Use Cases

See how other Rewards Geniuses are using digital rewards to drive their business forward.

Case Studies
Featured

Tango Card acquires GiftCertificates.com

  All of us at Tango Card are thrilled to announce we’ve officially acquired GiftCertificates.com (GC.com). It’s exciting news that makes us even more optimistic for the future of Tango Card. You can read the official announcement here, but for a quick look at the key factors that led to this acquisition, read further.   Factor #1: A Long-Lasting Legacy GC.com was founded in 1997 as one of the first gift-card brand aggregators in the market. Started with the vision to bring together great merchant partners and make them available to consumers and businesses, GC.com built a successful and lasting company that’s taken care of its customers for more than 20 years.   With this acquisition, Tango Card will add hundreds of customers and strategic-merchant relationships as well as an incredibly experienced and passionate team based in Omaha, Nebraska.   Factor #2: An Involved Funding Partner Tango Card raised a round of funding in May 2018 from FTV Capital. This investment was more than just financial—FTV has since become a true partner to Tango Card equally focused in growing our market share in the B2B incentive-and-rewards space. In pursuit of that goal, FTV invested an additional $10 million in capital to help fund this acquisition.   Factor #3: Market Growth The gift-card market has seen tremendous growth in past years—specifically in digital gift cards. Because of this pattern of growth, we believe our delivery platform and digital API can provide additional value to existing GC.com customers and that ultimately, we’ll be able to deliver better service, offer more options, and continue to grow.   We’re excited to bring together Tango Card and GC.com, and we’re as focused as ever on doing a great job for our customers and brand partners. Combined, we now have 130 employees with offices in Seattle, Boise, and Omaha, which means we’re more able than ever to serve your needs.   Press Release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tango-card-acquires-giftcertificatescom-300793615.html Attributed:  Nat Salvione   Tango Card logo:     GiftCertificates.com logo:
Featured

Automate Your Reward Program with Tango Card and Zapier

Building a full API integration isn’t easy when you don’t have a team of developers ready to jump in. But that doesn’t stop you from needing to send digital rewards to your employees, customers, or prospects.   That’s where Zapier comes in—when paired with Rewards Genius, it automates your rewards and incentives program, so you can get rewards out instantly.   What Is Zapier Zapier is a web-based tool that helps users automate workflows by linking more than 1,300 web applications. This enables applications to easily pass information between themselves with workflows called Zaps.   With a Tango Card integration, Zapier can automate the task of sending digital gift cards within your existing workflows and applications. You simply need to use Tango Card’s web app within Zapier—greatly reducing the time it takes to integrate with Tango Card’s API.     How It Works Zapier was built to make integrations easy. Once you’ve signed up for Rewards Genius, you can build your first Zap in four simple steps:   1.    Create a Trigger A Zap is triggered in an initial enterprise application of your choosing. This might look like one of the following examples:   A new contact is created in HubSpot. A user completes a Skilljar course. Someone responds to your SurveyMonkey survey.   2.    Pick an Action With the Tango Card Action, you’ll only have one option: Send reward. This is when you’ll connect your Rewards Genius account to Zapier.   We suggest using a sandbox platform when building your Zap. For your convenience, we’ve created a test platform for you to use:   Platform name: ZapierDemo Platform key: WEzIsMS$j@Rybc?GE?PA&&LUHCcBgG?mQtjd@pRm&ksw   3.    Choose a Reward We recommend using the Reward Link Preferred, which lets recipients choose from dozens of top retail gift cards and comes standard with your Rewards Genius account.   At this step, you’ll also be able to choose which custom email template you’d like rewards sent out on as well as your reward value.   4.    Test and Finalize Send a test email to make sure your integration is configured correctly. If everything goes well, your next step will be to email Tango Cardto get production credentials, turn your Zap on, and start sending rewards.   For more detailed instructions for setting up a Zap, check out our how-to article in the Rewards Genius Help Center.       What’s Next There are a number of popular Zaps that already exist to connect applications like HubSpot, SurveyMonkey, and Salesforce to Tango Card. We recommend using one of these pre-constructed Zaps to get up and running even quicker.   For more information about building your first Zapier integration, check out our webpage or email us.   _____________________   Written by Meagan Sarratt Meagan is Tango Card’s product marketing manager. She helps get the word out about Rewards Genius and why it’s the perfect product for anyone looking to simplify their rewards program.
Consumer Incentives

Quantifying the Power of Rewards in Research

Rewards Genius is the go to incentive provider of many research organizations that offer a full spectrum of quantitative and qualitative research projects. Relying heavily on survey completion and engagement from research participants, they turned to us when their previous reward provider was lacking. Keep reading to see how one organization increased survey participation by 61-80% with e-gift cards and Rewards Genius.   Please share why digital gift cards are valuable to your company.    We use the [gift] cards to incentivize research participants. The digital aspect makes everything easier & faster (especially in comparison to the old school method of fulfillment via snail mail).   Tango Card has made my life easier by taking care of something that was a fairly cumbersome process. This enable me to focus on other initiatives.   How do you work with Tango Card?    We order through Rewards Genius.   Who do you send rewards to and for what reason?    We send rewards to our customers and research participants for payment disbursements.     What kind of rewards do you use?   Gift cards.   Prior to working with Tango Card, how were rewards fulfilled?   We processed and fulfilled rewards/checks/deposits/disbursements ourselves.   Before working with Tango Card, did you experience any challenges?    We spent a lot of time purchasing and fulfilling incentives. Struggled with tracking/handling lost rewards. Customer support for reward recipients was lacking. Program support from reward provider was lacking. Now that you work with Tango Card, what improvements have you experienced?   61-80% reduction in time spent managing/fulfilling rewards. 61-80% increase in desired business result. 0-20% reduction in cost. Happier reward recipients. Rewards delivered faster or more on-time. Better program support from Tango Card.   Written by Kasia McCormick   Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes are German Shepherds and tequila.
Consumer Incentives

E-Gift Cards Are the Best Employee and Customer Gifts

“For the 12th year in a row gift cards are the gift that recipients wish for most.” – National Retail Federation, October 24, 2018.   While the consumers have spoken, we’d like to give you two insights into why e-gift cards make the best gifts for your employees and customers.   E-Gift Cards Are Desirable E-gift cards provide two important things:   Choice—Are you unsure what your employee or customer wants? Let them decide. While a gift card allows a recipient to choose any product a retailer offers, a choice product like the Reward Link goes even further to provide a recipient access to dozens of retail gift cards. Reward Link gives the recipient choice. Seamless recipient experience—Sent straight to email, accessed on a computer or mobile device, easily spent online or in store—e-gift cards meet your recipient where they want to spend, when they want to spend.   E-Gift Cards Are Perfect for Your Organization There are several reasons e-gift cards are the perfect business gift—and why sending them through Rewards Genius makes gifting even easier:   Easy to send—It must be magic the most desirable gift is also the easiest to send, but really it’s genius: Rewards Genius. Rewards Genius is the easiest way to send e-gift cards in our fully tracked, made-for-business portal. Easily customizable—It’s important to feature your company and messaging with your gift. In fact, the majority of people remember how they spent their gift card and associate enjoyment of their purchase with the company or individual that gave it to them. Luckily, e-gift cards present an easy way to add branding and custom messaging, whether you’re sending a few gifts or thousands. Cost effective—Most e-gift cards have no fees associated with them, which means a $25 e-gift card costs $25. Tracking is built in—With the ability to track email delivery, redemption, budgets, and total spending, your finance department has never been happier. Lastly, here’s a few quotes from people that use e-gift cards as gifts:     var protocol = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://"); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + protocol + "www.techvalidate.com/assets/embed.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var tvAsset_BEAEB5631 = new TVAsset(); tvAsset_BEAEB5631.initialize({width: 600, height: 422,'style': 'transparent', 'tvid':'BEAEB5631', 'protocol':document.location.protocol}); tvAsset_BEAEB5631.display(); var protocol = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://"); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + protocol + "www.techvalidate.com/assets/embed.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var tvAsset_F091B4E8C = new TVAsset(); tvAsset_F091B4E8C.initialize({width: 600, height: 422, 'style': 'transparent', 'tvid':'F091B4E8C', 'protocol':document.location.protocol}); tvAsset_F091B4E8C.display(); Visit us to discover how e-gift cards and Rewards Genius can help make your holiday or year-round gift, reward, and incentive programs even stronger.
Consumer Incentives

