Know your audience
Before developing any incentive, do research with your crew to find out what really interests them. Not all will think retail is their best skill – instead they may have a talent for making announcements, merchandising or connecting with people. Team-based incentives work particularly well. Most importantly, make it relevant to your audience demographic.
Eyes on the prize
A wide selection of prizes, with something for everyone, will help you target more crew and boost results. Think about introducing mini prizes within the main incentive that can be base specific, reflect working patterns or include a specific supplier-sponsored element.
Short and sweet
What time frame works best? The optimal duration is four to eight weeks – any longer and crew tend to lose interest. Shorter incentives are useful if you need to reduce stock or drive a quick uplift in sales. You can also use ad hoc incentives on short shelf-life items to increase sustainability goals.
Grab a gimmick
A theme and a great title are essential – pick something that grabs the attention. Graphics, videos and promotion are so much easier when they have a hook. A link to the season, a play on words or a catchy punchline are all a fun starting point.
Keep it simple
Some of our simplest incentives yield the highest return, like ‘Pluck a Duck’! Crew love this incentive, whether hosted digitally or in person. Simply beat your target, ‘Pluck a Duck’, and with a bit of luck, win an instant prize! Crew take part as a team, engage in the fun, and are rewarded with a potential prize – seeing a work colleague win ensures crew are in the zone to sell more when they embark on their next flight.
Top tips
At the end of your retail training session, include an overview of the current incentive to ensure crew have a full understanding of how they can win an incentive. Do this at the end of the training day just after the recap, so staff leave upbeat and are aware of the benefits on offer. And always make a big deal of previous winners. They deserve it!
Fact file
- Retail inMotion serves over 35 airlines globally, providing onboard retail
- Its retail programmes are powered by its proprietary Vector technology
- Other services include crew training and inflight magazine or menu design
- Incentives reward 1,000s of crew a year and up revenues
