Myth Busting: 5 Misconceptions About Creative Rewards

Have you considered making creative rewards part of your marketing strategy? Maybe you’re put off by the risk factor, the expense, or even the amount of time and resource reward campaigns require…

What if we were to tell you these ‘reasons’ are all myths? Read on to discover the real truth about how creative rewards can increase sales and market share, while growing your brand sustainably.

Reward campaigns are risky

Reward campaigns can be risk-free

There are a few reasons you might think a reward campaign is risky. One is simply that it’s a new, unknown strategy for your brand. Trying something for the first time is often unnerving. Will it work? How do you know if you’re doing it right? More to the point: why change your current strategy of discounting prices?

First off, you should know the real risk to your brand is discounts. Aside from reducing product value, undermining differentiation leadership and squeezing profit margins, discount promotions erode consumer trust, punish brand loyalty and create negative brand associations. (We wrote a whole report about why rewards are a better bet for growing your brand sustainably – check it out here.)

If you are going to embark on a new marketing strategy, it makes sense to get help from experts. RIX has worked with hundreds of global brands on successful reward campaigns, so we know what works (and what doesn’t). Plus, our tried-and-tested formula means we can accurately predict redemption rate to make sure your campaign stays on budget. We’re so confident about this, we’ll even cover the cost of any additional redemptions.

Reward campaigns are expensive

Reward campaigns are affordable

Surely a flight or a meal at a restaurant for every customer must cost a fortune? The fact you think so is exactly why rewards campaigns work! Rewards have a higher perceived value than discounts, which makes them far better for attracting customers – as well as creating positive associations of generosity around your brand. But, in reality, creative rewards are surprisingly affordable.

Imagine your current promotional campaigns cost up to 50% of your product’s market value (if you do a half-price sale, for example). Depending on the price of your product, you might find you actually have a fairly large budget to play with – meaning you can offer great rewards, without spending any more money.

There’s also the option of using gamification in your campaign, which allows you to reduce redemptions or reduce the value of some of your rewards. To make your budget go further, you could offer the chance to win via a scratch card (meaning not every customer gets a reward), or distribute a variety of prizes ranging from high- to low-value. At RIX, we can create a rewards campaign to suit any budget – just try us.

Reward campaigns require too much resource

RIX takes care of the extra work, so you don’t have to

We’ll admit: reward campaigns take creativity and planning. Along with coming up with a reward that appeals to your target audience, you need to make sure your redemption process is smooth and you have a big enough customer services team to deal with enquiries.

That’s why RIX exists. We know it’s not realistic to grow your team just when you’re running a promotional campaign, which is why we provide all the additional resource you need for the duration of your campaign. We support you from concept to completion – from coming up with campaign ideas and delivering a presentation to get your boss onboard(!), to channelling redemption enquiries through our dedicated customer services team.

All you have to do is think about how you’re going to set up the creatives and promote your campaign. Simple.

Reward campaigns have a long lead time

RIX can turn around a reward campaign quickly

We know the feeling: something unexpected has come up and you need to shift old stock or generate more bookings now. Or maybe time has run away with you and suddenly you have less than a month to plan a promotional campaign. It’s easy to fall back on old methods – like discount campaigns – when you’re short on time, because you know how it works and what to expect.

But have you ever heard the saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”? If you want different results, why not try something new?

You’ll be relieved to know RIX embraces a tight deadline – in fact, we consider it a challenge! We pride ourselves on being agile and rarely plan more than three months in advance (though we can if you need us to, of course). Because we have the necessary experience and infrastructure in place, we can make your rewards campaign happen quickly. Isn’t that good news?

Customers are more likely to complain about reward campaigns

RIX guarantees customer satisfaction

Perhaps you’re concerned about running a rewards campaign because you think a more complex promotion will result in higher customer complaints? We get it: no brand wants that.

You’ll be pleased to hear RIX’s track record for complaints is less than 0.2% on average. On the rare occasion we do receive a complaint, our dedicated customer services team is on hand to find a positive resolution quickly – ensuring your customers are happy and your brand’s reputation continues to grow for all the right reasons.

We’re so confident we can make every single one of your customers happy, we even guarantee customer satisfaction. 

Ready to think again about making creative rewards part of your marketing strategy?

Book a call to get three free, tailored reward ideas that will boost your sales and help you create stronger relationships with your customers.