Not sure where to begin or how to launch your incentive program? Download the FREE 2014 Recognition and Incentive Campaign Planning Guide for tips and ideas on what types of programs could be right for your business and what time of year to consider implementing. No matter the type of business, type of program, or time of year, the 2014 Planning Guide can help you get started today!

1. How you can use Prepaid Award Cards to reward,
recognize, and motivate employees and customers.
2014
Recognition and Incentive
Planning Guide
Sponsored by smartOne Prepaid
SM

2. Introduction 3
Sales Incentives 4
Motivate the team
Customer Appreciation / Seasonal Gifts 4
Celebrate the holidays
Service Awards / Years of Service Milestone Awards 5
Recognize individuals
Customer Recognition 5
Say thank you
Quality Assurance and Safety Awards 6
Reward excellence
Top Customer Program 6
Loyalty programs can pay off
Spot Awards 7
Great morale boosters
Customer Referral Awards 7
Customer advocacy
Health and Wellness 8
Increase productivity
Customer Rebates 8
Attract new customers
What To Look For 9
What’s inside:

3. This helpful guide is designed to provide you with
ideas about HOW, WHEN and WHICH Incentive
Programs you can create today, to have a positive
impact on your business tomorrow. Plus, you’ll see
how Prepaid Award Cards, also known as Prepaid
Debit Cards, can fulfill your incentive needs.
Incentive Programs can build loyalty within your business, as well as strengthen goodwill with your
customers. Employee and Customer Incentive Programs don’t have to cost your business a ton of
money either, but the better you plan and budget, the more effective your Incentive Program can be.
Prepaid Award Cards offer businesses flexibility and
convenience for their rewards and recognition programs.
3
So when is the best time to start an Incentive Program?
And which programs are right for your business?

4. Sales Incentives
You want to provide motivation for your
sales team or congratulate team members
for achieving sales goals or milestones —
incentives are a great way to do that! And
everyone appreciates a Prepaid Award
Card. Prepaid Cards allow for flexible
rewards, because you can determine the
denomination of each card to fit your
incentive program. Depending on your sales
cycle or when you start planning, you can
hand out your sales incentives at any time
of the year, knowing you’ve already planned
and budgeted for them ahead of time.
Calendar Suggestion: Sales incentives
may be awarded toward the end of the
fiscal year, or after the year has been
“closed.” You can make a big presentation
at a company meeting or use it
as a relationship builder
for managers and team
members when they
hand-deliver the Prepaid
Award Card to top performers.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2014 optimal times to
implement program:
A common misconception many professionals have is that Award
Programs or Incentive Plans are elaborate and pricey. Following is a wide
range of program ideas, with suggestions on optimal times to implement
Incentive Programs for your customers or employees.
Customer Appreciation /
Seasonal Gifts
Think customers tend to return to where they
are most appreciated? You’re on the right
track! Customer appreciation can lead to
customer loyalty, and that can mean repeat and
frequent sales for your business. With Prepaid
Award Cards, it’s easy to design a Customer
Appreciation Program that gives you the
opportunity to communicate with customers
beyond their purchasing interaction, no matter
what the industry. When you create customized,
branded Prepaid Award Cards, your company
logo is viewed every time the card is used!
Calendar Suggestion: Your Customer
Appreciation Program can start at any time, but
we recommend instituting your program at the
beginning of the year. You can mail out Prepaid
Cards for customer birthdays, holidays, or use
them as a thank you on a one-to-one basis. If the
beginning of the year does not work, make sure
you promote the launch of the program
and compare frequency / purchases before
and after it begins.
Sales Incentives
Sales Incentives
Customer
Appreciation /
Seasonal
Customer
Appreciation /
Seasonal
Customer
Appreciation /
Seasonal
4

5. Service Awards / Years of
Service Milestone Awards
Whether it’s rewarding employee
performance or recognizing outstanding
service efforts, employees value an
incentive they can use. While a gift card is
nice, a Prepaid Award Card issued by Visa®
or MasterCard® offers wide acceptance
and spending flexibility so employees
can use it for exactly what they want.
Planning your Employee Service Program
is easy — simply choose the dollar amount
you would like to load onto a Prepaid
Award Card and you can pass the cards
out at a staff event or on the day of their
employment anniversary.
Calendar Suggestion: Your Service
Program can be set up as a quarterly
incentive, or throughout the year as a
motivational tool for your employees.
Years of service can be recognized at
quarterly meetings or at the end of the
fiscal year.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2014 optimal times to
implement program:
Incentive Programs don’t have to be complicated, but they should be
consistent to be most effective. Knowing ahead of time when you plan
to distribute incentives and for what occasions can greatly impact the
success of your incentive initiatives.
Customer Recognition
Customer recognition is easy and can fit any
size business or budget. Imagine if you got a $5
Prepaid Award Card that had a picture of a cup
of coffee on it from your favorite retailer. It’s got
a note that says, “Enjoy a cup of coffee on us …
or whatever you like!” That would be exciting
because you could use the reward for anything
you want, and you would make an instant
positive association with the company that
made the gesture to reward and appreciate
you. But not all prepaid card issuers allow you
to personalize your Award Card, so go with one
that offers card image selection and message
customization!
Calendar Suggestion: If you have customers,
clients or contractors, you can quickly set
up a program that helps you build loyalty
by recognizing the tenure of those who
support your business. Customers value
VIP treatment and recognize when they
receive a genuine reward of appreciation.
You can start this program immediately —
or institute it as you roll into the new year.
Service/
Milestone
Service/
Milestone
Service/
Milestone
Customer
Recognition
5
Customer
Recognition

6. Quality Assurance and
Safety Awards
When your employees exceed quality or
safety standards, reward their hard work
and let them know their dedication is
valued. Industries such as manufacturing,
delivery of goods, installation of hardware,
or any industry with quality and safety
regulations can all take advantage of
safety and quality awards. This can lead to
increased efficiency, productivity, and a
safer work environment.
Calendar Suggestion: Even if you don’t
have your Quality / Safety Award Program
ready at the beginning of the year, you can
implement a new program in the middle of
the year. This provides you the opportunity
to assess benchmarks of where you are and
set goals for where you want to be
by the end of the year.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2014 optimal times to
implement program:
The beauty of Prepaid Award Cards is flexibility — flexibility for your
company to issue incentives anytime and in any denomination, as well as
flexibility for the Award Card recipients (employee or customer) to use
where and when they want.
Top Customer Program
When customers reach a certain purchase level,
or when they reach an exclusive VIP customer
status with your company, you can celebrate
their prestige with a Prepaid Award Card.
Hospitality, manufacturing, technology, virtually
any industry can benefit from a program that
rewards their best customers. And, because
you’ve chose to reward them with a Prepaid
Award Card, they have the flexibility to use it just
about anywhere.
Calendar Suggestion: Many businesses
take advantage of reaching out to and
communicating with their customer base
around holidays. Think creatively to align
your business with a certain celebration
during the year. Whether it’s Valentine’s Day,
Independence Day, or Arbor Day, this can
be a great time to start your Top Customer
Recognition Program. You can tie the program
to any holiday or event, or even create your
very own “Customer Appreciation Month.”
Quality/Safety
Quality/Safety
Top Customer
Top Customer
Top Customer
6

7. Spot Awards
If you have a way to recognize employees
during the day-to-day running of the
business, then you’ve already got a Spot
Award Program in place. Now you can turn
that program (or create a new one) into one
that offers a meaningful and memorable
reward for outstanding production /
performance / service with a Prepaid
Award Card. You can start an “employee
of the month” award or give managers
the authority to recognize employees the
moment something noteworthy happens
on the spot. You may be surprised at how
much your employees will respond to this
program and increase their efforts at work.
Calendar Suggestion: Springtime is a
perfect time to start a Spot Award Program.
No matter where your business is located,
there’s a sense of renewal and rejuvenation
when spring rolls around. So take advantage
of your employees’ re-energized spirits, and
capitalize on their new-found motivation
by handing out recognition everyone will
notice and appreciate.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2014 optimal times to
implement program:
Incentives can give your managers the opportunity to build one-on-one
relationships that go beyond a pat on the back when they use Prepaid
Award Cards as rewards throughout the year — employees and customers
can use Prepaid Cards to get the reward they want.
Customer Referral Awards
A happy customer can be your most powerful
advertising tool. When current customers refer
new customers, reward them for their effort and
advocacy. It’s the perfect opportunity to reinforce
their loyalty through a Referral Program driven
by Prepaid Award Cards. Prepaid Referral
Award Cards are a simple and easy way to build
loyalty and drive new business. An email program
or online form can help you collect names for a
Friends and Family Program, and help you keep
track of customers referring the most business.
Calendar Suggestion: The June / July time
period has been a successful time to implement
this strategy. People are more active and
engaged — you might be surprised how open
they are to the idea! You can create the Friends
and Family Event or for a more B-to-B solution,
you can create a Refer-a-Colleague Program. Or
depending on the seasonality of your business,
it’s especially good to use referral rewards to help
boost business during typically slow months.
7
Customer
Referral
Spot
Spot

