Incentive Travel Programs—Think Beyond the Sales Force
by Sandi Cottrell


While companies have been planning incentive travel programs to motivate their sales forces for decades, incentive programs for non-sales groups are a recent development. Companies that have introduced successful incentive travel programs for sales people have enjoyed such positive results that they have asked, “Why not apply the same principles to other areas of the business?” A carefully constructed program, beginning with a well-thought-out qualification process, to an enticing promotion campaign, to the final reward—a flawlessly orchestrated group travel experience, can indeed produce measurable results and a quantifiable return on investment.

A great deal of study points to the fact that a customer retained through outstanding customer service initiatives has a greater financial value to your company than a new customer whose loyalty to your firm is unproven. Great effort and expense goes toward customer service training, and successful companies reward and recognize the individuals who excel in this area. Why not raise the bar? An incentive travel program for customer service staff members may have an impact that is “off the charts”, especially in a situation where your participants may have limited resources for leisure travel on their own. A stereotypical sales force may have a “been there, done that” attitude, while a customer service group in the same company can be motivated in a whole new way by an attractive incentive travel program.

In choosing an incentive travel company to orchestrate such a program, look for a firm that has expertise in designing programs for non-sales groups. Although the strategies will be different than those applied in the sales area, the criteria for any successful incentive program are the same regardless of the target audience: