You may be wondering, “What is digital incentives?”
Digital incentives are digital content used for sales promotion. For BtoB companies, it can be used to acquire leads in
inbound marketing
.
Here, we will introduce what digital incentives are, examples of them, and points to use.
What is digital incentive? Digital content used for sales promotion
Digital incentives are digital content used in sales promotion activities, and were created about 10 years ago as a campaign that provided free screensavers, wallpapers, ring melodies, etc.
In recent years, gift certificates and coupons from online shops, and limited edition stamps from SNS have also become popular.
Even in BtoB, the use of digital incentives is effective for acquiring leads through inbound marketing.
Specific examples of digital incentives
In the early days, digital incentives were limited to screensavers, wallpapers, and ringtones.
In recent years, the types of digital incentives have expanded significantly to include the following:

●Digital gift certificate
Gift certificates from online shops such as Amazon are a popular digital incentive and are actually very popular among users.
With digital gift certificates, you only need to exchange registered numbers, which eliminates the hassle of producing and shipping paper gift certificates.
It has the advantage that it can be used not only in urban areas but also by people living anywhere.

●Coupon
Coupons are also often used as digital incentives. By issuing coupons that increase the discount rate the more times you purchase a product, you can encourage your customers to repurchase.
In recent years, time-limited coupons such as those offered by restaurants, such as “If you come to the store within the next hour, get half off” have become a hot topic.

●Limited stamp
Limited edition stamps that can be used on SNS etc. also remain very popular. If you give gifts based on the purchase amount, the sense of exclusivity will have the effect of increasing the desire to purchase.

Benefits of digital incentives
The advantages of digital incentives are
1. Acquire new customers
2. It is said that there are two things: nurturing existing customers.

1. Acquire new customers
One of the benefits of digital incentives is that it makes it possible to acquire new customers.
Many customers are wary of products and services they haven’t purchased yet. This is because the feeling of “not wanting to lose” comes into play.
By using digital incentives to provide added value, you can increase the customer’s desire to purchase beyond their fear of losing out.

2. Cultivating existing customers
Digital incentives also have benefits for nurturing existing customers.
By continuously using digital incentives, it is possible to increase
customer loyalty
among existing customers.
If the customer loyalty of existing customers increases, it will lead to the acquisition of new customers by disseminating information on SNS etc.

Points for BtoB companies to use digital incentives
Digital incentives are often used by B2C companies.
Now, let’s take a look at the key points for BtoB companies to use digital incentives.

●Use to acquire prospective customers with inbound marketing
Digital incentives are effective for B2B companies when acquiring potential customers through inbound marketing.
Inbound marketing involves publishing content such as blogs on the web, and instead of marketing that is imposed by companies through advertisements, direct mail, telemarketing, etc. (outbound marketing), marketing that allows customers to find it on their own. I will do it.
The problem here is that even if access to blogs and other sites increases, there are cases where you are unable to acquire potential customers.
In order to acquire potential customers, you must create a system that allows visitors to your blog to enter personal information.
Digital incentives are a powerful way to capture leads.
If you can provide content that is attractive enough to make people want to enter their personal information, blog viewers will enter their personal information and become potential customers.

●Types of content used
It is said that gift-based incentives like BtoC are not appropriate for digital incentives in BtoB.
This is because the majority of potential customers tend to be people who simply want a gift.
In inbound marketing, it is important to provide information that is useful to the other party and make them feel valued, rather than “fishing with things.”
The following are often used to acquire leads in inbound marketing.
・eBook
eBooks provide more detailed content than blogs and are regularly sent out via e-mail newsletters, etc.
・White Paper
A white paper is a white paper with more in-depth content than an eBook, such as survey results.
・Checklist
<br/> It is also recommended that you compile information that blog viewers find useful into a checklist.
・Design template
<br/> This is a template for presentations needed by blog viewers.
・Videos of seminars, case studies, etc.
Providing useful information such as seminars and case studies in videos is also effective in acquiring potential customers.

summary
◆ Digital incentives are digital content used for sales promotion.
◆ It started with screensavers, wallpapers, and ringtones, but gift certificates have become popular in recent years.
◆ The advantage of digital incentives is acquiring new customers and nurturing existing customers.
◆ For BtoB companies, digital incentives can be used to acquire potential customers in inbound marketing.