8. Health & Wellness
A number of companies today are instituting
health and wellness programs to improve
the general health of their workforce.
When employees meet wellness goals
or to help motivate health achievements,
you can provide rewards through your
Prepaid Award Card Program. Healthier
employees tend to be more productive,
have better work attendance, and have
lower health insurance costs for your
company. You can show that your business
supports the health of your employees by
awarding Prepaid Cards when employees
reach their goals.
Calendar Suggestion: A Health & Wellness
Program that offers Prepaid Award
Cards could be a great way to
improve your workplace. Start
your program in February / March
after the resolutions have been
pledged and keep track of goal
progress throughout the year.
Offering rewards is a great
motivational tool.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2014 optimal times to
implement program:
Every time your customers and employees use the Prepaid Award Card,
they are reminded of where the incentive originated — your company!
The opportunity for “multiple touches” is a benefit from Prepaid Cards not
offered by other incentives or rewards.
Customer Rebates
Rebate Programs are a great way to attract
new customers. Rebates usually revolve around
higher-priced goods, and can work well with
new product launches and sales promotions of
“hot” items. But the most important part of
a successful Rebate Program is the ease of
fulfillment. Prepaid Award Cards can be issued
in the specific rebate amount, and can save your
company time and money — instead of having to
process and send checks, cards can be mailed
directly to your customers.
Calendar Suggestion: While this depends on
your industry and product release schedule,
Spring and Summer are typically good times
for rebate campaigns, particularly for durable
goods sales and new product launches. But
remember, whether you want to launch your
rebate program in Q2 or Q3, the most important
aspect of the Rebate Program is the customer’s
ultimate satisfaction.
8
Health &
Wellness
Health &
Wellness
Customer
Rebates
Customer
Rebates

9. When it comes to Prepaid Award Cards, you have many choices. But to have the strongest impact with your
Incentive Program, here’s what you should be looking for in a provider:
• Card image selection: Want to be remembered as the company or employer who delivered a great reward?
Go with a provider that offers custom images on your Prepaid Award Cards — your card recipients will
remember your business every time they use it.
• Flexible load amounts: The phrase “one size fits all” should not be part of your Incentive Plan. Choose a
provider that allows you to select whatever denomination you want for each of your Prepaid Award Cards.
• Custom messaging: Along with adding your company logo, you should be given the option to add a personal
message to your Prepaid Award Cards. It’s your message — let your brand be heard!
Did you know: Companies with Recognition Programs
have 31% lower voluntary turnover than their peers with
ineffective programs in place.1
In a recent survey, 75% of incentive planners said that
when all factors are considered, including costs, impact
on recipients and outcomes, Prepaid Cards are the
most effective employee rewards they have.2
Creating the most effective incentive program.
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1 Source: http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story jhtml?id=533350829&ss=employee+recognition
2 Source: “State of Gift Card Use in the U.S.” Incentive Research Foundation:
http://theirf.org/Prepaid-Gift-Cards-in-Incentive-Reward-and-Recognition.6087263.html
smartOne PrepaidSM
and the smartOne logo are registered trademarks of Total System Services, Inc. This card is issued by MetaBankTM
, Member FDIC,
pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated. This card is
issued by MetaBank, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.
75 %
of incentive
planners prefer
prepaid cards!
www.smartoneprepaid.com