Size Does Matter: Especially with Rewards and Incentives

As the saying goes, “It’s not the size of the incentive that matters,” oh wait, yes it is!   With 100s of live incentive programs running right now, we have a really killer view into a ton of different incentive strategies to drive business behavior.   I wasn’t sure how to break up this post, so I made a simple matrix for several of our most common types of programs (with desired behaviors) and reward amounts. I filled in the boxes with behaviors and actions:     The general rule of thumb is to match the value of the behavior to the size of the reward. Then simply deliver that reward instantly to maximize impact and keep them coming back.   Size does matter!   Written by Scotty Greenburg   Scotty has been at Tango Card for 4 years in Marketing. Along with the rest of the Tango Card business team, he has helped to create a culture of incentive domain expertise to best support Tango Card’s enterprise reward and incentive customers.
Consumer Incentives

Rewards & Incentives: We’re Built to Love Them

There’s no argument that being rewarded for something typically results in a positive experience especially if the reward is instant and in some form of currency. While this may be obvious to some, the happy feeling that is associated with receiving a reward is more than just that, it’s based on the principle of pleasure.   It’s Science.   So what is pleasure and why does it matter? The nucleus accumbens is the part of the brain where pleasure is created, a process which is also known as the reward circuit. When this part of the brain is triggered by a stimulus, like receiving a reward, it creates a shot of dopamine which is sparked by the neurotransmitters in our brains. The dopamine shot is experienced in a variety of ways which leaves an imprint on our brains reminding us to repeat the behavior that earned the reward.   Anticipation is everything.   Surprisingly, the reward circuit does not activate when a reward is received but when the anticipation of the reward is present. What creates the pleasure-seeking behavior is the desire to alleviate the craving for the dopamine trigger. This means that the brain forms a bond between the external stimulus (rewards) and the internal trigger (behavior) that is associated with the stimulus.     Positive Reinforcement   So now that we understand how our brains process pleasure, how do we reap the benefits of reward impact? From employee engagement, customer engagement/loyalty, referrals, to health and wellness – there’s a lot of room for rewards. Increase your ROI in many areas across the board by offering interesting perks that are simple and cost effective. If you’re interested in implementing digital rewards into your program, please fill out this form for more information.   Written by Kasia McCormick     Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.
Employee Rewards

10 Creative Ideas for Motivating Employees

Organizations with motivated employees succeed. Competition and diverse workforce composition requires building a culture that makes workers feel included and meaningful to the organization. Motivating employees is easy with a little creativity.   We’ve compiled a starter list of 10 ways to reward and recognize employees. Make someone’s day and spread joy with modern rewards and recognition.   Reward and recognize effort, not just performance. Performance is important, but so are behaviors like contributing ideas, collaborating and supporting others. Recognizing this behavior can reinforce and motivate continued effort. Document and share the memories.  Milestones, events achievement deserve to be remembered – and then recognized. Document moments when teams became closer or achieved together. You’ll thank yourself when it comes time to motivate. Let peers nominate other peers for achievements, dedication and hard work. Start a poll and then share the results. Making recognition public multiplies the feel good effect. Say “thank you,” and then say “thank you” again. Be specific. The validation and encouragement you provide is more impactful than most people assume. Connect employees with mentors and other professionals. Career growth ranks consistently as one of the top 3 drivers of employee engagement. Send a small reward with your recognition. Rewards that surprise, and are unexpected are remembered – no matter how big or small. Give them choice in their rewards or give them something they’ll use and love.  Gift cards are a no brainer. Think about their families. Consider rewards that can be given to, or shared with families and friends. Start a sports league or do a wellness activity. Getting active and getting out of the office can be a huge energy and morale booster. It’s an opportunity to bond. Send employees to see their favorite sports teams. Nothing is more exciting Give money towards a vacation. The stipulation? When they get back they have to present to the company on where they went and what they did. Have an idea or recall a reward you received that you loved? Share it in the comments below and stay tuned for more creative ideas!   Written by Scotty Greenburg   Scotty has been at Tango Card for 4 years in Marketing. Along with the rest of the Tango Card business team, he has helped to create a culture of incentive domain expertise to best support Tango Card’s enterprise reward and incentive customers.
Employee Rewards

Why Our Customers Use E-Gift Cards for Employee Rewards

E-gift cards can be used as an incentive for a variety of different use cases ranging from payment disbursements, customer loyalty, referrals, market research, and so much more. A big chunk of our own customers utilize them for employee engagement. These companies use e-gift cards as a reward for employees who complete tasks or behave in a certain way in order to encourage them to participate. Here is a deeper look into why our customers use e-gift cards and how it’s working for them.   They listen to their employees. Many companies rely on feedback from their employees to improve everything from processes to the office break room offerings. They collect feedback anonymously in order to gauge employees’ happiness and feelings about the current work situation in a neutral space where employees can share these thoughts. “They were requested a lot before we integrated. Now people are happy they can spend their funds easily online.” This testimonial is from the CEO of a small business consumer service company who uses digital rewards powered by Tango Card. It’s important for stakeholders to listen and care about the general well-being of their employees, which is easily incentivized when your handing out rewards that are desired. Which brings us to our next point.   They provide a variety of reward options. Although it’s the thought that counts, rewards are not one size fits all. This is especially true when you’re trying to engage the wide range of personality types that are your employees. By acknowledging these differences and giving people the power to choose their own reward custom to their needs, you create a much more impactful experience that leaves a lasting impression for next time.   Employees really like E-Gift Cards. Gift cards, especially e-gift cards, are certainly not new to the incentives game. As far as value goes gift cards have been the #1 wished-for gift in the U.S. for the past nine years, so it’s safe to say handing out gift cards as a reward is appreciated. Combining the power of rewards with a digital option that requires little to no effort operationally is the best way to motivate employees and keep them interested.   In Conclusion   E-gift cards are the best. Our customers use them for employee engagement because they see tangible results that show they really work. 30% of companies have seen an increase in employee engagement by 61-80%, and 25% of companies have seen an 81-100% increase in employee engagement since partnering with Tango Card. There’s a reason why gift cards are the most requested gift year after year!   Interested in learning more about Tango Card and how you can increase your employee engagement numbers with digital rewards? Click here to get started right now!   Written by Kasia McCormick     Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.
Employee Rewards

Employers: How to Stay Cool in a Hot Job-Seeker Market

In a world where hopping from job to job is standard and employees have the option to review the company they work for (or used to work for) online –  it’s important for employers to come up with creative ways to entice prospects and keep current employees engaged.   So as an employer, how do you stand out among the masses while attracting strong talent and keeping current employees happy? Keep reading.   Offer Competitive Compensation This may seem like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised. Sites like Glassdoor and Payscale give job-seekers insight into not only industry standards for compensation and benefits but also give direct insight into your own company’s standards based on reviews from current and former employees. Do the research and be fair when deciding on compensation – it pays off in the long run. Create a Fun Office Culture Compensation is a big piece of staying competitive with other employers, but another consideration is office culture. Snacks, work-sponsored Happy Hour’s, and other seemingly “small” benefits go a long way. In fact, a recent study by Glassdoor reported that 57% of survey respondents said benefits and perks play a major role when they’re deciding to pursue a job offer. Make sure your office has an exciting and inviting culture that even you would like to be a part of.   Gather Feedback The best kind of information comes straight from the source – your current employees. Take the time to sit down one-on-one and listen to what your employees have to say. Some suggestions may be difficult to adopt, but others will be easy fixes that highly improve your employees’ day-to-day office life. Not sure how to gather feedback? Try a platform like TinyPulse – they are experts at gathering anonymous feedback via surveys which result in actionable data that allows you to focus your attention on the important stuff.   Reward & Incentivize So now that you’re compensating well, creating fun office culture, and gathering feedback let’s talk about the next piece to the puzzle – rewards and incentives. Using rewards to encourage a certain behavior is a great way to incentivize employees. We already know that rewards drive results. We recently polled 33 customers and found that 45% of them have increased employee engagement by sending digital rewards powered by Tango Card.  It’s crucial to understand that rewards are not one size fit all.  As far as value goes gift cards have been the #1 wished-for gift in the U.S. for the past nine years, so it’s safe to say handing out gift cards as a reward is appreciated. Combining the power of rewards with a digital option that requires little to no effort operationally is the best way to motivate employees and keep them interested. Are you ready to see where the power of rewards can take you with employee engagement? Click here for more info!   Written by Kasia McCormick   Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes are German Shepherds and tequila.
Employee Rewards

