Critical Incentive KPI: Level of Engagement
When dealing with channel partners, engagement serves as a reliable indicator of the number of transactions. As a result, the incentive programs should be designed to drive up the engagement level and interests of channel partners. On average, the top 20% of channel partners bring in 60% of a company’s revenue. And hence, the importance of engagement level as a critical KPI cannot be overstated.
Companies that implement incentive programs focused on driving engagement motivate channel partners to sell more.
Our customer CEAT Group has seen remarkable success with its incentive programs powered. With engagement a core focus of their programs, the company typically registers more than 50 interactions per dealer per month across its partner network of ~4000 dealers.
Leveraging Fielo’s capabilities in the process, CEAT Group made good use of their incentive programs to drive engagement and motivate partners for product purchase. Consequently, the company managed to effectively train more than 2000 partners to resolve all issues related to their product by themselves.
Evidently, the level of engagement is a critical KPI that companies need to focus on when crafting their incentive programs.
So, how do you ensure high levels of engagement with channel partners?
Streamline the program’s onboarding process
On average, 50% of channel partners require as many as ten months or more to work at the required levels of productivity, as their B2B partners take too long to onboard them.
An incentive program with a lengthy onboarding process can end up defeating its own purpose. While the attempt is to ensure channel partners feel comfortable with your product and brand, a sophisticated process can make channel partners lose their interest. This loss of interest quickly translates into low engagement levels.
Designing an easy and comprehensive onboarding process can help companies onboard their channel partners sooner. The idea should be to enable all channel partners to sell and not leave any scope for confusion.
If you set up your partners to engage with you, they are bound to put in their efforts to push your program.
Communicate crucial insights
Consistent communication with channel partners is critical to establishing trust and driving engagement. Upon onboarding, communication becomes imperative to drive partner productivity and prevent stagnance.
Handing over a complex booklet about your product won’t empower channel partners to sell and produce results. Companies need to identify their role in supporting channel partners once they are onboarded. Offering something of high value, including verified leads and product knowledge, can help a special relationship. Also, communicating regularly enables companies to stay on top of the mind with channel partners.
Faster Claims Processing
The role of incentive programs in driving engagement with channel partners cannot be overstated. However, the most carefully crafted incentive programs can lose out on their effectiveness if the incentives are not handed out regularly.
It is critical for the success of an incentive program that the partners understand the process. Also, regularly incentivizing the channel partners is a highly effective way to establish trust and encourage higher productivity. Moreover, if the incentive program is designed to reward partners monthly, it helps drive engagement significantly.
Recognize and Incentivize Behaviours
Recognizing behaviors during the onboarding and disengagement phases of a channel partner’s journey is paramount to maintaining a strong relationship with them. Being attentive to channel partners’ behaviors is the first step to incentivizing their behavior.
Once these behaviors are discerned, incentivizing them will keep a partner engaged and proactive towards your revenue goals. For example, sending out acknowledgment emails/notifications when the partner makes efforts towards the onboarding process will reinforce their commitment towards your company.
When aggregated, your efforts of incentivizing their behaviors will ensure higher engagement to drive your revenue multifold.
Conclusion: Engagement Translates into Consistent Experiences
The advent of digital has transformed buying processes. With multiple avenues to look for information, customers today expect top-notch experiences. As a result, attempting to up the level of engagement with channel partners is absolutely critical since they represent the brand in front of buyers.
Also, growing channel networks have led to companies relinquishing their control over customer experiences. As channel partners continue to be forerunners of the sales process, the risk of even one partner offering an inconsistent experience is too catastrophic to ignore. As a result, continuous engagement with partners to provide them with support and knowledge is indispensable to the success of an incentive program.
You may also like:
- Critical Incentive KPI : Gross Margin to Cost Ratios
- Critical Incentive KPI: Revenue Uplift Driven by Training
- Infographic: Measure Channel Performance
We, at Fielo, ensure that organizations get the best returns out of their incentive programs. Need help driving engagement and scale up your channel sales outreach? We are happy to help.
