The Power of Linking Non-Cash Incentives to CRM

When it comes to incenting behaviors, non-cash rewards are typically under-utilized, yet they can be extremely effective in driving behavior in ways that cash compensation can’t. Cash is king, but cash is impersonal and predictable. Non-cash rewards, on the other hand, are extremely engaging when the prize is something that the targeted recipient truly wants and considers worth striving for. A vacation at the beach. An adventure package. Designer fashions. A day at the spa. That new set of golf clubs. The key is to let each individual decide what prizes motivate them the most – call it self-personalization – and then show them a way to attain them through their go-the-extra-mile actions. All-too-predictable fixed-prize contests don’t come close in their ability to engage desire and personalize motivation. And those gift cards? Twenty-seven percent of them are tossed away, estimates Consumer Reports.

So how do you leverage non-cash rewards effectively? There are several steps. The first is to automate their management. One reason today’s non-cash incentives are treated as one-offs and limited to fixed-prize giveaways is because they are tracked manually, typically in spreadsheets. Hence they have to be simplified. When you apply the same type of automation to tracking these contests as you do with tracking your sales leads and progress via your CRM application, you can start developing sophisticated, yet easily manageable, non-cash incentive programs precisely tailored for each specific audience or individual within the sales organization or across the entire company.

The next step is drive performance by delivering the widest possible selection of value-oriented tangible rewards. Give each person something personally meaningful to shoot for. Give them the ability them rack up points, with the points immediately redeemable for the prizes of their choice. This means leveraging the Internet for prize selection and points redemption, as well as for the power of instant gratification.

The final step is integrating your non-cash rewards program management with your CRM application. From a process standpoint, this provides the ability to tie actions to points automatically – for example, a lead becomes qualified, then points are automatically assigned and immediately viewable within the CRM application. From a visibility and instant-gratification standpoint, recipients and their management gain the ability to check earned and redeemed point balances at any time while logged into the CRM application, and instantly redeem their points online. And from an ongoing motivational standpoint, they can see how they earned their points, and how they can earn more.

We recently had a little fun in creating a video that promotes our Xactly Rewards product, which addresses the complexity of creating and managing an effective non-cash rewards program. Enjoy!