Tips on Premium and Incentive Purchasing

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Odenza Marketing Group, (offices in San Diego, CA and Burnaby, BC) provides quality incentive marketing solutions that give their select clients a competitive edge in their market.

"We've been heavily involved in the incentive industry for the last 10 years and we're offering the following tips to retailers looking to purchase new premiuims and incentives in the New Year." says Pav Sangha, Director of Marketing with Odenza Marketing Group.

These are the things you should be aware of when you're dealing with an incentive company:

Background check on the company – Ask the incentive company to provide you with a list of references. References should include a full name, position and legitimate business phone number. The client list is a strong indicator of the company's strength and also how long they had been working with each client as the retention time is key.

In-house Travel Agency – Request a full listing of travel agents with contact information to ensure there are enough staff to take care of fulfillment. Find out if they offer standard retail offers. A credible travel incentive supplier should be able to take care of standard travel bookings. If you sell a product you need to be able to fulfill that product. It's like selling inventory you don't have yet; who knows what the cost will be?

Accessible customer service – How easily can your customers access the travel incentive providers customer service department? Find out what the hours of operation are for the customer service department and establish acceptable response times for both phone and email inquiries. Toll free lines are a sign of eagerness to fulfill. Many companies have a great ongoing relationship with clients that they travel and will do bookings with them for years to come.

Licensing and Agreements with Suppliers – It’s extremely important that you find out if the travel incentive company you’re dealing with has licenses or agreements with travel suppliers. Licenses and agreements with suppliers usually indicates that the travel incentive company you’re dealing with is in fact traveling certificate holders. Don’t be afraid to ask for refernces from the travel incentive providers suppliers (Hotels, Cruise Lines, etc.)

Visit www.odenza.com for more info or contact Pav Sangha at 1-866-883-2968.

3 Important Facts You Should Be Aware Of! Incentive Travel Vs. Hard Premiums Source: Incentive Federation August 2007 Study

1. Although hard premiums are the most prevalent incentives, they are also viewed as the least effective.
2. The total market value for all incentives for 2007 was 46.1 Billion with travel incentives making up more than 30% of the market alone!
3. More than half of the survey respondents from large companies said their budgets for incentive travel have increased over the past 2 years!

If you’re not using vacation premiums, you’re missing out on new and existing business opportunities!