As we head into 2023, now is the perfect time to address your marketing, especially in terms of corporate incentives. But while you may consider tweaks to your PPC, SEO and social – what about gifting? Now is the perfect time to make a big gesture, and there’s one big, multi-million-sized reason…We are living amongst, or are part of, the TikTok generation!
Even older generations are getting used to swiping past irrelevant reels and short videos. In the UK, around 40% of people aged 16-24 use TikTok, with growth in the older generations too. And it’s no surprise why.
The average user spends over 10 minutes daily on the platform, which means they’re primed for speedy, snappy messaging. Our attention spans are shorter than ever, and it takes more to stand out. One study found that 49 per cent of respondents believed their attention span is shorter than it once was, compared to just 23 per cent who thought otherwise. You almost certainly have less time than you to capture the attention of your desired audience.
The other reason? Unlike people who want to turn off web cookies, eliminate their tracking capabilities and turn away from any content that doesn’t feel organic – a study by Rad Campaign found that most adults (62 per cent) appreciate gifts from brands.
This means that the introduction of a gifting campaign of corporate incentives could be an effective way to engage your audience – alongside existing digital marketing efforts as part of your overall strategy.
B2B, B2C or eCommerce all benefit from gift campaigns – but only when executed correctly. Gifts have a cost, which may seem significant when compared to many other marketing activities, but by helping you stand out from a crowd of competitors by appealing to the customers’ emotions and making a meaningful connection – that could have a great ROI overall.
Here’s how to get it right.
Personalise your corporate incentives to the right data set
It doesn’t matter how creative your storytelling abilities are; you need to contact the right audience. Don’t underestimate the importance of personalising your gift-giving campaign with the data that you need so you only reach the right audience.
Your CRM can deliver stats on the following:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Shopping habits.
This will help you create an effective personalisation strategy and ensure the right people are receiving your gifts. Still messy? There are a few businesses that offer data cleaning services that can source, cleanse, or process data so you can start to build out customer profiles. Again, this comes with a time and cost – but when you are spending on a gift, it’s critical you can connect with the right audiences rather than underwhelm masses, risk non-deliveries or send it to the wrong person.
How much to spend on corporate incentives -and how to calculate ROI
Unlike digital marketing, where a campaign can be turned off with a click, a corporate incentives gift campaign does have an outlay. So how can you get it right?
Here’s what we advise.
Calculate your current cost per customer – or at least two averages of value, e.g. high and low values. The cost per customer is your ‘standard’ or typical marketing costs divided by the number of customers you have. This can be divided into the cost of marketing activities, design agencies and other costs to reach them, e.g. social media adverts etc. – so you can determine how much it is usually costing you per customer, per channel.
Pick one channel to pause, and re-allocate the budget, if needed. You have your cost-per-customer number to use as a benchmark against your gifting campaign. This will give you a baseline for how much you are currently willing to spend per customer. In terms of gift ROI, the following stats may be useful:
A car dealership brand that sent £10 voucher gifts as a marketing campaign spent 20k on a design, print and door drop delivery to specific areas within a set radius of their showroom and went over to sell over £200k worth of cars. (Source)
Your results may vary – but with the right data, an eye on cost per customer / CAC and a view of the perfect gift, you can easily test the water on a lucrative campaign.
Don’t forget to get the message right too!
The value of a gift campaign goes beyond tangible products. You can guide your customers online, building a professional presence on your blog and social media accounts. One of the best ways to do this is by including a QR code on your print matter. QR codes are a simple addition to any marketing material, but they can go a long way in enriching consumer experiences. In fact, 84 per cent of direct mail respondents interacted with brands online after scanning a QR code.
Look to the experts in your team, and support them with the direct mail greats. We recommend The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert for an understanding of how to craft effective messages.
Other great books include :
- Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy.
- The Psychology of Persuasion by Dr Robert B. Cialdini.
- Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini
Be creative with what you send
Don’t be afraid to get creative with your gifting campaign. Think outside of the box about your brand pillars. A brand pillar could be related to how you are making a positive impact on the environment. It’s easy to link this up to your gifting campaign and offer branded items made from recycled materials, such as mugs, notepads or eco bags with your messaging, or compostable gift cards. You might have a content pillar that sits around being leaders in your space. You can show this leadership by including books, magazines or stationery that reflect your brand values.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to creating a great gifting campaign, and the best part is you have complete freedom on who, what and where you send your gifts out to when you use Simply Thank You.
We’ve sourced things as varied as:
- Golf clubs
- Custom stuffed animals
- Branded everything – hats and tops to costumes and capes!
- Food treats – shaped as required to meet your campaign
- Carved photo frames
- Branded gift cards for your business or the customer as an individual
The sky is the limit!
Gifting campaigns and corporate incentives programmes can make a lasting impression on your customers, which can improve the way they think about your brand. This can go on to influence their buying habit and secure a long-term customer – a strategy that’s well worth attempting. There’s a reason we work with the biggest names in media, energy, utilities and transport to help them get marketing gift campaigns right.