Health and Wellness in the Workplace – A Shifting Industry

Most savvy companies these days know one thing; a proven way to increase productivity is to care about employee’s well-being. This can mean something as simple as offering coffee and snacks, to more extravagant perks like offering dry cleaning, daycare, and an open PTO policy. The need for a Health and Wellness program is worthy of a seat at the table in this conversation. Typically, Health and Wellness can be categorized as your run of the mill weight loss program urging employees to track nutrition and fitness into an app, or implementing a challenge to get people to stop smoking cigarettes. Although these are still important health-conscious decisions to make, Health and Wellness has evolved into dealing with everything from mental health, to the amount of pressure someone is feeling in the work place, to financial health and stability. When an employee experiences a lack of balance with the examples above, it impacts not only their health on a personal level, but also on a work-level.   Unhealthy employees mean more sick time and less focus on the task at hand. This results in a direct hit to the business, which translates into the loss of company dollars. The Global Wellness Institute released a report this past February on “The Future of Wellness at Work” and estimates unhealthy workers cost the U.S. a staggering $2.2 trillion a year in cost. This is a large price to pay for not recognizing the evolving needs of employees.     By acknowledging the shift in Health and Wellness and implementing the proper tools to keep employees healthy in every sense, you decrease costs and increase quality of life. Happy and healthy employees mean more than just getting the job done. They produce longer lasting results with a lower risk of burning out. Offering attractive Health and Wellness programs also appeal to potential employees while on the job hunt as these programs are necessary for staying in the running as a relevant and desired employer.   The growing scope of Health and Wellness may mean more boxes to check off for employers, but the long term results are worth the squeeze. There are plenty of options out there that make it easy for employers to give employees what they need in order to live a healthy, balanced life. Along with some of our favorites, we grabbed a few platforms we’ve heard good things about from SnackNation’s Top 40 List:   Virgin Pulse: Activity, nutrition, sleep, stress, focus, cognition, financial health, personal relationships, philanthropy – whatever helps make them happier human beings, that’s what we care about, and that’s what we support.   RedBrick: Provides technology-enabled enterprise solutions that empower people to adopt better health behaviors and make smarter healthcare decisions. The result? A better return on everyone’s investment in health and well-being.   Maxwell Health: An HR and benefits technology platform and innovative marketplace that combines the management of and enrollment in benefits into one experience: eliminating the hassle of day-to-day benefits administration and providing a beautiful, streamlines experience for employees.   WalkingSpree: Helps companies control health care costs by getting their employees moving. It is our use of technology and success with employee engagement that sets us apart. The WalkingSpree advanced wellness program is a multi-device platform that uses activity trackers to track and record physical activity, and an active social network to keep members motivated and engaged.   Jiff: Your company spends too much on healthcare and gets too little for it. Jiff’s enterprise health benefits platform saves employer’s money by organizing all your vendors, curating the relevant ones for each employee, and incentivizing each employee to use the solutions that will create the most value.   Orriant: Healthcare costs are constantly on the rise, both for businesses and their individual employees. Orriant has worked with many businesses over the years to provide wellness programs to not only store the ride of healthcare costs, but to actually reduce them.   Corporate Health Partners: Your company is unique, so when it comes to wellness planning, CHP does not take a “one size fits all” approach. We’ll implement engaging programs designed to make your employees, and your company, healthier, happier, and more productive.   LifeDojo: Engages employees in a journey of motivation, planning and weekly action that is both scientific and engaging, so you can finally achieve both high participation rates and genuine health behavior change.   Sonic Boom Wellness: Offers inspired corporate wellness solutions designed for maximum engagement. Socially contagious with the widest variety of worksite wellness challenges.   Fitbit: When it comes to reaching your fitness goals, steps are just the beginning. Fitbit tracks every part of your day – including activity, exercise, food, weight and sleep – to help you find your fit, stay motivated, and see how small steps make a big impact.   Vitality: The Vitality wellness program is built to continuously inspire, motivate, and reward employees to live their healthiest life. Vitality members come to know about their current health status, then get going with activities that improve health and lifestyle behaviors and unlock a series of positive rewards.   Written by Kasia McCormick     Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.
Consumer Incentives

E-Gift Cards Are the Best Employee and Customer Gifts

“For the 12th year in a row gift cards are the gift that recipients wish for most.” – National Retail Federation, October 24, 2018.   While the consumers have spoken, we’d like to give you two insights into why e-gift cards make the best gifts for your employees and customers.   E-Gift Cards Are Desirable E-gift cards provide two important things:   Choice—Are you unsure what your employee or customer wants? Let them decide. While a gift card allows a recipient to choose any product a retailer offers, a choice product like the Reward Link goes even further to provide a recipient access to dozens of retail gift cards. Reward Link gives the recipient choice. Seamless recipient experience—Sent straight to email, accessed on a computer or mobile device, easily spent online or in store—e-gift cards meet your recipient where they want to spend, when they want to spend.   E-Gift Cards Are Perfect for Your Organization There are several reasons e-gift cards are the perfect business gift—and why sending them through Rewards Genius makes gifting even easier:   Easy to send—It must be magic the most desirable gift is also the easiest to send, but really it’s genius: Rewards Genius. Rewards Genius is the easiest way to send e-gift cards in our fully tracked, made-for-business portal. Easily customizable—It’s important to feature your company and messaging with your gift. In fact, the majority of people remember how they spent their gift card and associate enjoyment of their purchase with the company or individual that gave it to them. Luckily, e-gift cards present an easy way to add branding and custom messaging, whether you’re sending a few gifts or thousands. Cost effective—Most e-gift cards have no fees associated with them, which means a $25 e-gift card costs $25. Tracking is built in—With the ability to track email delivery, redemption, budgets, and total spending, your finance department has never been happier. Lastly, here’s a few quotes from people that use e-gift cards as gifts:     var protocol = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://"); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + protocol + "www.techvalidate.com/assets/embed.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var tvAsset_BEAEB5631 = new TVAsset(); tvAsset_BEAEB5631.initialize({width: 600, height: 422,'style': 'transparent', 'tvid':'BEAEB5631', 'protocol':document.location.protocol}); tvAsset_BEAEB5631.display(); var protocol = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://"); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + protocol + "www.techvalidate.com/assets/embed.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var tvAsset_F091B4E8C = new TVAsset(); tvAsset_F091B4E8C.initialize({width: 600, height: 422, 'style': 'transparent', 'tvid':'F091B4E8C', 'protocol':document.location.protocol}); tvAsset_F091B4E8C.display(); Visit us to discover how e-gift cards and Rewards Genius can help make your holiday or year-round gift, reward, and incentive programs even stronger.
Consumer Incentives

