Once upon a time in the heart of a bustling metropolis, there stood a branch of a thriving retail store named “Bright Ideas.” Across the country, the store was known for its friendly staff, quality products and vibrant atmosphere.

Behind the scenes at the corporate office, the store’s CEO, Ms. Diaz, was brainstorming ways to boost sales and motivate her dedicated team of employees. After much contemplation, she decided to launch a retail sales incentive program, but she knew it would take more than just good intentions to make it a success.

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Clarity and vision

Ms. Diaz gathered her regional managers for a meeting and painted a vivid picture of the incentive program’s objectives. She emphasized the importance of increasing sales, enhancing customer satisfaction and fostering a culture of teamwork and excellence across the country. With a clear vision in mind, everyone understood their role in achieving success.

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Structured incentive plan

With the help of her trusted managers, Ms. Diaz meticulously designed the incentive plan. They decided to offer bonuses based on individual and team performance, with targets set for sales volume, customer engagement and product knowledge. The plan was structured yet flexible allowing for adjustments based on seasonal fluctuations and market trends.

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Transparent communication

Communication was key to the success of the incentive program. Ms. Diaz made sure that every employee understood the program’s rules, eligibility criteria and potential rewards. Regular meetings were held in each store to provide updates on progress and address any questions or concerns. Transparency built trust and kept everyone motivated to achieve their targets.

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Learning and development

Recognizing the importance of product knowledge and sales skills, Ms. Diaz invested in comprehensive learning programs for her employees. Sales techniques, product features and customer service were emphasized, equipping the team with the tools they needed to excel. Continuous learning was encouraged, with opportunities for ongoing development and feedback.

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Recognition and celebration

As the incentive program unfolded, Ms. Diaz made sure to celebrate every milestone and achievement. Top performers were publicly recognized and rewarded, boosting morale and inspiring others to strive for excellence. Team outings, bonuses and special incentives were used to show appreciation for their hard work and dedication.

As the months passed, “Bright Ideas” flourished like never before. Sales soared, customer satisfaction reached new heights, and several stores became a beacon of success in their communities. The retail sales incentive program had not only boosted profits but united different teams across the company in a shared mission of excellence and achievement.

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In the end, Ms. Diaz realized that running a successful retail sales incentive program required more than just numbers and metrics—it required passion, vision and a genuine commitment to the success and well-being of her employees. And with those five key ingredients in place, “Bright Ideas” continued to shine brighter than ever before.

Channel programs are integral to the success of many businesses, allowing them to reach broader markets and enhance brand visibility. Incentivizing channel partners further amplifies these efforts, motivating them to drive sales, promote products and foster long-term partnerships. However, the effectiveness of a channel program incentive hinges on careful planning, execution and management.

Here are 10 keys for running a successful channel program incentive:

1. Set clear objectives

Before launching an incentive program, define clear and measurable objectives. Whether it’s increasing sales, expanding market share or launching a new product, ensure that the incentive aligns with your overall business goals. Establish specific targets, timelines and key performance indicators (KPIs) to progress and evaluate success.

2. Understand partner motivations

Take the time to understand what motivates your channel partners. While financial rewards are often effective, other incentives such as recognition, training opportunities or exclusive access to resources can also drive engagement. Tailor the incentive program to align with the needs and preferences of your partners, maximizing their buy-in and participation.

3. Design compelling incentives

Craft incentives that are attractive, achievable and rewarding for channel partners. Consider a mix of monetary rewards, performance-based bonuses, discounts and non-monetary incentives like trips, merchandise or exclusive events. Ensure that the rewards are enticing enough to inspire action without compromising profitability.

4. Communicate effectively

Transparent and consistent communication is key to the success of any incentive program. Clearly outline the program’s rules, eligibility criteria, rewards structure and performance metrics. Provide regular updates, reminders and feedback to keep partners informed and motivated throughout the program duration.

5. Provide training and support

Equip channel partners with the knowledge, tools and resources they need to succeed. Offer training sessions, product demonstrations, sales collateral and marketing materials to empower partners to effectively promote your offerings. Provide ongoing support and guidance to address any challenges or concerns they may encounter.

6. Implement fair and transparent tracking mechanisms

Establish fair and transparent mechanisms for tracking partner performance and eligibility for incentives. Utilize robust reporting tools, dashboards or partner portals to monitor sales activities, track progress towards goals and calculate rewards accurately. Ensure that partners have visibility into their performance metrics and earnings throughout the program.

