It is well documented that many motivation programmes fail because they are targeted at the top performers, the ones who already succeed. Not only does this bypass the middle 70 per cent, who could be girded into further action, but it gives that group even less reason to try harder – Bill Smith always wins, so what’s the point?
Jonathan Haskell, CEO of Michael C Fina, says “Companies need to come up with a system to inspire, empower and motivate those with that attitude. By doing things on a daily basis and having a constantly revolving league table, when one employee performs on a day when another does not, they can see they have done well. The second employee may be the most consistent annually but not by the week or the day.”
He continues, “It is important to research and understand what motivates service providers and channel partners because you do not have the control over them that you have over employees. Not everyone wants a 14 inch TV set.”
And according to Graham Povey, managing director of Capital Incentives & Motivation, “Where you cannot research people’s aspirations, offer choice.”
Prizes are largely displayed on a website, as this is less expensive than print and more flexible: rewards can be changed regularly and the format allows for greater variety. This does not necessarily mean spending more money on exotic prizes or rewards but it does mean spending it more wisely, while ensuring you do not sacrifice effectiveness for cost effectiveness.
Says Haskell: “If the budget is £10 an item, rather than buying 1000 items for £10, allow the motivation company to put them on their website and invite participants to go online and choose. It does not cost any more but allows people with different tastes and lifestyles to choose from a range of 50 gifts.”
Be inspirational
Producing a ‘wow’ factor is important. John Sylvester, director of P&MM’s motivation division, says, “Vouchers are an excellent mechanism for delivering a promise but do not give a headline. Assign a specific reward and you create an emotional response – sell five of these and you get a large, flat screen TV. The cost of the TV may be £2000 but saying ‘do this and we will give you £2000’ creates a logical response, which does not allow you to add value.”
Curiously, although exciting prizes motivate and will drive participants to a website to fantasise over their potential gains, they will still often choose vouchers when it comes to claiming. This is partly because they can then shop with their family, partner or friends – the people who have supported them through their efforts to succeed – and partly because a shop will offer a greater range of TVs, mini discs, etc.
However, motivating staff is a different matter altogether because monetary value is less important then public recognition – being thanked in front of their peer group. As Jonathan Haskell points out, years ago, successful employees in Abbey Life had a President’s Club tie.
The organisation had 500 offices around the country, so effectively, successful participants were recognised around the country. “The final hurdle is the presentation and conveying the message,” he says. “It is not just congratulations but also saying to everyone else, you too can be standing on this rostrum and receiving this.”
The bigger picture
Strategy is also essential and it is important those targeted know what the proposition is. Good, clear and regular communication is a must: what is it you want me to do differently, why, how, how do I know I am doing it, what is in it for me? “If the communication plan answers those five points, it will deliver,” says John Sylvester.
However, engaging and motivating third parties is complicated. With motor manufacturers, the dealer network is an extension of the family. Whereas IT companies, for example, may have between five and 10 distributors, whom they know, but they do not know the secondary reseller at all – there is no direct commercial relationship. The programme can also be used to find out more about resellers or channel partners.
And all activity should reflect the brand proposition. Get that wrong, and there is a risk brand values will be compromised. Sylvester comments, “The whole brand delivery has to be consistent, otherwise you are delivering a confusing message to the channel partner, which causes a disjoint between partner and consumer.”
This is particularly true of the automotive industry, where brand values are paramount. The way the salesman presents the product, product knowledge, infrastructure such as signage and parking – all the softer issues around the sale – receive considerable attention.
Lines of communication
Mystery shoppers are one way of measuring whether the customer is receiving the right messages but it is not a stand-alone tool, it needs to be combined with motivation and communication. Castigating people when they are wrong and praising them when they are right does not tell them how they are getting it wrong, what they should do differently tomorrow.
Means of communication with third parties is also relevant. Graham Povey of Captial Incentives & Motivation, comments, “The face-to-face is not there so manufacturers communicate through email or mail but they have to be creative. Resellers or dealers will be bombarded with incentive offerings, they need an incentive to push your product. You have to stand out.”
Although technology appears to rule the day, there is still room for communication on paper. Motivating call centre agents is a good example, where posters can play an important role; SMS works for a younger, IT literate group. Rik Burrage, managing director of Grass Roots, comments, “Texts create a buzz with sound bites: your results are in, you are at the top of your league, go to the website. The best form of recognition is instant – you have been spotted doing it right.” Email can also do that although it is generally less immediate.
“One of the joys of our work is we end up knowing more about our clients’ staff and channel partners than they know themselves, so we can communicate accurately,” Burrage says.
And for the future? “While there are people engaged in marketing, there will be the need to motivate them,” says Burrage. “Techniques will change, with ever greater use of the web, use of mobile phones and SMS, plus developments in communications technology but the principles have held sound for fifty years, I don’t see them changing.”
Knowledge and communication will remain at the crux of motivational activity and will help ensure a powerfully successful campaign.
Supplemental: The Institute of Sales Promotion (ISP) Motivation Diploma
ISP launched a Motivation Diploma in May this year. “We realised there was a gap in the market,” says director of education Chris Bestley. “We felt the motivation industry has been redefining itself and getting a higher public profile. Magazines such as B2B Marketing illustrate this. Until recently, motivation has been invisible and people were not ready for a pooling of knowledge, which is what the course needed. I recruited a fantastic bunch of people in the industry and got them to define the content – they were employing the people who took the course,” he says. These included John Sylvester, John Fisher, Rik Burrage, Mike Davies and Debbie Watt, plus Andrew Johnston from the Voucher Association. The ISP Motivation Diploma is a distance learning programme completed over five months. The course comprises eight modules, a day of tutorial and workshops, online tests plus study notes compiled by those mentioned above. There are also some 90 case studies on the website, giving precise detail of how to construct a campaign, some running to 15 pages. The diploma costs £690/£790 for ISP members/non-members plus £105/£155 for the tutorial and workshops. Prices exclude VAT.
