Sales & Marketing Management
Spiff in a Jiff with American Express Incentive Services
by Rebekah Tsadik
Rewards options are bigger and better with Burlington, Mass.-based Centive, Inc. The company's online sales compensation management system, Compel, is expanding beyond cash through a partnership with Fenton, Mo.-based American Express Incentive Services.
Centive now allows corporate users to thank their employees with a direct spend American Express Persona card, rather than a regular pre-paid card. The cards direct reward spending toward high-end or experiential merchants-Coach, Red Envelope and Disneyland populate the list-and exclude mundane uses like groceries and gas that don't provide the user with "trophy value." The rewards cards are accepted at more than 180 retail, specialty, travel, entertainment and apparel businesses.
"This is a way for sales managers and executives to target tangible rewards that are much more memorable," says Bob Conlin, chief marketing officer at Centive. Cash quickly disappears, but a gift purchased with a rewards card-whether housed in a photo album or the garage-will be remembered. And if that doesn't work, the reward recipient can always read their card, which can be co-branded and personalized with a name or logo.
For Centive and its clients, the change is a welcome addition to their program, as the cost of both cash and noncash awards programs is streamlined into one system. And there's always the name recognition factor. Says Conlin: "American Express is such a strong brand."