7. Foster healthy competition

Leverage competition to drive engagement and performance among channel partners. Introduce leaderboards, performance rankings or incentive tiers to recognize top performers and create a sense of friendly rivalry. Encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing while maintaining a supportive and inclusive environment.

8. Evaluate and iterate

Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the incentive program against predefined KPIs and objectives. Solicit feedback from channel partners to identify strengths, areas for improvement and opportunities for refinement. Iterate on the program design, incentive structure or communication strategies based on insights gained to optimize future iterations.

9. Reward and recognize achievement

Celebrate the success of top-performing channel partners and individuals by rewarding their achievements and contributions. Recognize their efforts through public accolades, awards ceremonies or incentive trips to reinforce behavior and motivate continued excellence. Demonstrating appreciation fosters loyalty and strengthens partnerships over time.

10. Cultivate long-term relationships

View the incentive program as a means to cultivate mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with channel partners. Invest in building trust, fostering open communication and delivering value beyond the incentive program. By nurturing strong partnerships, you lay the foundation for sustained growth and success.

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Running a successful channel program incentive requires a strategic approach that encompasses clear objectives, understanding partner motivations, compelling incentives design, effective communication, robust tracking mechanisms, fostering healthy competition, continuous evaluation and nurturing long-term relationships. By implementing these strategies thoughtfully, businesses can maximize partner engagement, drive sales performance and achieve their growth objectives effectively.

Do cash incentives work better than non-cash incentives?

On the surface it’s a relatively simple, straightforward question but in truth, it’s one of the great debates in the field of sales compensation programs — and one that requires a remarkably complex and nuanced answer.

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We recently hosted a webinar on this cash vs. non-cash topic featuring Professor George John from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Over the course of his presentation, Dr. John walked through an academic study that compared the effectiveness of cash compensation versus non-cash incentives in a $700 million business segment. While we won’t go into too much statistical detail (it’s all in the webinar), here is a general overview.

Let’s start with the basics. There are three types of incentive rewards:

• Tangible – Cash in the form of commissions and bonuses, which are tied to some kind of formula based on measured performance.

• Non-cash tangible – Points redeemable for a curated catalog of merchandise or experiences.

• Intangible – Socially-visible recognition in the form of a plaque, photo, company-wide announcement, etc.

For the purpose of his study, Dr. John eliminated intangible rewards to focus solely on cash and points, or combinations of the two. The subject of the study was a Twin Cities-based sales force that sold a national brand of frozen food to grocery stores. Their annual sales were around $700M. The company had an existing merchandise incentive plan based on what they call Ovation Points. Each Ovation Point had a real delivery cost to the company of $3.75. (Keep that figure in mind because we’ll be coming back to it.)

The sales force was rewarded with a mix of Ovation Points and cash bonuses every time they hit a series of three escalating sales targets. According to Dr. John, about 50 years of studies have shown that if you ask a sales person how they would like to be rewarded for increased performance, they nearly always want cash. Here’s Dr. John’s theory:

“Cash rewards are supposed to trump non-cash tangible rewards. Why? Because number one, from an employee standpoint, I can use the cash to do whatever I want. With the non-cash rewards, I’m limited to the items I can get from the catalog. Sure, the catalogs get bigger and there are more items there, but it’s still not as good as cash and that’s where the expression ‘cash is king’ comes from.”

In this particular conjoint study, it was determined through a variety of calculations that the sales force attributed a cash value of 55 cents to each Ovation Point. But if the real cost of an Ovation Point was $3.75, and staff only valued it at 55 cents, what was the point of offering non-cash tangible rewards at all?

This is where mental accounting and mental “buckets” came into play. Again, we’ll let Dr. John explain:

“We don’t look at our benefits or the income we have as a global construct. We actually partition it out into buckets, hence the term, mental accounting. And then we value each bucket and think about our gains and losses, relative to each bucket, before we add it up. Let me give you an example. Right now, the stock market has melted down over the last couple of months so we are painfully aware that our retirement bucket, as distinct from our spending bucket, might be different. Our spending bucket might be driven more by our salary. And as long as I haven’t lost my job, my spending bucket is more or less constant, whereas my retirement bucket just took a hit. That’s an example of different buckets. So how does this apply to our incentive plans? If people see points, those Ovation Points, and cash as different buckets, they might react differently to them.”