Size Does Matter: Especially with Rewards and Incentives

As the saying goes, “It’s not the size of the incentive that matters,” oh wait, yes it is!   With 100s of live incentive programs running right now, we have a really killer view into a ton of different incentive strategies to drive business behavior.   I wasn’t sure how to break up this post, so I made a simple matrix for several of our most common types of programs (with desired behaviors) and reward amounts. I filled in the boxes with behaviors and actions:     The general rule of thumb is to match the value of the behavior to the size of the reward. Then simply deliver that reward instantly to maximize impact and keep them coming back.   Size does matter!   Written by Scotty Greenburg   Scotty has been at Tango Card for 4 years in Marketing. Along with the rest of the Tango Card business team, he has helped to create a culture of incentive domain expertise to best support Tango Card’s enterprise reward and incentive customers.
Consumer Incentives

Rewards & Incentives: We’re Built to Love Them

There’s no argument that being rewarded for something typically results in a positive experience especially if the reward is instant and in some form of currency. While this may be obvious to some, the happy feeling that is associated with receiving a reward is more than just that, it’s based on the principle of pleasure.   It’s Science.   So what is pleasure and why does it matter? The nucleus accumbens is the part of the brain where pleasure is created, a process which is also known as the reward circuit. When this part of the brain is triggered by a stimulus, like receiving a reward, it creates a shot of dopamine which is sparked by the neurotransmitters in our brains. The dopamine shot is experienced in a variety of ways which leaves an imprint on our brains reminding us to repeat the behavior that earned the reward.   Anticipation is everything.   Surprisingly, the reward circuit does not activate when a reward is received but when the anticipation of the reward is present. What creates the pleasure-seeking behavior is the desire to alleviate the craving for the dopamine trigger. This means that the brain forms a bond between the external stimulus (rewards) and the internal trigger (behavior) that is associated with the stimulus.     Positive Reinforcement   So now that we understand how our brains process pleasure, how do we reap the benefits of reward impact? From employee engagement, customer engagement/loyalty, referrals, to health and wellness – there’s a lot of room for rewards. Increase your ROI in many areas across the board by offering interesting perks that are simple and cost effective. If you’re interested in implementing digital rewards into your program, please fill out this form for more information.   Written by Kasia McCormick     Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.
Employee Rewards

10 Creative Ideas for Motivating Employees

Organizations with motivated employees succeed. Competition and diverse workforce composition requires building a culture that makes workers feel included and meaningful to the organization. Motivating employees is easy with a little creativity.   We’ve compiled a starter list of 10 ways to reward and recognize employees. Make someone’s day and spread joy with modern rewards and recognition.   Reward and recognize effort, not just performance. Performance is important, but so are behaviors like contributing ideas, collaborating and supporting others. Recognizing this behavior can reinforce and motivate continued effort. Document and share the memories.  Milestones, events achievement deserve to be remembered – and then recognized. Document moments when teams became closer or achieved together. You’ll thank yourself when it comes time to motivate. Let peers nominate other peers for achievements, dedication and hard work. Start a poll and then share the results. Making recognition public multiplies the feel good effect. Say “thank you,” and then say “thank you” again. Be specific. The validation and encouragement you provide is more impactful than most people assume. Connect employees with mentors and other professionals. Career growth ranks consistently as one of the top 3 drivers of employee engagement. Send a small reward with your recognition. Rewards that surprise, and are unexpected are remembered – no matter how big or small. Give them choice in their rewards or give them something they’ll use and love.  Gift cards are a no brainer. Think about their families. Consider rewards that can be given to, or shared with families and friends. Start a sports league or do a wellness activity. Getting active and getting out of the office can be a huge energy and morale booster. It’s an opportunity to bond. Send employees to see their favorite sports teams. Nothing is more exciting Give money towards a vacation. The stipulation? When they get back they have to present to the company on where they went and what they did. Have an idea or recall a reward you received that you loved? Share it in the comments below and stay tuned for more creative ideas!   Written by Scotty Greenburg   Scotty has been at Tango Card for 4 years in Marketing. Along with the rest of the Tango Card business team, he has helped to create a culture of incentive domain expertise to best support Tango Card’s enterprise reward and incentive customers.
Employee Rewards

Why Our Customers Use E-Gift Cards for Employee Rewards

E-gift cards can be used as an incentive for a variety of different use cases ranging from payment disbursements, customer loyalty, referrals, market research, and so much more. A big chunk of our own customers utilize them for employee engagement. These companies use e-gift cards as a reward for employees who complete tasks or behave in a certain way in order to encourage them to participate. Here is a deeper look into why our customers use e-gift cards and how it’s working for them.   They listen to their employees. Many companies rely on feedback from their employees to improve everything from processes to the office break room offerings. They collect feedback anonymously in order to gauge employees’ happiness and feelings about the current work situation in a neutral space where employees can share these thoughts. “They were requested a lot before we integrated. Now people are happy they can spend their funds easily online.” This testimonial is from the CEO of a small business consumer service company who uses digital rewards powered by Tango Card. It’s important for stakeholders to listen and care about the general well-being of their employees, which is easily incentivized when your handing out rewards that are desired. Which brings us to our next point.   They provide a variety of reward options. Although it’s the thought that counts, rewards are not one size fits all. This is especially true when you’re trying to engage the wide range of personality types that are your employees. By acknowledging these differences and giving people the power to choose their own reward custom to their needs, you create a much more impactful experience that leaves a lasting impression for next time.   Employees really like E-Gift Cards. Gift cards, especially e-gift cards, are certainly not new to the incentives game. As far as value goes gift cards have been the #1 wished-for gift in the U.S. for the past nine years, so it’s safe to say handing out gift cards as a reward is appreciated. Combining the power of rewards with a digital option that requires little to no effort operationally is the best way to motivate employees and keep them interested.   In Conclusion   E-gift cards are the best. Our customers use them for employee engagement because they see tangible results that show they really work. 30% of companies have seen an increase in employee engagement by 61-80%, and 25% of companies have seen an 81-100% increase in employee engagement since partnering with Tango Card. There’s a reason why gift cards are the most requested gift year after year!   Interested in learning more about Tango Card and how you can increase your employee engagement numbers with digital rewards? Click here to get started right now!   Written by Kasia McCormick     Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.
Employee Rewards

Employers: How to Stay Cool in a Hot Job-Seeker Market

In a world where hopping from job to job is standard and employees have the option to review the company they work for (or used to work for) online –  it’s important for employers to come up with creative ways to entice prospects and keep current employees engaged.   So as an employer, how do you stand out among the masses while attracting strong talent and keeping current employees happy? Keep reading.   Offer Competitive Compensation This may seem like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised. Sites like Glassdoor and Payscale give job-seekers insight into not only industry standards for compensation and benefits but also give direct insight into your own company’s standards based on reviews from current and former employees. Do the research and be fair when deciding on compensation – it pays off in the long run. Create a Fun Office Culture Compensation is a big piece of staying competitive with other employers, but another consideration is office culture. Snacks, work-sponsored Happy Hour’s, and other seemingly “small” benefits go a long way. In fact, a recent study by Glassdoor reported that 57% of survey respondents said benefits and perks play a major role when they’re deciding to pursue a job offer. Make sure your office has an exciting and inviting culture that even you would like to be a part of.   Gather Feedback The best kind of information comes straight from the source – your current employees. Take the time to sit down one-on-one and listen to what your employees have to say. Some suggestions may be difficult to adopt, but others will be easy fixes that highly improve your employees’ day-to-day office life. Not sure how to gather feedback? Try a platform like TinyPulse – they are experts at gathering anonymous feedback via surveys which result in actionable data that allows you to focus your attention on the important stuff.   Reward & Incentivize So now that you’re compensating well, creating fun office culture, and gathering feedback let’s talk about the next piece to the puzzle – rewards and incentives. Using rewards to encourage a certain behavior is a great way to incentivize employees. We already know that rewards drive results. We recently polled 33 customers and found that 45% of them have increased employee engagement by sending digital rewards powered by Tango Card.  It’s crucial to understand that rewards are not one size fit all.  As far as value goes gift cards have been the #1 wished-for gift in the U.S. for the past nine years, so it’s safe to say handing out gift cards as a reward is appreciated. Combining the power of rewards with a digital option that requires little to no effort operationally is the best way to motivate employees and keep them interested. Are you ready to see where the power of rewards can take you with employee engagement? Click here for more info!   Written by Kasia McCormick   Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes are German Shepherds and tequila.
Employee Rewards

