitepapers

‘Repeat business or behavior can be bribed. Loyalty has to be earned’ - Janet Robinson While Ms. Robinson may have been referring to brand loyalty or product loyalty as opposed to customer loyalty programs in the above quote, her words illustrate a very important concept. Incentive programs don’t start with built-in loyalty and customer buy-in. Without question, incentive programs need to generate loyalty – not only from senior management, but also from the customers they’re trying to entice. An effective program will excel for both management and customers when it is built with a foundation that provides a clear vision for success. In fact, many established programs have been assembled using five critical building blocks that inspire brand loyalty among customers.

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Manufacturers are sometimes cautious about the use of their brands in special markets. Obviously they want to maintain their brand integrity and avoid any impact consumer sales channels. This white paper from the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA), however, suggests that with basic safeguards in place, special markets like the incentive industry are “a win for the supplier, a win for the company, and a win for the employee.”

Published by: Incentive Marketing Association

Results from the study Awards Selection: Insights from Managers, conducted by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement, sheds light on the efficacy of 12 distinct motivational tactics used by HR and marketing managers across many industries to achieve 10 specific organizational objectives.

Published by: Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement

There’s a reason for the old adage: “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Anyone who has ever tried to run a business knows that’s true. But it is also true that you can’t manage what you measure only once each year. When it comes to employee and customer engagement, most of us collect information through annual surveys, analyze the results, share them in a high-level report and perhaps devote part of an executive meeting to discuss the implications. Like performance reviews, this is usually done once a year – if at all.

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This white paper discusses the range of "zero-based performance improvement strategies" that can be developed with the help of full-service incentive and performance improvement companies. It also includes contact information on members of the Incentive Marketing Association's Performance Improvement Council, made up of a dozen organizations dedicated to offering companies solutions-based incentive and performance improvement programs.

Published by: Performance Improvement Council of the Incentive Marketing Association

Gift cards have become an important corporate tool for reward and recognition. This paper looks at the growing use of gift cards and how to add to the "trophy value" of gift cards via communication, customization, and presentation.

Published by: Incentive Gift Card Council of the Incentive Marketing Association

The federal income tax considerations for incentive programs are often overlooked. While it is difficult to give technical tax advice that would apply equally to all incentive programs, following certain general income tax principles can make an incentive program more successful and avoid unpleasant surprises.

Published by: National Association for Employee Recognition

Section 274(j) of the Internal Revenue Code contains specific rules on the tax treatment of “employee achievement awards.” As a general rule, the employer cannot deduct employee achievement awards, unless they meet certain criteria.

Published by: National Association for Employee Recognition

While it is widely believed that employee attitudes and engagement directly influence customer experiences and customer spending behavior, there is little empirical evidence that has explicitly demonstrated this. This study, subtitled "An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between Employee Attitudes, Customer Attitudes, and Customer Spending," combines results from an extensive survey of employees and customers at a hotel chain with the actual spending patterns of customers. Results show a direct, measurable relationship between the employee and customer perceptions of the hotel brand and customer spending behavior.

Published by: Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement

This paper introduces the discipline of "People Performance Management" as developed by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement, a unit of the Integrated Marketing Communications Department of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. People Performance Management refers to an integrated process designed to help firms maximize long-term financial performance through a strategic focus on their most valuable asset -- human capital.

Published by: Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement

Compelling research links financial results and customer satisfaction to engaged employees and channel partners.

Published by: Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement

In today's economic environment, employers are struggling to find every advantage possible to thrive, grow or simply to stay in business. For most US based organizations payroll represents the largest expense. Advantages therefore, come first and foremost through better talent management.

Published by: Human Capital Institute

This study, conducted by Frank Mulhern on behalf of the Promotion Marketing Association with the support of the Forum, identified key challenges facing organizations attempting to fully integrate external and internal marketing.

Published by: The PMA/Northwestern University

This white paper highlights four key areas that impact organizational adoption of integrated marketing and motivate employees to think about and cooperate with integrated marketing efforts beyond their functional silos.

Published by: Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement

This paper looks at the types and applications of gift cards and gift certificates and reviews the research that points to the efficacy of gift certificates and cards in achieving business results. Gift certificates and cards have been shown to increase sales, improve employee performance and build loyalty, foster teamwork, and create new markets, among others.

Published by: Incentive Gift Card Council of the Incentive Marketing Association

Each year in the United States, organizations spend tens of billions of dollars on cash and non-cash rewards for consumer, distributor, sales and employee incentive programs –merchandise, gift cards, group and individual travel programs, time off, cash, etc. But few organizations invest the necessary time to understand which rewards should be used for which people to encourage what outcomes

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Historically, incentive programs, unlike other sales and marketing strategies, have endured economic downturns. In fact, according to a review of past Incentive Federation and industry studies, the incentive industry managed to grow following the recessions that occurred in the late 1980s, after September 11, 2001, and during the downturn of the late 1990s, following the dot-com collapse. In fact, there is no evidence that the industry suffered serious declines following the recession in the late 1970s/early 1980s, and the industry continued to prosper even during the Great Depression when the industry’s trade magazine at the time, Premium Practice, was filled with advertising pages.

Published by: Incentive Performance Center

At a rate of over 30%, people managers across the U.S. report that they’re looking for opportunities elsewhere. What to do? Minneapolis-based Modern Survey recently released this and other pertinent data in a Spring 2015 engagement study whitepaper focusing on manager engagement,

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Employee surveys have the potential to help companies understand the relationship between human capital and the bottom line. Yet, if not managed carefully, surveys may fail to realize their potential as strategic organizational tools. Why? Because many organizations are successful in designing reasonable questionnaires, generating high participation rates and gathering a lot of good information. But where survey processes most commonly break down is in the “hand off” between a survey team, perhaps working with the assistance of an outside consultant, and line managers throughout the organization.

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A study designed to determine which aspects of selling respond to incentive travel and how that response can be measured. Researchers surveyed 1,800 subscribers of Meetings and Incentive Travel magazine and 3,000 members of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association. To present an in-depth picture of incentive travel, and to provide a practical template for determining program ROI, the authors made a point of recording views of both the people who win the awards and those executives who allocate the money to fund them.

Published by: Incentive Research Foundation

“Research Has Clearly and Consistently Proved the Direct Link Between Employee Engagement, Customer Satisfaction and Revenue Growth.” ~ Harvard Business Review, 2000 If there ever was a true debate around the linkage between employee engagement and organizational success, that debate has long since ceased.

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Leading-edge companies are tapping the potential of advanced analytics to improve talent acquisition, employee engagement, retention, talent development and, ultimately, their bottom lines. Soon this will be the

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This study, by Prof. James Oakley of Ohio State University, found a clear link between employee engagement and customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction and profitability.

Published by: The Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement

Millennials are entering the workplace at such a swift rate that, according to Deloitte, they will make up 75% of the workforce by 2020. Organizations are scrambling to understand how they can better engage Millennials in the workplace.

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The Incentive Federation Inc. has commissioned a survey involving current users of merchandise and travel items for motivational applications. The Center for Concept Development (CCD) was asked to analyze the data collected in this survey and to prepare this report on the survey findings.

Published by: Center for Concept Development, Ltd.