Sweetening the Pot

It's been said by everyone from Don Peppers to Fred Reichheld: Customer satisfaction starts with a company's employees.

But how do you make sure that your staff fully supports your objectives?

There's one way.

Incentives.

Yes. Companies of all types are using incentives to motivate employees, above and beyond bonus compensation.

Almost all surveys show that this practice is growing. But many firms aren't measuring return on investment. And when they do, they're often unhappy with the result.

It could be that they don't know what they're doing. Or maybe they're getting bogged down in corporate turf wars.

Many people have opinions on this, but only a few of these thinkers really count. One is Don Schultz, professor emeritus-in-service at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Schultz feels that incentives are an element of internal marketing, the science of getting employees to buy into “programs and processes needed to achieve organizational goals and objectives.”

Another is Reichheld, author of “The Loyalty Effect” and other seminal works on customer relationship management. He believes that “you must have loyal employees if you want to build customer loyalty.”

Mind you, we're not talking about cheap pens with company logos on them. Incentive programs work best when the firm gives away luxury items like gift cards, electronic devices and travel.

And there has to be a trophy element to them. A cash reward, easily spent and forgotten, doesn't cut it.

Some firms are using sweeteners to reward people for exceeding sales goals or referring new employees.

They're also employing them to solve persistent customer service problems, those resulting from deficiencies in motivation.

But don't forget the bottom line. Like any marketing effort, incentive programs must be tracked and measured.

And so must the larger applications of internal marketing.