Health and Wellness in the Workplace – A Shifting Industry

Most savvy companies these days know one thing; a proven way to increase productivity is to care about employee’s well-being. This can mean something as simple as offering coffee and snacks, to more extravagant perks like offering dry cleaning, daycare, and an open PTO policy. The need for a Health and Wellness program is worthy of a seat at the table in this conversation. Typically, Health and Wellness can be categorized as your run of the mill weight loss program urging employees to track nutrition and fitness into an app, or implementing a challenge to get people to stop smoking cigarettes. Although these are still important health-conscious decisions to make, Health and Wellness has evolved into dealing with everything from mental health, to the amount of pressure someone is feeling in the work place, to financial health and stability. When an employee experiences a lack of balance with the examples above, it impacts not only their health on a personal level, but also on a work-level.   Unhealthy employees mean more sick time and less focus on the task at hand. This results in a direct hit to the business, which translates into the loss of company dollars. The Global Wellness Institute released a report this past February on “The Future of Wellness at Work” and estimates unhealthy workers cost the U.S. a staggering $2.2 trillion a year in cost. This is a large price to pay for not recognizing the evolving needs of employees.     By acknowledging the shift in Health and Wellness and implementing the proper tools to keep employees healthy in every sense, you decrease costs and increase quality of life. Happy and healthy employees mean more than just getting the job done. They produce longer lasting results with a lower risk of burning out. Offering attractive Health and Wellness programs also appeal to potential employees while on the job hunt as these programs are necessary for staying in the running as a relevant and desired employer.   The growing scope of Health and Wellness may mean more boxes to check off for employers, but the long term results are worth the squeeze. There are plenty of options out there that make it easy for employers to give employees what they need in order to live a healthy, balanced life. Along with some of our favorites, we grabbed a few platforms we’ve heard good things about from SnackNation’s Top 40 List:   Virgin Pulse: Activity, nutrition, sleep, stress, focus, cognition, financial health, personal relationships, philanthropy – whatever helps make them happier human beings, that’s what we care about, and that’s what we support.   RedBrick: Provides technology-enabled enterprise solutions that empower people to adopt better health behaviors and make smarter healthcare decisions. The result? A better return on everyone’s investment in health and well-being.   Maxwell Health: An HR and benefits technology platform and innovative marketplace that combines the management of and enrollment in benefits into one experience: eliminating the hassle of day-to-day benefits administration and providing a beautiful, streamlines experience for employees.   WalkingSpree: Helps companies control health care costs by getting their employees moving. It is our use of technology and success with employee engagement that sets us apart. The WalkingSpree advanced wellness program is a multi-device platform that uses activity trackers to track and record physical activity, and an active social network to keep members motivated and engaged.   Jiff: Your company spends too much on healthcare and gets too little for it. Jiff’s enterprise health benefits platform saves employer’s money by organizing all your vendors, curating the relevant ones for each employee, and incentivizing each employee to use the solutions that will create the most value.   Orriant: Healthcare costs are constantly on the rise, both for businesses and their individual employees. Orriant has worked with many businesses over the years to provide wellness programs to not only store the ride of healthcare costs, but to actually reduce them.   Corporate Health Partners: Your company is unique, so when it comes to wellness planning, CHP does not take a “one size fits all” approach. We’ll implement engaging programs designed to make your employees, and your company, healthier, happier, and more productive.   LifeDojo: Engages employees in a journey of motivation, planning and weekly action that is both scientific and engaging, so you can finally achieve both high participation rates and genuine health behavior change.   Sonic Boom Wellness: Offers inspired corporate wellness solutions designed for maximum engagement. Socially contagious with the widest variety of worksite wellness challenges.   Fitbit: When it comes to reaching your fitness goals, steps are just the beginning. Fitbit tracks every part of your day – including activity, exercise, food, weight and sleep – to help you find your fit, stay motivated, and see how small steps make a big impact.   Vitality: The Vitality wellness program is built to continuously inspire, motivate, and reward employees to live their healthiest life. Vitality members come to know about their current health status, then get going with activities that improve health and lifestyle behaviors and unlock a series of positive rewards.   Written by Kasia McCormick     Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.
Employee Rewards

Employee Engagement: 3 Ways Employee Rewards Drive Results

Only 31.5% of U.S. workers were engaged in their jobs in 2014 (Source: Gallup). The probability is high that this is affecting you and your team’s productivity. There are a number of identified reasons why employees are not engaged with existing viable software solutions. So here we go – let’s talk 3 reasons for poor engagement and solutions that are easier than you think.   Problem: Employees feel out of the loop   Solution: Seek employee feedback. Gathering feedback from your employees is a great way to engage them by giving them an avenue to express their concerns and ideas and including them in planning for the company’s future. But how do you gather this feedback? You ask questions!   TINYPulse is a great engagement platform that sends out a periodical question that employees can answer anonymously. By offering relevant and anonymous surveys, you are able to gather real-time feedback in order to track employee trends and address common employee concerns. Collecting and following through on feedback says a lot about commitment to employee happiness.   Problem: Employees don’t feel appreciated   Solution: Recognize and Reward. Encouraging recognition and rewards to flow from manager to employee and peer to peer is tried and true strategy for making employees feel valuable as well as promoting a happier and more collaborative workplace. The best part is that this can be simple and cost effective. You can choose to do it yourself with a digital gift card provider like Tango Card. Give everyone a small budget and allow them to reward one another with small e-gift cards to say “thanks!” or “good job”.   You can also sign up for a simple office social recognition platform, such as YouEarnedIt, Kudos, and Bonusly. Allow everyone to recognize and reward one another on a common social stream. Given the digital nature of the platform and the rewards, recognition can happen in real time. This makes it possible to bring managers and employees together across multiple offices and departments.   Problem: Employees are unhealthy   Solution: Incentivize employees to make healthy choices. While collecting feedback shows employees you care and recognizing employees makes them feel valuable – health is a key component of engagement and productivity at work.  Implementing a health and wellness program has been proven to create improvements in employees’ physical health, mental health and overall happiness. There are some excellent software choices available these days to help implement and manage an ongoing health and wellness program. Check out a number of platforms here: Health and Wellness – A Shifting Industry.   We’ve seen these tools and techniques increase engagement for hundreds of companies and we strongly suggest taking a new look at engagement among your own employees.   Written by Scotty Greenburg   Scotty has been at Tango Card for 4 years in Marketing. Along with the rest of the Tango Card business team, he has helped to create a culture of incentive domain expertise to best support Tango Card’s enterprise reward and incentive customers.
Consumer Incentives

Driving Results with Referral Rewards

In fact, a recent study from Nielsen found that consumers are 92% more likely to trust recommendations from people they know. From cellphone providers like T-Mobile to companies like Amazon, stakeholders are seeing the importance referrals have in the sales pipeline.     Why referrals work.   A referral is not only a lead but a recommended lead from a trusted source. Referrals take the guesswork away from the consumer, allowing them to depend on the information and quality-of-service promise provided from the customer who referred them.   More referrals, please!   Closing a referred lead is the easy part. The hard part is incentivizing your customers to open up their contact books.   We recently sat down with GuestEngine, a motivation platform for restaurants, which relies heavily on the engagement of their customers. They were looking for an effective solution to engage people in their social referral program and e-gift cards were a no-brainer. The ability to deliver a variety of instant and digital rewards with customer service to support was great, but the 61-80% increase in referrals was even better.   But just how effective can tying incentives with referrals be? We asked 19 companies that utilize our services for referrals and found that over half of them experienced a 61-100% increase in referrals since implementing digital rewards powered by Tango Card. Numbers don’t lie.    Increasing referral rates is easier done with the power of incentive. Get your referral program engine revving today and increase your numbers by checking out www.rewardsgenius.com/form, to get started!   Written by Kasia McCormick     Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.    
Consumer Incentives

