Rethinking Social Rewards for Customers and Employees

The three C's of customer social rewards: Community, Comparison, and Charity.

It’s been said that the greatest gifts are those shared with others. I’ll share a memory with you. In third grade, my classmates had a communal pet. Herman was more than a hermit crab — he was an icon, a mascot, a symbol of our community. One week, as a reward for helping a classmate, I was bestowed the honor of taking Herman home for the weekend. The sense of duty I felt to my classmates was my first palpable sense of social responsibility, and it was, itself, the true reward for my behavior.

Science tells us there is something to this concept of social rewards. Fundamentally, we are wired to connect with others. We are always attuned to our social context. In which group do I belong? What are my peers doing? Am I keeping up with the Joneses? Am I playing a meaningful role in others’ lives? Questions like these drive our behaviors and decision-making — sometimes even without our awareness.

The Value in Brand-Driven Social Rewards

What does this mean for firms? We are all in the business of rewarding positive behaviors. Leaders reward employees for fulfilling company values or for achieving performance goals, typically with financial bonuses. Brands reward customers for their business loyalty, often with transactional discounts.

One recent survey found that 62 percent of consumers, however, don’t feel that companies are doing enough to recognize and reward customer loyalty under current systems. So what if firms oriented to the concept of rewards as fundamentally a social experience?

Counterintuitively, the science of human motivation tells us that rewards aren’t primarily selfish — the most powerful rewards are social in nature. So how can leaders tap into this powerful intrinsic motivator to reward consumers and employees?

The 3 C’s of Integrating Social Rewards

Once you have a grasp on the science behind social rewards, you can strategize how to effectively build social rewards into your own business’s methods of outreach. Try focusing on the three C’s of social rewards:

1. Community

We, humans, are tribal in nature. Consider the social psychology experiment that found fans of a sports team were more likely to help a fellow fan in distress when he was wearing the team’s shirt as opposed to a plain T-shirt.

When consumers connect through shared interests and passion for a brand, they feel validated, reaping both personal and interpersonal rewards. And when large numbers of dedicated followers create a culture of their own, according to consumer loyalty expert Barry Kirk, a cult loyalty begins to develop.

Just look at the vibrant brand following Apple has amassed through simple, subtle social rewards. From standing together in epically long lines for the latest product to low-key signaling with stickers for their cars, Apple loyalists band together with community-based rituals. Brand-specific rituals are shown to encourage habitual product consumption and enhance the community, even in a crowded marketplace.

To foster a rewarding sense of community among your consumers, anchor your brand to a relatable platform based on common emotions, experiences, or interests. Then, draw connections between your brand and consumers by utilizing Facebook plugins to tell them how many of their friends also like your brand.

Finally, create a social currency for users within your community by hosting platforms where content, conversation, and contribution can be freely exchanged.

2. Comparison

As humans, our “status in the pack” is a powerful component of our identity and our level of self-confidence. Behavioral scientists have found that our standing within a community, as well as our quest to advance our position, frequently motivates our actions and decisions.

Companies already capitalize on this innate drive to improve relative standing through employee titles and promotions, status-based advertising, and strategic tiered structures of loyalty reward programs. I don’t really have to attach the Delta Diamond tag to my carry-on, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t recognize the vague sense of superiority its gleaming metallic presence is designed to engender.

In the digital realm, firms can create status-based social rewards through gamification. Snapchat, for example, bestows semi-public markers and emojis to signify relationships between users, as well as the frequency of their interactions.

Status rewards can be intangible as well. The theory of cultural cognizance suggests that super-awareness is the new cultural capital. “Did you read?” is becoming the new “Do you have?” Give your consumers sneak peeks and insider tips so they can be the first to know — and to share — with their peers.

3. Charity

There’s a reason we love giving gifts on birthdays and holidays: Making other people happy feels pretty amazing. In fact, studies have shown that giving to others can be more rewarding than receiving for ourselves.

Giving can also enhance performance, as researchers found sales reps to hit higher targets — and dodgeball players to hit more targets — when they were given cash bonuses to spend on teammates versus on themselves. Companies that offer employees and customers the gift of giving add meaning to their programs, which can engender greater loyalty.

For example, when Southwest Airlines launched a campaign last year matching customer donations to various charities, its customers leapt at the opportunity, donating more than more than 1 million Rapid Rewards points. Another Southwest program allowed Rapid Rewards members to choose specific items to donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities through point donation, adding a boost of personalization and personal meaning.

To give loyal customers this sense of agency in the donation experience, consider offering gift certificates to selection-based charities such as DonorsChoose.org. When consumers get to choose a cause with personal meaning, they feel a greater sense of connection with the donation.

Ultimately, try to develop a marketing platform that centers on corporate and social responsibility — look to TOMS' "One for One" model if you need inspiration. By associating your company with a worthy cause, your customers will feel good about themselves every time they support or engage with your brand.

Social interaction drives human behavior, and social rewards are a key tool for leaders and marketers to leverage.