Getting up close and personal

I welcome Stephen Hardwick’s support in his letter to Marketing Week (May 6) but I am amazed at his faith in vouchers and surprised that his clients are happy to choose from a “menu” of motivation programmes.

Every company has its own unique incentive and performance improvement needs. In order to create the right solution, programmes must be designed according to clients’ individual needs rather than palming them off with a package from a menu. The days when clients had to fit in with suppliers’ product portfolios should be long gone by now.

Until all suppliers of incentive communication and performance improvement schemes learn to provide creative and effective programmes that meet the specific needs of each client, the reputation of our industry creating jollies for the boys will remain.

Stephen Pope

Business development director

The Marketing Services Group

Gloucestershire