And that’s precisely what the study proved by converting the cash + Ovation Points reward structure into a cash-only construct.

Over a period of time, two things happened:

1) Overall sales figures dropped by 4.5% (largely through a reduction in selling effort).

2) The sales force began to view Ovation Points very differently.

When Ovation Points were removed from the equation (without warning or consultation) their perceived value skyrocketed from 55 cents to $5.70! Why? Because they were placed into different mental buckets. Points don’t get placed into the family cash bucket for use on mundane, everyday expenses; they have high discretionary value to be redeemed for wants as opposed to needs.

A final word from Dr. John:

“What’s the takeaway? Tangible non-cash plans are worth the expense — they’re more than worth the expense. Why? Because it capitalizes on our human tendency to employ mental buckets. So how do you leverage this?

Number one, buckets are more likely to be formed when you make your point programs more distinctive. Number two, there is variability across salespeople so try and offer choices, if that’s a possibility. I know that’s complicated; I know it makes administrative life miserable but it is important if we can offer choices, perhaps as a menu of two choices. You can overweight points or you can overweight cash….Try and make them distinctive, try and engage these notions of mental accounting.”

Though many have supported the maxim that cash is king, Dr. George John’s study and webinar demonstrate that to drive business results, the reality is the opposite.

Motivation is a huge factor in generating success from your sales and channel programs. The question is, how do you inspire and cultivate the motivation your sales team needs?

Here are five keys to inspiring and driving motivation in the workplace:

• Set goals.
• Celebrate milestones.
• Provide feedback.
• Use rewards to empower problem-solving and learning.
• Experiment and learn from data.

Knowing these are effective ways to motivate people, how do you put them into motion? Running a sales incentive program is a great way to combine all five of these tools to bring you success.

Turn goals into action.

Sales incentive programs are a great way to bring your sales goals alive. By offering incentives to your sales force in exchange for the completion of specific tasks, you will increase their motivation and give them clear objectives to work toward. Leveraging points-based or non-monetary incentives allows you more flexibility in rules structures (Break the Bank, Do This Get That, etc.) and sales reward options (merchandise, airfare, hotels, experiences, etc.). These types of incentives have been proven to drive greater inspiration and results both with direct sales teams and in the channel space.

Celebrate wins and achievements.

Sales incentives should also build in recognition celebrations when your sales team achieves their goals. Offering incentives with non-monetary awards allows your achievers to choose a reward that’s personally inspiring and something they’re willing to work hard to earn. The power of choice is a big motivator that will help them reach their goals.

Provide impactful feedback.

While positive reinforcement is a solid tool for keeping your sales force motivated and engaged, attaching a little something extra with the praise can amplify the experience. Including a small reward in the form of a merchandise item can get your sales team to stand up and take notice. Positive feedback with something extra helps to show you’re committed to helping them succeed.

Reward problem solving and learning.

Innovation and process improvement are other areas where incentives can spur new thinking in an organization. When your sales team goes the extra mile to solve problems and learn more effective ways to complete their goals, they deserve to be recognized and rewarded for their efforts, as well as empowered to continue moving forward. Streamlining incentives through industry-leading platforms and tools can help make the recognition process seamless for your sales team — and lighten the load for those managing the incentives.

Use data to grow.

Along with rewarding your achievers with award choice and efficiency, you’ll also want to leverage data that allows you to experiment, steer, optimize and learn from your sales incentive program. Use the data you have at various levels to help understand the following:

• Need to know: Basics of engagement i.e., how many people are logging in, how many claims have been submitted, etc.
• Want to know: What levers can I pull to get the most out of my programs?
• Wish to know: Future-oriented i.e., I wish I knew which employees were going to leave, I wish I knew which partners were going to be the best, etc.
• Know that I know: The lessons learned during the analytics process and from the final results can trigger new, often more-focused business questions.

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Motivation is sometimes defined as the general desire or willingness of someone to do something. For some people, motivation comes naturally; it’s intrinsic. For others, it’s extrinsic; they need a little help. If you think of that help as a gentle nudge toward the right destination, the five keys to driving motivation are the road signs that will get them there.

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Design your incentive programs based on the behavioral economics principle of Prospect Theory. If you give a person two equal choices – one telling them how much they will gain and the other telling them how much they will lose – they will choose the winning option, even though it’s the same. Focus on the positive (carrot), not the negative (stick).

