The October report on www.trendwatching.com/trends/perkonomics/ is on Perkonomics. The report highlights how 'perks' are being used to satisfy a consumers demand for convenience and status.
So what consitutes a perk? When you can buy your way into the lounge at the airport it seems to no longer be much of a perk... especially to those who were getting this 'exclusive privilege' as a reward for their loyalty and volume usage.
The report highlights that the benefits of offering 'perks'. Here is a cut and paste excert of what they had to say.
- Perks bring much-needed love (if not FREE LOVE), in upturns and downturns, potentially leading to more ‘brand love’.
- Perks help commodity-like industries stand out by conferring a (renewed) sense of uniqueness. Adding perks often requires the ability to partner with other products or services, so brands with the best partnering skills—and therefore access to the best exclusive offers—will win.
- Perks, when done well, foster customer loyalty.
- Perks can give you the leading edge when it comes to attracting first-time customers.
- Perks can make for great if not invaluable PR; customers will tell others—perks are excellent conversation starters—while the media (trend watchers included) love a good perk story.
- Perks can help make boring companies (insurance, anyone ...?) interesting again, and thus more desirable.
- Perks can help cultivate more desirable brand perceptions and associations—think anything from showing you actually care about your customers (gasp!) to showing you care about the environment, offering eco-perks.
(www.trendwatching.com/trends/perkonomics/)
As meetings industry professionals, we are used to some of the perks and privileges offered by service providers to the industry - club floor lounges, dedicated check-in lines, special reservation numbers, upgrades, etc. But how well do we use perks and privileges at meetings and events to build loyalty and new customers amongst meeting attendees? The possibilities could be endless in terms of what is offered, and may also be another opportunity to attract sponsors.
This summer at a music festival I attended, they had 'exclusive' parking for Volkswagen drivers - very clever sponsorship on the part of Volkswagen. And although I am not a Volkswagen driver... I still remember the offering, and here I am blogging about it.
What interesting perks and privileges have you offered or are you considering offering at your meetings and events? Add a comment and let me know what you are doing, or are planning on doing in the near future.
Nikki
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