Australia | Canada | China | India | Latin America | United Kingdom | United States Targeting High Potential Channel Partners 17 successful Channel Engagement Programs
Targeting High Potential Sales Channel Partners
May 21, 2015
The GOALS of the manufacturer and those of the distribution channel are often at odds.
The channel wants to focus on high-margin products and increase total sales, while manufacturers want channel partners to promote the whole line and increase market share for the manufacturer’s brands.
Channel partners want more autonomy and exclusive access to end users, while manufacturers want more control and their own access to end users.
Partnerships help resolve these issues by enabling both parties to focus on end users’ needs and agreeing on strategies that build shared profit across the entire channel.
Everyone has opinions about how best to segment and target channel partners. Ultimately the goal is dealer, distributor or customer loyalty but getting to that point often requires a variety of strategies.
This chart shows a classic segmentation of dealers or dealer reps:
New or low-performing reps who need simple onboarding strategies to support and engage their efforts.
Lower-middle performers who may need training to find their fit with your brand or products.
Higher-middle performers who have found a way to gain some momentum in your direction and should be rewarded for their efforts.
Retaining top performing reps requires a mixture of all of these strategies, plus a healthy amount of recognition for their efforts.
High performing channel partners demonstrate a variety of characteristics:
They have clearly defined goals for representing your brand and selling your product.
They have the necessary knowledge and skills.
They are aware of how they stack up and how they can improve to meet their goals.
They are emotionally engaged with your brand.
They are focused on the right sales and marketing activities.
They understand the relationship needs to benefit both partners.
But what about the rest of your channel partners? You can reach out to middle performers and get them moving in your direction with a few simple strategies. But it all comes down to sharing common goals for success.
Shared goals can only be accomplished through strong business relationships that demonstrate:
A high level of trust
A common understanding of marketplace issues Joint business activities
Shared resources and best practices
The channel wants to focus on high-margin products and increase total sales, while manufacturers want channel partners to promote the whole line and increase market share for the manufacturer’s brands.
Channel partners want more autonomy and exclusive access to end users, while manufacturers want more control and their own access to end users.
Partnerships help resolve these issues by enabling both parties to focus on end users’ needs and agreeing on strategies that build shared profit across the entire channel.
Everyone has opinions about how best to segment and target channel partners. Ultimately the goal is dealer, distributor or customer loyalty but getting to that point often requires a variety of strategies.
This chart shows a classic segmentation of dealers or dealer reps:
New or low-performing reps who need simple onboarding strategies to support and engage their efforts.
Lower-middle performers who may need training to find their fit with your brand or products.
Higher-middle performers who have found a way to gain some momentum in your direction and should be rewarded for their efforts.
Retaining top performing reps requires a mixture of all of these strategies, plus a healthy amount of recognition for their efforts.
High performing channel partners demonstrate a variety of characteristics:
They have clearly defined goals for representing your brand and selling your product.
They have the necessary knowledge and skills.
They are aware of how they stack up and how they can improve to meet their goals.
They are emotionally engaged with your brand.
They are focused on the right sales and marketing activities.
They understand the relationship needs to benefit both partners.
But what about the rest of your channel partners? You can reach out to middle performers and get them moving in your direction with a few simple strategies. But it all comes down to sharing common goals for success.
Shared goals can only be accomplished through strong business relationships that demonstrate:
A high level of trust
A common understanding of marketplace issues Joint business activities
Shared resources and best practices
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Australia | Canada | China | India | Latin America | United Kingdom | United States
Targeting High Potential
Channel Partners
17 successful Channel Engagement
Programs
BIWORLDWIDE.com | Australia | Canada | China | India | Latin America | United Kingdom | United States
The goals of a manufacturer and a distribution channel are often at odds.
BIWORLDWIDE.com | Australia | Canada | China | India | Latin America | United Kingdom | United States
while manufacturers want the channel partners to promote the entire line of products to increase market share for their brand(s).
The channel wants to focus on high-margin products
BIWORLDWIDE.com | Australia | Canada | China | India | Latin America | United Kingdom | United States
Channel partners want exclusive access to end users.
Manufacturers want more control and their own access to end users.
vs.
BIWORLDWIDE.com | Australia | Canada | China | India | Latin America | United Kingdom | United States
and agreeing on strategies that build shared profit across the entire channel.
Partnerships resolve these issues by enabling both parties to focus on end users’ needs
BIWORLDWIDE.com | Australia | Canada | China | India | Latin America | United Kingdom | United States
Everyone has opinions about how
best to segment and target
channel partners.
BIWORLDWIDE.com | Australia | Canada | China | India | Latin America | United Kingdom | United States
Ultimately the goal is dealer, distributor
or customer loyalty –
but getting to that point often takes a variety of strategies.
Case StudyBeverage
A leading Brewery was searching for a way to engage their distributors to keep their products top of mind. They knew a points-based platform could be the solution they were looking for.
Challenge Establish a points-based program for distributors and their sales teams.
Solution BI WORLDWIDE developed a points-based earning platform that supports incentive programs at the local, regional, and national levels. The points — BI WORLDWIDE’s signature AwardperQs® — can be accumulated and redeemed for everything from concert tickets and vacations to name-brand merchandise.
