For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, incentivized marketing is basically a way of enticing people into doing something good for you. In other words, it's an old-fashioned marketing ploy. The key to effective incentive marketing is to identify your target market, make yourself appealing, and then present your offer in such a way that it will be irresistible. This might seem like quite the stretch, but in reality, all businesses manage to use incentive marketing in one way or another. There are countless examples from the food industry to retail. Even the mortgage industry has used incentive marketing schemes to encourage borrowers to make their monthly payments on time.
The concept is relatively easy to define but difficult to execute. To explain the technique, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants uses simple terms. It's a well-organized approach to getting people to do exactly what you'd want them to do. It rests on an old-fashioned psychological formula, which says that where there's motivation and desire, there will always be measurable performance. In other words, it's looking at consumer preferences and wanting something that they can't currently get, but would greatly benefit from. It's also trying to encourage consumers to use digital products from digital businesses instead of traditional businesses using real goods.
One of the biggest challenges businesses have faced in recent years is the challenge of attracting and retaining loyal customers. As many large retailers have found out, it is extremely difficult to retain repeat customers once they've made their purchase decisions is even if the item was a good one. Fortunately, with incentive marketing, marketers are presenting goods and services in a manner that makes them appealing in the eyes of the consumer regardless of whether the item was purchased online or offline.
Traditional markets have traditionally been quite favorable to businesses offering incentive programs because the benefits come from the customer not having to pay any money thus, incentive marketing is attractive to a business that may not otherwise be able to afford such forms of marketing. For example, retail chains like Wal-Mart use incentive programs to lure in shoppers by offering free merchandise, free shipping and other various forms of savings. The reason why this is effective is that it makes customers feel that they're getting something for nothing when they make the purchase, which creates an environment where they will likely spend more money in the future. Wal-Mart has had tremendous success with this type of marketing, especially considering how competitive the global economy has become over the past few years.
This same strategy is being applied by Australian businesses as well. Incentive programs are being utilized by Aussie businesses to strengthen their ability to retain existing customers and attract new ones. Many of the programs being utilized in Australia are unique because they're offered in partnership with channel partners, who help with loyalty initiatives and other important research and marketing strategies. The goal of using a partner in this fashion is two-fold. First, it gives incentive to the customer by giving them something of value for free, and second, by strengthening channels through which the product or service is made available to more people, the opportunity for future sales increases greatly. Both are powerful tools for increasing customer loyalty.
The strength of incentive marketing in the Australian digital economy lies in the fact that it's both widespread and pervasive. This means that a large percentage of the population is exposed to the use of these programs on a daily basis. Incentive programs, whether they're implemented through digital business opportunities or through other types of programs such as loyalty programs, have the power to draw in customers and maintain their interest in your business.
Incentive marketing isn't the only tool available for increasing customer loyalty, but it's one of the most powerful. Many of the most successful companies throughout the history of the company have utilized incentivized marketing to increase loyalty. Apple Computers, for example, prides itself on the amount of money employees exchange yearly for their use of the company's products and services. While many businesses can take advantage of incentive marketing in this way, those that operate in small communities or that operate at smaller scales may not be able to afford these types of incentives. For them, using digital business opportunities is the only way to provide these incentives.
What's clear is that an incentive marketing strategy has the potential to work in small towns and in cities all across Australia. But what are the specific areas in which this type of strategy should be implemented? Generally speaking, any incentive marketing strategy should offer some form of incentive for people to continue to engage with a certain company. The incentive for the customer may be in the form of a gift, reward or discount. But, more often than not, those who are receiving the incentive are the ones who are most likely to be receptive to it. As long as you're willing to give it to them, ask people for referrals and promote your incentive program, your coffee shop loyalty programs will work.
