Using the Web for Awards

In an age when just about anything can be done online, some planners still have not turned to the web to help run incentive programs. Of 168 incentive planners surveyed online recently, M&C found 34 percent do not use the Internet for any portion of their programs.
    Another 32 percent use it for both travel and merchandise award programs, 27 percent just for travel programs and 7 percent just for merchandise awards.
    While arranging travel programs, incentive planners use the Internet to research suppliers such as hotels, destination management firms, incentive firms and ground transportation companies (62 percent); to research rewards such as destinations, air travel, gifts and teasers (60 percent); to correspond with participants (47 percent); to conduct requests for proposal (34 percent); for promotion (28 percent); for winners’ registration (25 percent); to conduct post-trip evaluations (24 percent) and to track contest results (13 percent).
    When planning merchandise awards, respondents use the web to research rewards (37 percent); to research suppliers such as merchandise brokers and shipping/fulfillment firms (34 percent); to correspond with participants (25 percent); for promotion (21 percent); for reward redemption (13 percent) and to track contest results (10 percent).
    Most incentive planners said the development of web technology for their niche of the industry has been a boon: 48 percent find it significantly helps them plan and run incentive programs, and 28 percent said it helps somewhat. Only 8 percent said the technology hasn’t helped much or at all. The remaining 16 percent don’t use the technology.