Within the first 10 months of the launch, 2,500 distributor sales reps had enrolled. Online, the word spread amongst reps with 10,085 total home page views to the program site. And in a day and age where people spend less than one minute on a website, visitors were spending a long time — over six minutes — on the site. 178,900 pages were viewed, driving brand distribution and achieving program goals.
Results
10 months from launch
2,500distributor
sales reps enrolled
©BI WORLDWIDE™ 2012 | reference: beverage2
BIWORLDWIDE.com
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Case StudyManufacturing
As an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of power generation equipment, staying on top meant keeping this company’s work force on top of the latest information, training and resources.
Challenge Engage the distribution channel (Distributors, DSMs, DSRs) of this company to attend its sales conference and learn and apply newly acquired skills and tools.
Solution BI WORLDWIDE (BIW) provided the company’s engineers and speakers with an outline to deliver a consistent and engaging presentation. Adult learning methodologies were used for maximum effectiveness. BIW developed the meeting content strategy, which included pre-meeting challenges for awards, quizzes using Qcard awards and post-meeting learn-and-earn exams to measure knowledge retention. To promote event attendance, attendees were given punch cards in each session. Strong attendance resulted in a sweepstakes opportunity. Finally, BIW secured a motivational speaker to engage participants on an emotional level and reinforce the meeting and learning objectives.
Participation reached an all-time high with 85% of the invitees attending the conference.
Results 85 % of invitees attended
conference
bi worldwide.com
©BI WORLDWIDE™ 2012 | reference: Manufacturing11 ~KV
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Case StudyBeverage
A regional favorite, this beverage company was taking their signature soda nationwide. Utilizing the experience of their bottling reps — to promote the launch of the product into new markets — would have the soda spilling over with success.
Challenge Engage bottling reps to set up displays for the soda brand in retail locations to promote its launch and find a way to improve compliance procedures and measurement to their bottler incentives.
Solution BI WORLDWIDE made the reps a refreshing offer: take a snapshot of the soda display and you could win instantly. Pictures of displays were submitted to the soda company’s regional managers. If the display qualified, managers would send the rep an email with a game code that they entered on the interactive website. Reps had the chance to win one of over 600 instant prizes — including a trip to Las Vegas.
In the first three months of the promotion, 266 unique registrations were made. This added up to 614 new displays for the soda: the caffeine boost it needed to begin its national debut.
Results
©BI WORLDWIDE™ 2012 | reference: food17
BIWORLDWIDE.com
614 NEW DISPLAYS
266 UNIQUE
REGISTRATIONS
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bi worldwide.com
Case Study The Powersport industry experienced significant losses during the Transportation economic downturn. Kawasaki however, saw this as an opportunity to make bold moves forward: unmatched dealer support and incentives, great customer rebates, and a new, robust digital strategy. To continue this excitement live with dealers, Kawasaki partnered with BI WorldWIdE.
Challenge Bring the dealer group together to motivate and inspire them to continue their support and promotion of Kawasaki products.
Solution BI WorldWIdE produced a meeting to tie into the excitement Kawasaki had generated: an in the round staging experience immersed dealers in a powerful product showcase. With over 50 new and existing products, the stage featured four ramps that allowed products to rev into the spotlight with custom music and video. Energy was high with dealers engaged in the non-stop action.
results The show received outstanding reviews. With a record number of orders placed at the meeting, it was clear dealers left understanding the “Kawasaki difference.”
©BI WorldWIdE™ 2011 | reference: transportation6
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Case Study As a tire manufacturer with 525 independent dealers throughout the U.S.—they are one of the largest. Manufacturing But when a surplus of two tire models rolled into the warehouse, they came to BI WORLDWIDE for a solution with some grip to it.
Challenge Develop a sales incentive targeting one of five regions to encourage dealers to purchase the surplus tires.
Solution BI WORLDWIDE developed a 30-day sales incentive promotion to inspire the dealers to buy. Dealers were presented with three levels of rewards, and each level had ten exciting merchandise award options: the more tires they purchased, the higher the level and the more valuable the merchandise award.
Results The participating region saw the Model A tire reach an increase in sales of 24%, and Model B sales increase by 29%. The non-participating regions saw a decrease in Model A tire 5%, and only a 20% increase in sales for Model B. Overall, the participating region saw a 26% rev in sales, whereas the other regions saw a mere 9% increase.
bi worldwide.com
©BI WORLDWIDE® 2011 | reference: manufacturing4
sales up
24%
tire “A” tire “B”
sales up
29%
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©BI WorldWIde™ 2013 | reference: Transportation25
Case StudyTransportation
This world-renowned motorsports manufacturer continues to roll out new, innovative models each year. Developing a brand awareness campaign for each model is critical to the success of each new product introduction.
Challenge Build brand awareness among its dealers and consumers with a collection of branded merchandise that complements the advertising and message of each product.
Solution BI WORLDWIDE managed and hosted a customized branded merchandise website for this manufacturer. Dealers order items via their own inventory system and distribute them to employees and customers at special events or give them as gifts. In addition to the website, BIW also promotes the branded merchandise collection at the dealer convention and in their parts catalog. The manufacturer’s new products have their own unique merchandise to reflect their brand standards with hats, jackets, shirts, accessories and dimensional items with the most popular brands.
The new branded merchandise website’s average advertising recall is 82.6% and creates thousands of impressions daily on each merchandise item.
Results
bi worldwide.com
The NEW branded merchandise website’s
average advertising recall
is 82.6%
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