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Offer hedonic awards. People love emotional and pleasurable things more than they love cash rewards. Rewards such as travel, merchandise and experiences make people feel good about what they’ve accomplished and have higher efficacy.

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Keep it simple. Running too many incentive programs at once can lead to Tyranny of Choice – people are overwhelmed and frustrated by too many choices.

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Ensure a mix of program structures throughout the year. Many times, incentive programs are ideal for middle performers to help them set goals and stay focused. A mix of program structures will maximize engagement, minimize program overlap and move the middle.

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Focus on your business objectives and/or performance issues. When you can define the objectives or issues you are looking to solve for, you’ll be able to design a program that will influence the desired behavior change from your team.

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Now that you know about these five ways to change behaviors, you’ll need to budget for the incentive programs you will be creating. Incentive program payouts need to be budgeted at levels that are sufficient to grab participants’ attention and achieve your program objectives while also generating an acceptable ROI. Here are some guidelines to help.

• 3-5% of total sales revenue
• 5-10% of incremental sales revenue
• 15-20% of incremental profit

You’ll also need to consider that each program has additional elements beyond the actual rewards such as communications and training. Make sure to make a list of these elements to determine roughly how much of the overall budget should go to each element.

It’s also important to note that these percentages are approximate and will vary based on the programs being designed. Non-reward percentages may be significantly higher for programs with very small budgets and/or small audience sizes.

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Getting the best performance from your teams doesn’t have to be a struggle. Use these behavioral economics principles to change mindsets, and you’re sure to reap the rewards.

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There’s something very authentic and real about the connection created by every individual recognition moment. But with artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly growing and evolving, how do you make sure recognition stays authentic? We don’t expect AI to write evocative, meaningful and celebratory content. But we do expect it to assist in creating something detailed, accurate and relevant.

Impactful recognition has four key facets and while they’re different, humans and AI can play significant roles in all four.

1. Recognition must be timely

AI should be used to alert managers – and potentially employees – when someone could be recognized. This can be because they have made progress toward a goal, accomplished a goal, were recognized by someone else or have not been recognized recently. The human aspect comes in when using common sense – is this the appropriate time to recognize? Or is the recognition coming too early or too late?

2. Recognition must be as specific as possible

Sometimes employees and managers may need a nudge that they should be more detailed when writing their recognition. AI can help with this by alerting the author to be more specific about what they’re recognizing. People can take the prompt and use their creativity to create a more detailed message.

3. Recognition must be personalized

AI can help managers by informing them how their employees like to be recognized, but ultimately, it’s up to the person to use their emotional intelligence to create a recognition moment that is personalized and meaningful to the recipient.

4. Recognition must be comparable to the effort

If an award feels small in comparison to the effort put forth, employees don’t feel valued. AI can suggest appropriate awards based on the type of achievement and size of the goal, but often this is subjective. The sender must ultimately determine what recognition and reward would feel meaningful to the recipient.

A tool like BI WORLDWIDE’s Recognition Assistant helps create meaningful and authentic recognition. This personal recognition assistant includes features that detect biases, translate messages to the recipient’s primary language, correct spelling and grammar and ensure specificity and relevance.

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It’s pivotal to keep the human element instead of automating recognition with AI. Attempting to remove a person from recognition risks a negative impact to a company’s culture and bottom line. And recognition is a deeply personal connection that benefits not only the receiver but also the giver.

Preserving true connections will continue to be the lifeline of an organization.

Surprising and delighting customers and employees can elevate your brand. So can the packaging.

Learn 5 ways to use gifting to inspire your customers and employees.

It’s amazing how many packages the average person receives a year. According to the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index, the average home received 166 packages in 2021. Pitney Bowes also estimates this Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for this index is expected to grow at 5% to 10% a year through 2027. This doesn’t even include packages people receive at work.

BI WORLDWIDE has inspired millions of customers and employees with gifts of appreciation and recognition all over the world. We have decades of experience surprising and delighting people for a wide variety of Fortune 1000 clients. With this abundance of experience and a foundation steeped in the use of behavioral economics principles, we have helped clients by customizing the packaging and presentation to improve results. Here are five key areas you might want to think about for your next appreciation or recognition gifting project.

1. Focus on the behavior you are trying to drive

To effectively drive behavior change you need to focus on milestones or lifecycle touchpoints of the person you are sending something to. Are you rewarding a customer or an employee for being loyal or are you trying to acquire new customers? The packaging should tie into and reflect the behavior you are trying to drive. Here’s an example; If you are trying to acquire a new B2B customer, send a bigger package.

