Are Your Program Communications Driving Growth?

We see a lot of studies around the trends in rewards, and the debate between cash and non-cash rewards. You even see us taking a strong position in favor of points-programs, with the belief that points provide the ultimate choice in rewards.

These are important discussions when it comes to creating the right distributor and customer rewards. But when you’re crafting your programs, there’s one consideration that deserves your full attention: Communications.

The award touches the winners, but the communications can motivate the entire audience, and drive your sales growth.

Communication Is The Key

Purpose-built, targeted program communications drive behavior. Here are a few thoughts on how to leverage communications to your targeted audience to drive sales and purchase activity:

• Develop a theme for your program

• Provide participants with useful information throughout the program

• Launch the effort with an enrollment kit that asks for basic business address information

• Leverage leadership videos to support the program, and media that promotes the awards that participants can win

• Short, reward-based emails with frequency will build interest

• Mobile-first promotions are important for customers on-the-go, like contractors

• Animation in emails or social media are attention grabbers

• Point of sale influences purchase behavior – whether you’re in agencies, big box retail, warehouses or dealerships

• Instant gratification drives growth and loyalty

Who Should You Target?

Almost every organization has a group of sales performers or customers in the top 20%, who continuously and reliably buy or sell for you, and another 20% at the bottom, who tend to be less motivated. The middle, as typically described in our field, is the 60% in between.

We talk a lot in the incentive and loyalty space about targeting growth from the middle, and there’s good logic in that approach. Getting the best from that 60% will typically yield modest per-person gains, but by volume, the collective impact can be significant. And because your top 20% is competitive, they won’t sit idle while a middle performer creeps up on them.

Find The Reps and Customers With The Highest Potential Value.

In the end, doesn’t “the middle” seem a bit vague? Depending on your distributor or customer base, 60% of the audience can be substantial. Can you move them all? Are they all equal? Maybe, maybe not.

Maybe the better term and approach is to motivate your highest “potential value” distributors and customers. They’re probably somewhere in the middle, but knowing what part of the whole middle (see the confusion?) provides potential, can help you pinpoint the performers, and serve as the foundation for a plan to mobilize them on your behalf.

A May 2021 Talend survey of business leaders uncovered that two-thirds report that they use data every day. Yet 78% of these leaders say they face challenges in using their data, and more than a third say they simply aren't using it to make decisions.

Don’t Leave Money On The Table.

With the right data, Next Level Performance can help customers find their highest potential value customers. We’ve helped clients with analyses as simple as identifying the group that has the highest potential to increase purchase volume in a given period, coupled with a look at the likely volume they spend with the competition.

And we’re able to mobilize these high potential value customers through a branded, targeted communications campaign, with points and promotions that matter.

Give Me A Call. I Can Take Your Middle to The Next Level.