Refer-A-Friend Program Increases by 61-80% with Rewards

MileIQ is the leading mileage tracking and logging app that works in the background as you drive. Once MileIQ is installed, your miles are automatically logged and recorded creating a complete record of all your tax deductible and reimbursable mileage. In search of a reward provider to power their Refer-a-Friend program, MileIQ partnered with Tango Card for an API integration that’s saved them countless hours and increased referral rates by 61-80%.   How do you work with Tango Card?    We are integrated with the RaaS API.    Who do you send rewards to and for what reason?   We send rewards for employee engagement and referrals. Users receive $25 when their friends or colleagues upgrade to an annual subscription.    How long did it take to integrate with the RaaS API?   It took 1 month or less to integrate with the RaaS API.   How much time monthly do you spend maintaining your integration with the RaaS API?   About 1 hour of less is spent monthly managing the RaaS API integration.   Please rate the quality of Documentation provided by Tango Card?   The Documentation is good.   Please rate the level of support you received while working with Tango Card?   The level of support provided from Tango Card is excellent.   In regard to managing your program, how much has Tango Card helped with the following since implementation?    Since implementation, we have:   Reduced time spent managing/fulfilling rewards by 81-100% Reduced cost associated with managing/fulfilling rewards by 0-20% Increased referral rates by 61-80% What’s your favorite part of the RaaS API?   Tango Card and the RaaS API are the underpinnings of our Refer-A-Friend program and have made it so much easier to automate the experience for our customers and save our employees time in manual administration. It’s saved us countless hours and made our program far easier to use.   Written by Kasia McCormick   Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.
Consumer Incentives

Quantifying the Power of Rewards in Research

Rewards Genius is the go to incentive provider of many research organizations that offer a full spectrum of quantitative and qualitative research projects. Relying heavily on survey completion and engagement from research participants, they turned to us when their previous reward provider was lacking. Keep reading to see how one organization increased survey participation by 61-80% with e-gift cards and Rewards Genius.   Please share why digital gift cards are valuable to your company.    We use the [gift] cards to incentivize research participants. The digital aspect makes everything easier & faster (especially in comparison to the old school method of fulfillment via snail mail).   Tango Card has made my life easier by taking care of something that was a fairly cumbersome process. This enable me to focus on other initiatives.   How do you work with Tango Card?    We order through Rewards Genius.   Who do you send rewards to and for what reason?    We send rewards to our customers and research participants for payment disbursements.     What kind of rewards do you use?   Gift cards.   Prior to working with Tango Card, how were rewards fulfilled?   We processed and fulfilled rewards/checks/deposits/disbursements ourselves.   Before working with Tango Card, did you experience any challenges?    We spent a lot of time purchasing and fulfilling incentives. Struggled with tracking/handling lost rewards. Customer support for reward recipients was lacking. Program support from reward provider was lacking. Now that you work with Tango Card, what improvements have you experienced?   61-80% reduction in time spent managing/fulfilling rewards. 61-80% increase in desired business result. 0-20% reduction in cost. Happier reward recipients. Rewards delivered faster or more on-time. Better program support from Tango Card.   Written by Kasia McCormick   Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes are German Shepherds and tequila.
Consumer Incentives

E-Gift Cards Are the Best Employee and Customer Gifts

“For the 12th year in a row gift cards are the gift that recipients wish for most.” – National Retail Federation, October 24, 2018.   While the consumers have spoken, we’d like to give you two insights into why e-gift cards make the best gifts for your employees and customers.   E-Gift Cards Are Desirable E-gift cards provide two important things:   Choice—Are you unsure what your employee or customer wants? Let them decide. While a gift card allows a recipient to choose any product a retailer offers, a choice product like the Reward Link goes even further to provide a recipient access to dozens of retail gift cards. Reward Link gives the recipient choice. Seamless recipient experience—Sent straight to email, accessed on a computer or mobile device, easily spent online or in store—e-gift cards meet your recipient where they want to spend, when they want to spend.   E-Gift Cards Are Perfect for Your Organization There are several reasons e-gift cards are the perfect business gift—and why sending them through Rewards Genius makes gifting even easier:   Easy to send—It must be magic the most desirable gift is also the easiest to send, but really it’s genius: Rewards Genius. Rewards Genius is the easiest way to send e-gift cards in our fully tracked, made-for-business portal. Easily customizable—It’s important to feature your company and messaging with your gift. In fact, the majority of people remember how they spent their gift card and associate enjoyment of their purchase with the company or individual that gave it to them. Luckily, e-gift cards present an easy way to add branding and custom messaging, whether you’re sending a few gifts or thousands. Cost effective—Most e-gift cards have no fees associated with them, which means a $25 e-gift card costs $25. Tracking is built in—With the ability to track email delivery, redemption, budgets, and total spending, your finance department has never been happier. Lastly, here’s a few quotes from people that use e-gift cards as gifts:     var protocol = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://"); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + protocol + "www.techvalidate.com/assets/embed.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var tvAsset_BEAEB5631 = new TVAsset(); tvAsset_BEAEB5631.initialize({width: 600, height: 422,'style': 'transparent', 'tvid':'BEAEB5631', 'protocol':document.location.protocol}); tvAsset_BEAEB5631.display(); var protocol = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://" : "http://"); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + protocol + "www.techvalidate.com/assets/embed.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); var tvAsset_F091B4E8C = new TVAsset(); tvAsset_F091B4E8C.initialize({width: 600, height: 422, 'style': 'transparent', 'tvid':'F091B4E8C', 'protocol':document.location.protocol}); tvAsset_F091B4E8C.display(); Visit us to discover how e-gift cards and Rewards Genius can help make your holiday or year-round gift, reward, and incentive programs even stronger.
Consumer Incentives

Size Does Matter: Especially with Rewards and Incentives

As the saying goes, “It’s not the size of the incentive that matters,” oh wait, yes it is!   With 100s of live incentive programs running right now, we have a really killer view into a ton of different incentive strategies to drive business behavior.   I wasn’t sure how to break up this post, so I made a simple matrix for several of our most common types of programs (with desired behaviors) and reward amounts. I filled in the boxes with behaviors and actions:     The general rule of thumb is to match the value of the behavior to the size of the reward. Then simply deliver that reward instantly to maximize impact and keep them coming back.   Size does matter!   Written by Scotty Greenburg   Scotty has been at Tango Card for 4 years in Marketing. Along with the rest of the Tango Card business team, he has helped to create a culture of incentive domain expertise to best support Tango Card’s enterprise reward and incentive customers.
Consumer Incentives

Rewards & Incentives: We’re Built to Love Them

There’s no argument that being rewarded for something typically results in a positive experience especially if the reward is instant and in some form of currency. While this may be obvious to some, the happy feeling that is associated with receiving a reward is more than just that, it’s based on the principle of pleasure.   It’s Science.   So what is pleasure and why does it matter? The nucleus accumbens is the part of the brain where pleasure is created, a process which is also known as the reward circuit. When this part of the brain is triggered by a stimulus, like receiving a reward, it creates a shot of dopamine which is sparked by the neurotransmitters in our brains. The dopamine shot is experienced in a variety of ways which leaves an imprint on our brains reminding us to repeat the behavior that earned the reward.   Anticipation is everything.   Surprisingly, the reward circuit does not activate when a reward is received but when the anticipation of the reward is present. What creates the pleasure-seeking behavior is the desire to alleviate the craving for the dopamine trigger. This means that the brain forms a bond between the external stimulus (rewards) and the internal trigger (behavior) that is associated with the stimulus.     Positive Reinforcement   So now that we understand how our brains process pleasure, how do we reap the benefits of reward impact? From employee engagement, customer engagement/loyalty, referrals, to health and wellness – there’s a lot of room for rewards. Increase your ROI in many areas across the board by offering interesting perks that are simple and cost effective. If you’re interested in implementing digital rewards into your program, please fill out this form for more information.   Written by Kasia McCormick     Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.
Consumer Incentives

