Have you ever gone across a "promo" in the supermarket, where a product being sold includes another free product when you buy it? Many consumer goods and services often use this kind of sales and marketing tactic. If you're not familiar with this, this is called incentive marketing. With this strategy, the consumers are offered particular "rewards" when they buy particular goods or services. The main objective of this is to urge the customers to buy an item that's useful to them, while getting an incentive at the same time.

Many costumers find themselves attracted to this marketing tactic, especially if they always keep an eye out for a bargain. For them, it's wonderful to buy the product at that given time because it comes with a free item. They don't mind that it goes against their shopping schedule or their budget. They also think that they will buy it later anyway.

During the whole process, the second target of the incentive strategy is the sales person. Because they are usually given incentives of their own when they reach the required sales quota, they become determined and motivated to prompt customers to buy the products.

Incentive marketing is becoming widespread. There are even reputable institutions that aim to advance the interests of this marketing strategy. One example is the Incentive Marketing Association or IMA. This group is focused on helping people understand the good points of incentive marketing, and how they play an important role in the upward movement of a business, especially in the trade landscape. Groups like the IMA are also very credible and helpful sources of information especially in business development and education.

Incentive marketing groups also help individuals be in touch with one another, as well as let them stay in touch with other companies that also work towards the same marketing goals. These include travel-specialist, marketing and performance improvement companies. They create a contact network that continues to grow.