If you really want to motivate people, send them packing.

Everyone loves to travel - especially when the travel is free. And that's what gives incentive travel programs such powerful motivational resonance. Whether it's simple or elaborate, a well-developed program can work to your company's advantage in ways nothing else can. Below, we offer you a simple six-step process to help you put together the most effective incentive travel program you possibly can.

1. Identify your goals

The first step is to determine what you expect to accomplish. Is it your desire to motivate your employees, reward your current customers, attract new ones or increase sales of a particular product or service? It's important to be clear and specific about the desired outcome since it will ultimately help you track the success of your program.

2. Create a plan

Whom are you trying to reach with your program? How long will it run? How will you communicate its value internally and externally? Addressing questions like these at the start of the program is critical to its success.

3. Develop a budget

An incentive travel program doesn't have to cost a lot to generate big results. In fact, many companies simply reallocate inefficient portions of their marketing budgets to fund their programs.

How much are you prepared to spend to accomplish your goals? Clearly, the answer is a major determining factor for the types of travel rewards to which you can commit. TravelPort offers everything from airline tickets and hotel accommodations to our luxurious Pamperings travel packages. Of course, there are other expenses you should factor into your budget beyond the rewards themselves. The following is a recommended allocation of dollars for an effective travel rewards program:

Rewards - 80%
Promotion and communications - 10%
Administration - 5%
Training and research - 5%

4. Select the perfect rewards

TravelPort provides travel rewards of all kinds. Sometimes, offering round-trip air travel may be enough to help you reach your goals. In those instances when you want to make a really dramatic statement, offering something like a lavish Hawaiian or European vacation with Pamperings T packages or a trip to the Singapore F1 or IPL or may be just the ticket. With close to 5 years and 300 client in the incentive travel business, we at TravelPort can help you determine what travel rewards would be most appropriate given your goals and budget.

5. Promote the program

If you want to maximize the results of an incentive travel program, it is imperative that you continuously and systematically stay in touch with your target audience. Use all the tools available to you to spread the word, including direct mail, HTML e-mails, in-house newsletters, outbound telemarketing and more. And don't just pull out all the stops at the launch of the program. Make sure you communicate the results on a regular basis. That's what's going to keep everyone to whom the program is targeted reaching for the stars.

6. Measure the results

Because you established your objectives up-front, it should be relatively easy for you to gauge the effectiveness of your program. Was the target audience motivated by your efforts? Did you see a measurable increase in employee satisfaction? In customer loyalty? In new business? Perhaps most important, by measuring the results of your program you can determine what to do in the future to make it even more effective.

Just remember: effective travel incentive travel programs are TravelPort specialty. Why not let us help you create one of your own!