Rewarding in the Insurance Space

From automotive to home and life coverage – insurance carriers work hard to make sure customers are not only covered but happy with the services they provide, especially when they need it most. With a handful of policies available to consumers, it’s important for carriers to engage with their customers in a multitude of ways and stand out. Keep reading for real examples of ways insurances carriers engage with customers and drive specific behaviors with rewards.   Safe Driving   Cambridge Mobile Telematics’ DriveWell App In this technology-driven age, most people have a smartphone within arm’s reach at any given moment. This is great for connecting with friends and family, taking care of work tasks while commuting, and keeping up with current events in real time. While smartphone capabilities come with a ton of advantages, the less positive side of the coin is that distracted driving rates are up and higher than ever.   Automotive insurance carriers have the ability to drive certain behaviors with safe-driving applications. A great example of this is Cambridge Mobile Telematics’ DriveWell solution. To them, safe drivers are made, not born. Their mission is to make roads safer around the world by making drivers better. With DriveWell – auto insurers, vehicle fleets, auto makers, wireless carriers and even government agencies benefit from creating safer drivers globally. The impact of this is huge, especially considering over there are over 50 million injuries and crashes caused by automobiles worldwide.   The DriveWell app comes equipped with mobile sensors and uses machine learning to accurately infer key metrics about vehicle mileage, road types, speed, acceleration patterns, phone distraction, and collisions. DriveWell aggregates this data and provides driver/passenger classification, vehicle identification, scoring for both vehicle and driver, personalized feedback, and gamification. The gamification piece is where rewards come in. App users are able to earn points for safe driving and redeem those points for gift cards, instantly. We already know the value of rewarding customers immediately in order to influence behavior, you can read more about that here or here.   Emergency Payouts   Natural disaster strikes when you least expect it. When resources are limited, it’s important to be able to get customers insurance money when they need it. Digital delivery via email allows insurance carriers to immediately send funds to the customer in need. Hotel accommodations, flights, food, and so much more can be provided via e-gift and prepaid cards – helping the victims of natural disaster get back on their feet much faster than waiting for a check to be physically mailed. When disaster hits and customers find themselves lacking resources, digital gift cards are the easiest way to create immediate comfort and getting people back on their feet.   Customer Engagement      Customer engagement goes a long way for influencing behavior and creating happy, long term customers for life. An efficient way to implement a customer engagement program is to research some platforms that do the work for you. Sureify – the global life insurance industry’s leading digital acquisition, policyholder engagement and analytics platform provider – is a great platform to look into. Sureify partners with Tango Card to enable the offering of rewards and incentives to policyholders as part of the engagement portal within the platform. When it comes to customer engagement, e-gift cards are a great way to motivate and retain. One of our own customers even increased customer response rates by 244% with digital rewards.   Written by Kasia McCormick     Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.    
Consumer Incentives

Driving Results with Referral Rewards

In fact, a recent study from Nielsen found that consumers are 92% more likely to trust recommendations from people they know. From cellphone providers like T-Mobile to companies like Amazon, stakeholders are seeing the importance referrals have in the sales pipeline.     Why referrals work.   A referral is not only a lead but a recommended lead from a trusted source. Referrals take the guesswork away from the consumer, allowing them to depend on the information and quality-of-service promise provided from the customer who referred them.   More referrals, please!   Closing a referred lead is the easy part. The hard part is incentivizing your customers to open up their contact books.   We recently sat down with GuestEngine, a motivation platform for restaurants, which relies heavily on the engagement of their customers. They were looking for an effective solution to engage people in their social referral program and e-gift cards were a no-brainer. The ability to deliver a variety of instant and digital rewards with customer service to support was great, but the 61-80% increase in referrals was even better.   But just how effective can tying incentives with referrals be? We asked 19 companies that utilize our services for referrals and found that over half of them experienced a 61-100% increase in referrals since implementing digital rewards powered by Tango Card. Numbers don’t lie.    Increasing referral rates is easier done with the power of incentive. Get your referral program engine revving today and increase your numbers by checking out www.rewardsgenius.com/form, to get started!   Written by Kasia McCormick     Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.    
Consumer Incentives

Refer-A-Friend Program Increases by 61-80% with Rewards

MileIQ is the leading mileage tracking and logging app that works in the background as you drive. Once MileIQ is installed, your miles are automatically logged and recorded creating a complete record of all your tax deductible and reimbursable mileage. In search of a reward provider to power their Refer-a-Friend program, MileIQ partnered with Tango Card for an API integration that’s saved them countless hours and increased referral rates by 61-80%.   How do you work with Tango Card?    We are integrated with the RaaS API.    Who do you send rewards to and for what reason?   We send rewards for employee engagement and referrals. Users receive $25 when their friends or colleagues upgrade to an annual subscription.    How long did it take to integrate with the RaaS API?   It took 1 month or less to integrate with the RaaS API.   How much time monthly do you spend maintaining your integration with the RaaS API?   About 1 hour of less is spent monthly managing the RaaS API integration.   Please rate the quality of Documentation provided by Tango Card?   The Documentation is good.   Please rate the level of support you received while working with Tango Card?   The level of support provided from Tango Card is excellent.   In regard to managing your program, how much has Tango Card helped with the following since implementation?    Since implementation, we have:   Reduced time spent managing/fulfilling rewards by 81-100% Reduced cost associated with managing/fulfilling rewards by 0-20% Increased referral rates by 61-80% What’s your favorite part of the RaaS API?   Tango Card and the RaaS API are the underpinnings of our Refer-A-Friend program and have made it so much easier to automate the experience for our customers and save our employees time in manual administration. It’s saved us countless hours and made our program far easier to use.   Written by Kasia McCormick   Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes re: German Shepherds and tequila.
Consumer Incentives

3 Easy Steps to Revamp Your Rewards Program

“April showers bring May flowers”   Have you heard this well-known expression? Although it pertains mostly to the weather, we couldn’t help but apply it to the concept of rewards and incentives. The idea being, the more you nurture your rewards and incentive program now, the bigger the outcome in the future.   A successful reward and incentive program should be several things: seamless, instant, and diverse. Whether your desired business result is to increase employee engagement, grow referrals, or get more sales – making sure your reward program is set up for success is key. Follow these 3 easy steps and drive results with the power of rewards and incentives.   Step 1: Evaluate current program and determine your desired business result.   Are you looking for ways to incentivize employees to make healthier choices? Or maybe you’re looking for a way to reward customers for providing qualified referrals? The first step is to determine what behavior or action needs to happen in order to drive your business initiative.   Step 2: Decide what kind of rewards/incentives you would like in your program.   There are many ways to reward and incentivize people. From branded swag to company happy hours and gift cards, the options for rewards are endless. The key to a successful program is to determine what kind of rewards or incentives the people receiving them want. We’ve written about the importance of choice here. Did you know 65% of consumers feel an emotional connection to brands? Harness the power of this emotional connection by providing rewards and incentives people actually get excited about. Check out what Rewards Genius has to offer (bonus: you can filter by currency, country, and category).   Step 3: Choose a delivery method that works for your company.    Depending on the demands of your program, choose a reward delivery method that works. We’ve found that instant email delivery is preferred for recipients because they are able to instantly receive their reward. After receiving a reward for doing something, the recipient associates the specific behavior or action that resulted in the reward – which means your program is tied in with that happy feeling. From a hands-off API integration where rewards are automatically delivered in real-time, to a self-serve portal you can log into and send custom rewards on demand, the choice is yours.   Whether your rewards and incentives program is fully up and running, needs some housekeeping, or you’re just getting started and conducting initial research, these steps will help you nurture your program and drive real results. Ready to get started with rewards and incentives powered by Tango Card? Click here.   Written by Kasia McCormick   Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes are German Shepherds and tequila.
Consumer Incentives