The bigger package accomplishes two things. It’s more likely to get past the administrative gate keeper and the recipient is far more likely to open it. Have you ever received a large package at work that you didn’t open?

2. Make it vivid

This is one of the simplest behavioral economics principles to leverage. The outside of the package is incredibly important when you are trying to surprise and delight somebody. If you are going to reward and recognize someone for being a great customer, a plain vanilla cardboard box doesn’t convey anything other than curiosity. The outside of a package should reflect your brand. Make it interesting, memorable or unique in a way that gets the person excited before they even open it. This also increases the perceived value and importance of what’s in the box. There’s a reason diamond rings come in those coveted, fancy velvet boxes.

3. Make the presentation integral to the message

There is nothing worse than getting a box full of non-environmentally friendly foam packing peanuts. Remember the unboxing experience is almost as important to the recipient as the joy of the gift itself. It is critically important to include a note or a card telling the person why they are receiving this. Tell them they are valued. People will remember you, your company and your message if you speak to them in a personable way. Here’s an example. A colleague of mine once received a gift from an auto manufacturer after they bought their third vehicle from that brand. It was a gift with a nice note explaining how much they appreciate his business. What I’ve noticed is my colleague now speaks about the note and what it said, even more than the gift itself.

4. Make it personal

One important behavioral economics principle of sending a tangible gift to someone is called re-consumption. It basically means that every time the recipient recalls or comes in contact with the gift, they are reminded of why they received it. One of the ways to drive re-consumption even higher is to personalize the gift. There are many simple ways to take a gift and personalize it. Here’s an example. High quality drinkware is always a great surprise and delight gift. One of the ways we personalize drinkware is to send out custom printed coasters with the recipient’s name on them. The person will share those with friends and family forever. Just think, every time they see the drinkware with a personalized coaster, they will be reminded of their connection to you, your message and your company.

5. Don’t fall into the gift card trap

Some companies will send gift cards because they might be easier to administer. However, there is a whole host of reasons why sending gift cards isn’t a good idea. There are several behavioral economics principles that explain why tangible gifts are more effective at driving behavior change. On top of that, CNBC states that almost half of all adults in the US have at least one unused gift card. They go on to state the average unused amount is now at $175 per person, up from $116 a year earlier. It is important to remember why you are sending the gift. You want to build a permanent connection between you and the customer or employee. When you send a gift card you are building a connection between the person and the retailer on the gift card. You, your company and your message are quickly forgotten.

The channel sales process typically involves promoting products and services through the channel partners and paying them when they make a sale. Where you might usually rely on a direct sales force, using a channel to market can pay off big for you. But, along with a possible big return, it can also provide big value for your buyers in the form of independent industry experts.

So what is the best way to maximize your channel and help you hit your sales numbers? Here are four ways you can motivate your channel sales to help deliver results.

1. Make sure your current marketing and sales collateral is up-to-date and easy to digest.

To most effectively utilize your sales channel, you need to make sure they have all the tools they will need to be advocates for your brand. Sales kits for your teams, marketing material for your end users…the most current and understandable information must be available.

Sales tools:

Sales training collateral can speed up growth and ensure your channel partners can intuitively communicate the value proposition of your products and services. Collateral can include competition comparisons, webinars, sales playbooks, customer testimonials and case studies.

Marketing tools:

Marketing helps to secure leads for channel sales. Specific marketing collateral helps to build awareness, but also gives the ability to control the brand message. These are key for manufacturers and vendors in the channel space.

2. Incentives, rewards and recognition help…so use them.

Incentive programs are essential for your sales channel audience. High-value awards will inspire your partners to give you the incremental effort you require. And while many channel sales partners have rewards and incentive programs, it is best to make sure yours are set up correctly to give you the most bang for your buck.

One of the first essentials for channel sales incentive programs are clearly outlined metrics. There needs to be an accurate and agreed upon evaluation of the potential for each sales channel. Understanding the number of possible customers, customer size, revenue potential, etc., are all key in setting up incentive programs.

Making sure the rewards are a fit is also critical. While cash has been a standard motivator, non-monetary awards have been proven to drive incremental revenue at a lower cost than cash. It is key to the success of your incentive/rewards program to ensure communications, tracking, reporting and analytics are set up correctly and understood by all partners in channel sales.

