Tag: Channel Sales Incentives

Setting The Value Proposition of Your Incentive Program – How Much is Enough?

December 9, 2013 by

how much is enoughI recently had a somewhat mundane, yet ironically valuable, experience that highlighted for me the importance of establishing an appropriate value proposition in your customer incentive or channel sales incentive program.  Here’s the story.

I purchased a number of items at a national-chain drugstore that has a loyalty program. After supplying my program ID and checking out, I received a coupon for future use at one of this chain’s stores. I glanced briefly at the coupon and saw that it was of modest value – but still somewhat valuable. So, I filed it away for future use.

Fairly shortly thereafter, I recognized that I needed some additional items, all of which I knew I could obtain at this chain’s stores. I retrieved the coupon and planned a visit to the drugstore. But then other factors intervened.

Specifically, I happened to be passing a discount chain store that also carries the items that I needed. I also knew that, on balance, those items would be a bit cheaper at the chain store. So, I turned into the parking lot, jumped into the store and made my purchase. The drugstore chain had lost my business – at least this time.  And the principal reason why is that the coupon was not of sufficient value to cause me to select its issuer (i.e., the drugstore) over another seller of the same undifferentiated products. The value proposition was simply not strong enough to overcome other factors like convenience and a slightly better price.

Establishing the value proposition is a key consideration in the early stages of incentive program design, as we and our clients seek to allocate the program’s budget. Many times there is a desire to make the program investment more “affordable” by reducing the award value assigned to individual program KPIs. And clearly, there is a balance to be struck between affordability and motivation.

But as you consider your program award rules, please keep in mind two of the best practices that we highlight on our web site:

And then contact us to help you strike the critical balance that will drive your program’s success.

Measuring Success: Sales Incentive Programs and ROI

November 26, 2013 by

Sales incentive programs can be an effective way of generating revenue when implemented correctly.  This can be done for channel sales incentive programs as well as direct sales.  However, it is important to have measurable goals in place prior to the program being launched in order to measure and adjust the program if necessary. This… Read more »

Hiring Your Weaknesses – Relevant to Employee Recognition and Incentive Program Success

October 21, 2013 by

I watched an interview recently of an entrepreneur who started a business based on a very creative and innovative idea, and now, several years later, she is a multi-billionaire.   She talked in the interview about her strengths being creativity and design, as well as never being afraid to try, even if failure was the end… Read more »

Easing Into the Online B2B World: Utilizing Channel Sales Incentive Programs

October 14, 2013 by

A recent posting on the highly useful Marketing Profs newsletter provided some excellent insights into How B2B Commerce is Changing. The article, written by Ayaz Nanji, presents and analyzes the results of a survey of: — how business-to-business (B2B) interactions are changing, — why these changes are occurring, and — the challenges that companies face in… Read more »

Channel Sales Incentives and Free Parking – a Practical Lesson

September 27, 2013 by

Ease-of-use is an oft-cited and arguably overworked term.  But in my experience, ease-of-use can many times facilitate frequent use.  Here’s one example. How often have you set out on a shopping expedition, errand, dining experience, etc., and been frustrated by the inability to find a parking space near your desired destination? Or, if you were… Read more »