Shopkick & Visa to Offer Retail Store Purchase Rewards

Incentives are increasing in popularity and this is evident everywhere from retail stores to the workplace. A new incentive in the retail sphere is not only rewarding customers for visiting a particular store, it's also urging them to spend money while inside.

Shopick, a mobile app that gives you rewards and offers for simply walking into stores, has partnered with Visa to add an incentive to buy things once you're there. With Shopkick, consumers collect kicks™ rewards by stepping into millions of stores in America. They can then redeem their kicks™ for cool stuff, like gift cards, Facebook Credits, movie tickets and more.

Now, the new partnership with Visa is giving consumers an added bonus for buying merchandise at participating stores. Consumers will be rewarded with even more kicks points after a purchase is made.

To participate in the program, consumers need to download Shopkick’s app (on iPhone or Android) and then link it to their Visa account. After you buy something with your Visa card, the amount of points will automatically be displayed on your phone.

The more kicks you earn, the better the rewards. With 825 kicks, you can get a $25 meal at a restaurant. Kicks aren't hard to earn - Toys “R” Us is offering 520 kicks with an $85 purchase. You can also get 200 kicks from various vendors just by walking in their doors.

The video below outlines the new partnership. Would you use this? Let us know in the comments.

Infinite Award Possibilities with infinitE℠ powered by innergE®

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We recently simplified and enhanced our award offer and are proud to introduce infinitE℠ powered by innergE® as one of the industry’s largest and most current award assortments. infinitE℠ (pronounced “infinity”) features millions of digital rewards and thousands of brand-name merchandise options. Going forward, the assortment will continue to expand and include the most popular and in-demand awards. 

Our current online incentive system, innergE®, is designed to manage reward and recognition programs. As part of the launch of infinitE℠, innergE® has been updated with an enhanced user interface that features improved navigation and functionality. System upgrades also include expanded photos and details on award options. Functionality is available to allow for “on the spot” or discretionary point awards, as well as an on-line nomination system. 

Our digital awards offering, Digital Awards HQ, is supported by Point Click Group. The newly launched digital awards store features millions of songs, music videos, movies, e-books and ringtones. Future offerings will include TV shows, apps and games. Having such a wide variety of digital award choices available from a single site is unique and a great enhancement, especially for programs where award values are smaller.

We introduced infinitE℠ at the Motivation Show last week in Chicago and received a positive response. If you're interested in a demo or would like more information, please contact Bill Termini, Vice President of Sales at btermini@hinda.com or 773-890-5900 x3383.

Dan Pink: The Importance of Autonomy

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A few months ago, we unearthed an old discussion and started a new debate on Daniel Pink. In the video below, which was published by The Washington Post, the "Drive" author talks about motivating employees, the importance of autonomy and how the workplace is stripped of feedback.

While he makes several good points, several others are up for debate. He mentions the age-old carrot and stick motivational approach does not work anymore. Instead, employees seek autonomy and tend to perform better when given freedom.

Do you agree with Dan Pink? Are employees more engaged through autonomy? In what ways can managers motivate and engage their employees? Leave a comment. Let's discuss.

The Many Benefits of Employee Incentives

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Yes, there are several benefits to an employee incentive program. Incentives are in place to reward, recognize and motivate employees. And, they do a good job at all three.

It's been a tough couple of years and it's no secret that several employees are feeling burnt out, stressed, under appreciated and strapped for cash. There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel and the economy is slowly coming back to life. But, what happens when we've fully recovered from the events of the past few years?

With high competition for skilled and talented employees, rewarding your employees is essential and makes business sense. Employee incentive programs are crucial to a business’ success and they enable better relationships between employees and managers.

Don’t lose your employees to competitors. Invest in them today through incentive programs and reap the benefits of those investments for years to come. What benefits, you ask? Here are a few.

• Motivated employees
• Happy employees
• Stronger relationships between employees and managers
• Employee recognition
• Employee loyalty
• Valued employees
• Positive employee attitudes and behaviors
• Employee retention
• Improved communication

Can you think of any others? Leave a comment and let us know.

What's With The Carrot?

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The age-old carrot and stick idiom refers to the use of rewards to influence behavior.

The original metaphor referred to a boy sitting on a cart being pulled by a donkey. The boy held a long stick to which a carrot had been tied, and he dangled the carrot in front of the donkey, but just out of its reach. As the donkey moved forward to get the carrot, it pulled the cart forward.

Here at Hinda, we've adopted the carrot as part of our branding strategy. While today's workforce might not be motivated by a dangling carrot, the message is the same. We're motivated by rewards. The carrot is simply a representation of a desired reward - one that is earned after an achievement.

When rewarding your employees, we suggest merchandise instead of raw carrots. Do you have an incentive plan in place? Contact us if you're looking for a way to motivate those with an influence on your business.