“Probably no aspect of program design has a greater impact on outcomes than understanding the audience.”
Rodger Stotz, Chief Research Officer of the Incentive Research Foundation
Average age
Male / female
Estimated income
Job roles, titles, levels
Number of participants
Countries, regions, divisions
Exclusive or non-exclusive channel partners
Product knowledge
Current level of motivation
Attitudes, interests, opinions
Level of buy-in or engagement presently
A common mistake made by frantic companies is zooming to execution without clear, concise, written goals. Put your goals in writing. You will be amazed how it brings clarity of purpose for your management team.
Ask
Remember
The two most important perspectives to keep in mind as you develop and evaluate any incentive travel program are:
Sure. You expect us to say this! But let us explain: If this is your first incentive trip, we suggest hiring an incentive travel company if your group is 40 people or more (20 qualifiers and 20 guests).
An incentive travel company can offer valuable expertise and save you money and time. Incentive companies will guide you in incentive trip design, timeline management, qualification rules, hotel contract negotiations, event planning, air ticketing, promotional communications, registration website, and on-site logistics management.
Because incentive companies have planned hundreds of trips, their capabilities include:
Net Cost
The 15% agency fee
is offset by
15% trip savings
Agencies are constantly seeing and trying new things and offer fresh insight and expertise along the way.
Incentive travel design is a unique business discipline. It’s more than reserving a block of hotel rooms. Experienced planners have seen good trips — and not-so-good trips. They’ve seen similar projects in similar industries for similar situations. Best practices is an overused phrase today, but incentive companies truly offer best practice expertise.
Travel-thought leaders will be actively involved in these incentive travel organizations, research groups, and trade shows – to stay abreast of the latest research, trends, and new ideas.
Start 18 months before your trip travels
OCT Pick destination & hotel
JAN – DEC Qualifying & Promotion
APR Travel
MAY Wrap-up
Selecting a motivational destination is a mix of both science and art. The expertise of a good incentive travel company can be extremely beneficial. They are pros on destinations, flight options, and “incentive-quality” hotels. They’ve traveled to most places, seen resorts inside-and-out, vetted amazing activities, and built strong local partnerships. They know the hot-list of new openings and the properties with not-so-hot service.
Be careful if you are getting ideas from the “best lists” of leisure travel magazines Travel & Leisure or Conde-Nast Traveler.
Many hotels excel with individual leisure travelers, but they can be overwhelmed with groups and lack a “group mindset.”
Most Popular Destinations
Caribbean
Continental US
Mexico
Hawaii
Europe
Canada
Central America
Source: Incentive Research Foundation
Properly designed, an incentive travel program will pay for itself with:
(a) incremental gross margin on increased sales volume and
(b) loyalty from your top performers!
Recent research from both SITE and IRF pinpoint the average budget at $4,000 per person, or $8,000 per couple. However, the number of nights and locations will drastically impact the budget.
For example, $2,000 per person might suffice for a domestic 3-night trip to Miami, San Diego, or Las Vegas for retail managers or call center reps. But, a budget of $6,000 per person would be more likely for a Four Seasons resort in Hawaii or a 6-night trip to Italy to motivate technology sales reps making six-figures.
Tax Reporting
For U.S. participants, “Uncle Sam” has strong feelings about tax information. Unless the trip qualifies as a business meeting, the taxable value must be added to an employee’s W-2 or reported on a Form 1099-Misc for non-employee contractors. Most incentive companies have a thorough understanding of the IRS rules, and they can assist with IRS compliance and help you save on taxes by calculating the lowest taxable values.
Budget estimates help you realize what factors must be considered before making your cost projections and just how far your dollar will go. Try our calculator to determine what you can expect to spend on a corporate meeting.
Extraordinary, memorable events are what separates a top-notch incentive trip from a mere corporate-funded vacation. For new trips, experienced planners can be a huge help in crafting superior, and budget-friendly, events.
A typical schedule will open with a welcome reception on-property to facilitate new relationships and keep the schedule light after a day of travels. Creative planners will highlight the best venues, whether it’s poolside, on the beach, or on a patio or lawn with jaw-dropping views.
Mid-trip evenings are often filled with “dine arounds” to take winners off property to experience popular restaurants. Or, incentive planners will tap unique local venues for a creative group dinner experience, like a Napa wine cave dinner or renting a celebrity’s private home. To dive deeply into local authenticity, a recent trend is dining with locals in their homes.
The final night is traditionally a gala dinner filled with recognition of top achievers, pictures, the nicest menu, and upscale décor and entertainment. Creative planners will recommend the best spot, whether it’s on the beach, dressing up a ballroom, or a sensational venue nearby.
Unique – local – authentic – experiences are one of the biggest trends. In years past, activities were usually golf, spa, and a catamaran sail. Today, it seems every destination has a zip line tour, a snorkel sail, and an ATV tour.
Incentive travelers desire new experiences, especially the younger Millennials. Many travel planners are adding new twists to the traditional tours.