The Power of Brand Recognition and Choice in Reward Programs

Rewards are not one size fits all.   This isn’t new news, but it can often times be overlooked. You could argue “I’m giving them a free reward, so who cares what the actual reward is. Free is good enough.” Wrong-o! Everybody is unique in the sense that they have different wants and desires, especially when it comes to retail purchases. That’s why it’s important when you’re using incentives as a reward that your delivering rewards people actually want. Sure, free is good; but imagine how much more impactful it would be receiving a reward you earned and applying it towards something you actually want.   Did you know that 65% of consumers feel an emotion connection to a brand?   Let’s face it, brand recognition plays a huge part in consumer decision making. Companies like Apple or Nike have built empires on branding with easily recognizable logos, color schemes, or even fonts. In doing so, they have created their own currency, or brand currency. These brands are worth something, especially to the people who are emotionally connected and personally identify with them. This worth is an added value, at no cost to you or your program. Utilizing that value to drive results in your own incentive program is a no brainer.   “Digital gift cards allow us to reward our customers in a way that is meaningful for them – by allowing them to purchase things at stores they already go to.” – Sam Charach, CEO, NADAmobile   Impactful experiences are memorable experiences.   When giving recipients a choice of how to spend their gift card, it leads to a satisfying experience that is remembered and associated with the company that delivered the gift card. The positive experience is impactful, bringing recipients back to your program and driving continued program results. We call this the reward cycle, and a commitment to maintaining a desirable catalog is on part of how we help your program sing. Want a full list of our rewards catalog? Check it out here.   Curious how we get these brands to work with us? Here’s our secret; we have a fabulous Partnerships team at Tango Card that works hard to build relationships with these brands in order to make them available in our rewards catalog. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to offer such a great variety of options!   Written by Kasia McCormick   Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes are German Shepherds and tequila.
Consumer Incentives

Rewards & Incentives: What About Tax?

From employee recognition, to customer loyalty, payment disbursement, and referrals – rewards are a great fit for almost every program. Whether you send rewards to an employee or a customer, you are most likely curious how taxes will affect both you and the reward recipient. Like most items of monetary value, gift cards come with rules and regulations in the form of taxes. Here are some frequently asked questions to help start your search:   Are gift cards taxable?   Yes, generally gift cards are considered a taxable income. This taxable income is subject to federal and state income tax withholding, unemployment tax, and FICA taxes. This includes prizes, bonuses, awards, incentives, and rewards.   Are gift cards considered a de minimis fringe benefit if they are under a certain value?   According to the IRS, gift cards that are redeemable for general merchandise or have a cash equivalent value are not de minimis fringe benefits and are taxable. Typically, gift cards do not fall under this category.   What about gift cards gifted to a customer as a “thank-you”?   Gift cards to customers, vendors, and suppliers have their own set of rules. In general, “thank-you” gifts are deductible by a business up to $25 per person. Gift cards are typically not considered taxable income to the recipient, however, every situation is different.   What factors determine whether a gift card is taxable?   Gift Card Amount Gift Card Type – Is it a retail card or a cash equivalent prepaid card? Type of Program – Employee Recognition, Rebates, Customer Loyalty, etc.   Bottom Line:   As you can see, there are many different ways to earn rewards. Whether a reward is taxable or not will depend on the situation at hand. Consult your tax advisor on specifics that apply to your company and program.   Written by Kasia McCormick   Kasia may be a fresh face on the Tango Card marketing team but her background in hospitality and PR make her the total package when it comes to telling Tango Card customers’ stories and organizing our customer advocate program. She also blends perfectly on the marketing team, where the two main themes are German Shepherds and tequila.

Feature Topic: Employee Engagement

Tango Card acquires GiftCertificates.com

  All of us at Tango Card are thrilled to announce we’ve officially acquired GiftCertificates.com (GC.com). It’s exciting news that makes us even more optimistic for the future of Tango Card. You can read the official announcement here, but for a quick look at the key factors that led to this acquisition, read further.   Factor #1: A Long-Lasting Legacy GC.com was founded in 1997 as one of the first gift-card brand aggregators in the market. Started with the vision to bring together great merchant partners and make them available to consumers and businesses, GC.com built a successful and lasting company that’s taken care of its customers for more than 20 years.   With this acquisition, Tango Card will add hundreds of customers and strategic-merchant relationships as well as an incredibly experienced and passionate team based in Omaha, Nebraska.   Factor #2: An Involved Funding Partner Tango Card raised a round of funding in May 2018 from FTV Capital. This investment was more than just financial—FTV has since become a true partner to Tango Card equally focused in growing our market share in the B2B incentive-and-rewards space. In pursuit of that goal, FTV invested an additional $10 million in capital to help fund this acquisition.   Factor #3: Market Growth The gift-card market has seen tremendous growth in past years—specifically in digital gift cards. Because of this pattern of growth, we believe our delivery platform and digital API can provide additional value to existing GC.com customers and that ultimately, we’ll be able to deliver better service, offer more options, and continue to grow.   We’re excited to bring together Tango Card and GC.com, and we’re as focused as ever on doing a great job for our customers and brand partners. Combined, we now have 130 employees with offices in Seattle, Boise, and Omaha, which means we’re more able than ever to serve your needs.   Press Release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tango-card-acquires-giftcertificatescom-300793615.html Attributed:  Nat Salvione   Tango Card logo:     GiftCertificates.com logo: +

Automate Your Reward Program with Tango Card and Zapier

Building a full API integration isn’t easy when you don’t have a team of developers ready to jump in. But that doesn’t stop you from needing to send digital rewards to your employees, customers, or prospects.   That’s where Zapier comes in—when paired with Rewards Genius, it automates your rewards and incentives program, so you can get rewards out instantly.   What Is Zapier Zapier is a web-based tool that helps users automate workflows by linking more than 1,300 web applications. This enables applications to easily pass information between themselves with workflows called Zaps.   With a Tango Card integration, Zapier can automate the task of sending digital gift cards within your existing workflows and applications. You simply need to use Tango Card’s web app within Zapier—greatly reducing the time it takes to integrate with Tango Card’s API.     How It Works Zapier was built to make integrations easy. Once you’ve signed up for Rewards Genius, you can build your first Zap in four simple steps:   1.    Create a Trigger A Zap is triggered in an initial enterprise application of your choosing. This might look like one of the following examples:   A new contact is created in HubSpot. A user completes a Skilljar course. Someone responds to your SurveyMonkey survey.   2.    Pick an Action With the Tango Card Action, you’ll only have one option: Send reward. This is when you’ll connect your Rewards Genius account to Zapier.   We suggest using a sandbox platform when building your Zap. For your convenience, we’ve created a test platform for you to use:   Platform name: ZapierDemo Platform key: WEzIsMS$j@Rybc?GE?PA&&LUHCcBgG?mQtjd@pRm&ksw   3.    Choose a Reward We recommend using the Reward Link Preferred, which lets recipients choose from dozens of top retail gift cards and comes standard with your Rewards Genius account.   At this step, you’ll also be able to choose which custom email template you’d like rewards sent out on as well as your reward value.   4.    Test and Finalize Send a test email to make sure your integration is configured correctly. If everything goes well, your next step will be to email Tango Cardto get production credentials, turn your Zap on, and start sending rewards.   For more detailed instructions for setting up a Zap, check out our how-to article in the Rewards Genius Help Center.       What’s Next There are a number of popular Zaps that already exist to connect applications like HubSpot, SurveyMonkey, and Salesforce to Tango Card. We recommend using one of these pre-constructed Zaps to get up and running even quicker.   For more information about building your first Zapier integration, check out our webpage or email us.   _____________________   Written by Meagan Sarratt Meagan is Tango Card’s product marketing manager. She helps get the word out about Rewards Genius and why it’s the perfect product for anyone looking to simplify their rewards program. +