3. Have you communicated? You have? Do some more.

The sales channel is a noisy channel, with many messages vying for top billing and attention. Proper communication can help cut through the static of a busy sales channel. Many factors are at play and can cause difficulty in cross-channel communication. These factors range from consistency of message, availability of audience, or even confusion on the point of contact. Add to the fact that there are multiple stakeholders in channel sales, and while they all generally want the same thing, different organizations represent different perspectives. This can sometimes lead to inconsistent messaging at each stage of the channel.

Similar to when building your incentive and rewards programs, communication should be crystal clear within your channels. Partners should know who they can contact for specific issues. And these key contacts should understand and be a knowledge source for all communication. Also, encourage cross-channel communication with your partners. You can offer this to your distributor’s prospects as a means to help and not a way to take away business. Look for clarity and ease of understanding when putting together your sales channel communications. Other types of communication help can include tehnical support and offering to answer client questions when closing a deal.

4. Cross sell and upsell.

Less is sometimes more. Or better said, put quality over quantity. When looking to help improve your partners to increase sales, focus on improving your existing relationships before going out to attract new ones. Look for ways to make your current partners more effective at selling your services.

An example of how to best do this is when you order fast food. When a fast-food worker asks if you’d like to ‘super-size’ your order, or add fries, a similar technique can be used for add-on sales with your partners. Over time, incremental sales pay off huge at fiscal-end. Ask what you can upsell to your partners that will help you both in the long run.

Channel sales partnerships require time and effort to be truly maximized and are much easier to sell to than starting from scratch.

Key takeaways:

By building the proper groundwork, along with giving the proper time and attention, you can maximize your indirect channel sales partners’ output.

Here’s a recap of our four strategies to increase channel sales:

• Provide all stakeholders with current, easy-to-digest sales and marketing tools.
• Make sure your incentives and rewards are optimized to properly engage and drive the incremental effort/revenue needed to get your results.
• Make your communications simple and easy, and communicate often.
• Grow your current relationships with your partners prior to going to a new audience.

For manufacturing companies, sales partners and distributors are the lifeblood for their products and solutions. Supporting them with training, communications, rewards, recognition and analytics is vital to the relationship. Over the past few years, organizations have evolved their strategies and support to make sure their message and solutions reach the right people.

Here are five current channel marketing trends companies need to be aware of and actively focus on to ensure relevancy and commitment of their channel partners.

1. Strong partner onboarding.

Throughout the past few years, especially given COVID’s impact, organizations have shifted to a strong “Everboarding” experience for new partners, knowing that bringing a new partner on is not just a one-time event. There are critical points in their relationship that should be treated with the same due diligence, care and importance as the first interactions. Finding ways to make sure to always be in front of their partners with key information is necessary, especially with ongoing turnover concerns of partners’ sales teams and Distributor Sales Representatives.

2. Channel partner training.

Although not a new concept, this stems from trying to bring training front and center to the key sellers of products and solutions when they need it, not when it is convenient for a manufacturer. Selling cycles can vary by vertical industry based on seasonality and buying cycles. It’s important to find ways to make training available that fits a seller’s needs just in time versus when it is convenient for the manufacturer.

3. Alignment to ensure mutual success.

Support your partners by showcasing how your success can also benefit their potential in your programs. Manufacturers are beginning to open up selling tools to help clients realize what hitting growth milestones will mean to both of their bottom lines and providing more tools, resources and custom online calculators to help channel partners “own” what their contributions could look like by making simple changes to align each organization’s business goals.

4. Creative incentive strategies and inspirational rewards.

The days of simply matching dollar-for-dollar competitive rebate programs are continuing to evolve and dissolve. Those that are having greater success are implementing different types of incentive solutions and trying new ways to emotionally engage their partners, distributors and sales reps. Post-pandemic, companies that are implementing new solutions involving experiences, travel and unique non-cash rewards are seeing success vs. old-school thinking of “throwing” cash at a problem to help move their products.

5. Providing fresh content and partner communication.

Developing communication streams that can be automated by sales activities and verticals and have specific information that is relevant to the intended target has resulted in an increase in engagement with their intended audience, as opposed to one-size marketing automation.

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What can you be doing with your partners to help ensure these five key trends are accounted for in your go-to-market channel strategies? How can you become a better partner and/or supplier and gain engagement with your channel partners and distributors to take your relationship to the next level?