Use Your Smart Phone to Build Your Award Catalog

I only ask for 5% of revenues when this idea is built.  And it will be.  By me or someone else ‘cuz it’s brilliant, infinitely doable, cool, and did I say brilliant?

But like all great ideas I can’t take full credit.  If it weren’t for @chrisferdinandi and his blog "Go Make Things" I wouldn’t have thought of this the other day.

Chris uncovered an application using QRCodes, built by Tesco Korea (big global grocery company) that is simply brilliant as well.  (I’m using brilliant a lot lately – makes me sound British, no?)  From his blog...

"Tesco recreated an entire grocery store with signage in Korean subways. The layout and items were identical to those in their actual stores. Each item was labeled with a QR code. People waiting for their train could simply scan the QR codes to add items to their list, and have them delivered while they ride the train."

Also on his site is a video of how it works.  It is, have I said, brilliant?

What’s in Your Catalog

So I’m thinking... one of things every incentive company deals with is developing a catalog for award point redemption.  In the past it was paper-based and supported by a big staff of buyers and designers and printers.  Back in the day we'd actually have catalog wars – “mine is bigger than yours” fights and delays in launching to see if we could get a copy of the competitor's catalog and make ours bigger and badder.  We spent a lot of money on those things ($1 Million plus.)  Then the internet came along and everything went online.  Then Amazon.com got in (and then back out quickly) which changed our idea of what “lots of items” meant and now if an incentive company can’t say they have “millions” of items – well – they are just pikers aren't they?

But what if---- what if you could build your own individual and personal catalog simply by using the barcode scanner on your smart phone? 

You can use both QRCodes and Barcodes - there already are apps that scan the barcode and then tell you the price of the item at different stores so this is not a stretch.

Think about it.  Shopping in Kohls and you like that shirt?  Whip out our smart phone – punch the “My Catalog” app and up pops your barcode reader software, takes a picture of the item/bar code and uploads it to your personal online catalog.  As you earn points in your program (and this could be employee, channel or consumer) your app reminds you of what is in your catalog at various point levels and as you hit those levels it asks if you want to order it.  If you say yes... then automagically (I’ll admit I don’t have this all worked out – but hey – I never said it was VC ready) behind the scenes the item is ordered and shipped to your house/work/mistresses' condo. 

So... whadda ya think?  Should I start looking for retirement homes in France?

I know we think autonomy, mastery and purpose are great – but what’s really great is setting goals (internal AND external) and working toward them and receiving the reward WE WANT when we hit those goals.

I think it is brilliant (I know, again.)  But I think chip bag clips are the smartest thing I’ve seen in a while too...

PS... just to be trendy - we could also put a social sharing app in this that let's other people in the program see what you have made public in your catalog so they could add it to their catalog or share info on the item if they already have it (kind of a +1 for awards).  Okay, now maybe it's 10% of revenues. 

Hit me in the comments on via email and let me know when to expect the checks.

 

Comments

[Chris Ferdinandi]

Paul... this idea is, in a word, brilliant!

Seriously, I love it. It makes reward-based systems personal and meaningful. That said, I've always been more a fan of getting cold, hard cash than stuff (because with cash I can buy whatever I want), but I know that's another discussion for another day.

And the built-in social sharing... that's just clutch! Nice work, my friend.

Now, who's going to build this thing?

[Paul Hebert]

Thanks Chris - appreciate the engagement. The cash thing - yeah, we can have the discussion (we all say we want it - but the research says we work harder for other things).

There's a little thing called execution on this that may just get in the way of a great idea :

[Chris Ferdinandi]

Paul,

I recall you citing research on a few occasions about people not working as hard for cash. I wonder if that changes when people have specific things in mind they want to buy with the cash?

For example, I'd rather have cash than a DSLR camera, even though I plan on using my extra bonus cash to buy one. Any thoughts on that?

- Chris

[Paul Hebert]

People still work hard for cash... but...the studies have shown it takes 3 times as much cash than the equivalent in "awards". And - we're happier and more satisfied when we get an award vs. cash.

How can you rather have cash than the camera if you're using the cash for the camera. Isn't it - I'd rather have the camera but I'll take the cash in order to get the camera?

[Trish McFarlane]

Love this type of innovative thinking!