At Brightspot, our CMPs collaborate with destination partners to offer activities that are unique to the location – such as cenote cave swims in Riviera Maya, Napali coast boats in Kauai, Lord of the Rings tours in New Zealand, private behind-the-scenes Vatican visit, or cooking classes with a famous chef using local, organic ingredients.
“The focus on tapping emotions and creating experiences will continue to grow.”
Room gifts, or “pillow gifts,” are a fun way to surprise and delight newer winners. They are simple to administer because everyone gets the same item, and they are often less expensive at $25 to $50.
Individualization was the first trend in gifting by engraving or monogramming the standard pillow gift, such as a monogrammed bathrobe, embossed leather item, engraved wine glasses, or a Waterford crystal bowl.
Choice became the next trend in personalization. Maui Jim pioneered gifting experiences by bringing 12 styles of their high-end, polarized sunglasses and letting attendees pick their favorite pair of shades. Recent entrances to the gifting category include other sunglass brands, Bose headphones and Bluetooth speakers, watches, shoes, sandals, handbags, and more.
One word of caution: executing a gifting experience in a foreign country or small island is not as easy as shopping your local megamall. Adequate inventory, shipping challenges, and high import duties can create headaches quickly.
Localization is the most recent trend where gifts are sourced locally with artisans, which can be unique and cost-effective in foreign countries. One of our all-time, most popular gifts were custom-fitted, Italian-leather gloves in Florence.
Simplify
Remember to keep it simple. Your audience is much less familiar with your incentive program than you are. Too many programs are too complex, so sales reps ignore them.
The two most important perspectives to keep in mind as you develop and evaluate any incentive program are:
Participants
If you were a participant in the program, would you put forth the extra effort required to take advantage of the earning opportunity?
Sponsors
Will the executive sponsor of the incentive feel the program’s investment generated a satisfactory return?
Far too often, the incentive promotion strategy is an afterthought. Like any successful marketing effort, an effective incentive program needs a comprehensive campaign strategy, creative theme, and rhythmic messaging to create top-of-mind awareness.
In today’s world, people are bombarded with media. Emails stuff inboxes at the rate of 200+ per day. Users glance for a nanosecond, with their index finger on the delete-key, rapidly clicking like a teenage video gamer. It’s vital that your promotional strategy does not depend solely on a few emails. Your message must break through the clutter.
“Don’t let your incentive trip be the best-kept secret in your company.”
Mike May, President of Brightspot
A trip website offers dual benefits – good promotion during the qualifying period and an efficient registration form after winners are announced. A pretty web design can be easy because travel is visually engaging. A microsite serves as a central portal for the schedule, hotel info, activities, rules, and a contact page.
During registration, the online form automates data capture of the winner’s information including guest name, flight departure airport, passport numbers and expiry dates, activity selections, food allergies, and dozens of other preferences.
While a site provides pull communications, motivational push communications must be sent too.
A clever, attractive theme can go a long way. Use the natural attraction of the travel destination for visual interest. Here’s a quick list of communication recommendations.
Teasers. Before officially announcing the program, distribute a teaser — something that hints of events to come. It might be a small promotional item or a visually-appealing mailer to pique interest. We recommend one giveaway at kickoff and another at program mid-point to serve as an effective reminder.
Kickoff Announcement. Custom design a promotional flyer to generate excitement and share high-level details. Promote the trip and direct everyone to the incentive website for full details.
Sales Kickoff. If you have an SKO (sales kickoff), put together a video or PowerPoint slides. One client rolled in iced buckets of Jamaican Red Stripe beer to announce a Caribbean trip.
Graphical Email. Create an HTML email template for year-long use.
Postcards. Direct mail postcards are making a dramatic comeback. Email marketing is oversaturated with declining open rates and click-thrus. Mail an inexpensive postcard each quarter. Mail it to their home, and you catch the attention of the family too!
Posters. 18×24 sized posters are super billboards in large offices.
Leaderboards. Track achievements, promote competition, and give recognition with regularly-updated, online leaderboards.
While this final step focuses on on-site logistics and hospitality services, it would be a big mistake to overlook the many, many more hours of pre-trip meeting planning. A globetrotting incentive planner will give valuable advice, manage the hundreds of pre-trip planning details, and guarantee your program goes off without a hitch. Let a company like Brightspot sweat the details while you enjoy an unforgettable trip.
An on-site, travel manager serves as a single point-of-contact, ensuring the highest level of service. The experienced manager will coordinate transportation to the hotel, host the hospitality desk, and supervise support staff and suppliers. Additional “TDs” (Travel Directors) will ensure your winners are treated like VIPs and oversee all functions and activities.
Caution! Be careful when sending internal corporate employees as a perk. Not only may they lack the expertise, but more importantly, if their travel was presented as a perk, they will not want to stay up until midnight waiting for delayed flights, advance breakfast preparation at 6 a.m., or sweat with vendors on event décor setup.
