If you’ve been tasked to create a theme for your next sales incentive, then look no further. Here is FMI’s guide to creating the perfect theme to ensure your sales incentive is a roaring success.
What do we mean by ‘theming’ a sales incentive?
Running a sales incentive whereby you incentivise staff or partners to sell products or services is normal among many industries and businesses. In fact, we’d go so far as to say it’s common practice. But when so many companies run sales incentives and when your competitors potentially have more budget than you to spend, how do you ensure your incentive gets noticed and drives the sales performance you want?
Guide to creating the perfect sales incentive theme
There are five main areas to consider when designing your sales incentive theme. These are largely based around your specific sales needs and goals, and less around creative.
1. Audience
Who are the participants of your sales incentive? Are they employees, internal sales teams or external partners, brokers and non-direct employees? It’s important to keep your audience at the forefront of your incentive planning. They may be a profile you are not familiar with, in which case speak to them, understand their motivators when it comes to engaging with a sales incentive.
2. Duration
How long will your sales incentive run? Is it a short-term tactical incentive to fend off competitors, or a long-term campaign to create true brand advocates? Understanding the duration of your campaign will influence your theme. A sprint campaign may include a ’10-day countdown’ versus a 10-week campaign that may need a strong communications plan behind it to maintain momentum and participant engagement.
3. Tone
Keeping your business’s brand front and centre is key, but oftentimes a sales incentive gives you a little creative license to become more fun and playful with theming. If your end reward is a group travel trip then an adventurous, aspirational theme can be effective with the use of destination imagery; “Aim high for Dubai” or “Road to Rio”. Always ensure your marketing department sign-off on a theme and that is fits your brand’s tone and values.
4. Seasonal
Throughout the calendar year there are many seasonal themes and cultural celebrations that can work well as a sales incentive theme, “12 Days of Christmas” or “Spin into Summer”. However, remember different businesses have different peak periods so it must feel relevant to your industry and always appropriate to your audience and their targets.
6. Gamification
As with any sales incentive the more you can engage your audience; ensuring they understand the requirements, targets and qualifying criteria, the more effective it will become. Digital gamification is an impactful method to bring together both your sales incentive theme and an effective tool for communication. Bring your “Christmas Cracker” campaign to life, or “Shake a Snowglobe” to increase audience participation and elevate engagement.
Theming a sales incentive campaign adds a powerful layer for audience engagement, captures attention and drives performance. A strong theme provides a creative narrative that aligns with business goals, energises participants and reinforces key messages. Whether it is built around the reward, destination, season or culture using a theme will make your sales incentive more effective and successful overall.
If you would like to discuss sales incentive theming then please contact FMI using the form below.
