Incentive marketing is the practice of using incentives to encourage consumers or clients to patronize a business or service. With the aid of such rewards, companies are able to increase the number of prospective customers or clients and thereby improve the brand image, customer loyalty, and retention. Hence, the success of marketing campaigns largely depends on the type of incentive offered to the customers, i.e. the type of rewards and benefits offered.

Reward incentives come in many forms and types such as cash payments, discounts, freebies, prizes, gift vouchers, an entry in the sweepstakes, discounts at events, and so forth. These gifts and rewards are highly targeted and are meant to arouse a desire among consumers to try out a particular product or service. It makes them want to explore more about it, which ultimately results in a purchase. The main reason why people opt for an incentive marketing company is the increased sales. This enables retailers to earn good profits on the sales that are achieved.

There are several ways in which incentive marketing platform can be employed to achieve the desired goals. One way is by implementing incentive programs in various departmental stores, like fast food outlets, supermarkets, and convenience stores. By implementing incentive programs in these stores, one can easily attract new customers into the store. This is achieved by offering freebies, discounts, cash gifts, etc. However, this strategy does not work for smaller retail stores where the number of customers is relatively low.

Another effective incentive marketing platform is the implementation of price alone. Price alone promotions work well when the price of the item is lower than the usual retail price. If the price is equal to or lower than the average retail price then most of the customers would buy it and hence, the retailer benefits from the increased sales. For instance, a clothing item may cost $30, but if the price is discounted from the retail price then most of the customers would still buy it since the price alone promotion is effective. Hence, for most retailers, price alone promotions are a worthwhile form of incentive marketing platform.

Free product promotions are also often used as incentive marketing platforms. For example, if you sell kids' clothes at a particular online store, then you can offer free product samples to the parents of the customers in exchange for leaving a review for your products. Most of the customers will be happy to participate in free product sample promotions as they will get a free item of their choice with their purchase. Hence, reward the customers for providing valuable feedback about the products to improve the quality and saleability of the product.

Another effective incentive marketing offer is to get customers to complete surveys. Again, the information provided in the survey can help improve the quality of the product or can be used to study customer behavior and preferences. Hence, reward the customers for completing the surveys and use the information to come up with improved products and strategies. The information obtained from the surveys can help you customize incentive marketing offers further and can be used for launching new products, discounts, campaigns, etc.

An expert marketer once said that the best way to make money on the internet is to provide great value to your customer. This means that the incentive marketing program should be designed in such a manner that the product is useful to the customers. Hence, it should solve a problem or add to the user's enjoyment of the product. Incentive programs are also most effectively used when the marketer has a good relationship with the customer. This means that if the customer gets impressed by the offer he will tell his friends and this will encourage other customers to try out the same incentive program.

The key to a successful incentive marketing program is to design the incentive programs in such a manner that the rewards are not only exclusive but are also useful to the customer. For instance, a marketer may reward visitors who purchase the minimum amount of products at the beginning of the month with $1 off. This will help the marketer to increase his customer base and he will be able to earn a lot more profits as well. With the right incentive marketing platform the marketer can motivate the customer to buy more products and earn more rewards.