Manufacturers invest a lot in getting their products into the right channels. But once those products reach a dealer network, the brand gives up a significant amount of control over what happens next.
Suddenly, someone outside your organization is responsible for understanding your products, remembering what differentiates them, and recommending them when the right customer walks through the door.
And they may be doing the same thing for dozens of competing brands.
That’s one reason sales performance incentive funds (SPIFFs) have become such a familiar tool. Give retail sales associates a financial incentive to sell a particular product, and you create an immediate reason to prioritize it.
But an incentive alone can only do so much. The bigger opportunity is using the SPIFF to engage dealers more consistently. It can help you build a strategy around the program that reinforces your brand remaining relevant long after the initial announcement.
THE INCENTIVE AS PART OF THE EXPERIENCE
It’s easy to think about a SPIFF primarily in terms of the offer: How much will participants earn? Which products qualify? How long will the promotion run? But also consider why someone would continue paying attention to the program. And consider the experience from the dealer’s perspective.
You’ll want to ensure the program is clearly explained and that registration is easy. Make it very obvious which products qualify and why they are worth recommending. Include a list of useful selling points to use while talking to customers. And ask yourself whether they are being reminded about the opportunity after the program launch.
A SPIFF can have an attractive incentive and still underperform if it isn’t reinforced after launch or the experience around it creates friction. The strongest programs address motivation and engagement.
PRODUCT EDUCATION
A financial reward gives someone a reason to make a sale, but product knowledge helps them make that sale confidently.
Retail sales associates often recommend products among multiple brands that can meet a customer’s needs. If your brand wants to earn the recommendation, the person making it needs to understand why your product is relevant to the customer standing in front of them.
Customers want to know what makes your product different. They’re looking for relevant benefits that matter to them along with proof points to back up the recommendation. And it helps to know which products are right for which customers.
A SPIFF creates a natural opportunity to reinforce those issues. Product education should be built into the communications surrounding it. Use the program to continually give dealers useful information they can apply on the sales floor.
Over time, that familiarity can build something even more valuable: brand preference. When sales associates understand your products and appreciate what makes them different, they will feel confident recommending them. They can become genuine advocates for your brand. And in a competitive retail environment, having an informed, enthusiastic advocate on the sales floor can be a powerful differentiator.
MAINTAIN THE PROGRAM AFTER LAUNCH
Many marketing initiatives receive their greatest communications push at the beginning. There’s the launch email. The sales materials. The landing page. Maybe a kickoff meeting or announcement. Then attention moves elsewhere.
The problem is that your dealers’ attention moves elsewhere, too. Sustained participation requires sustained visibility. You need to create a communications cadence that gives people reasons to keep paying attention.
Remind them about the opportunity and highlight featured products. Reinforce key selling points and share program updates. Give internal sales teams tools to continue the conversation. Use consumer-facing marketing to help create demand that supports what dealers are being asked to sell.
Each touchpoint can reinforce the others. That’s when a collection of promotional tactics starts becoming an integrated dealer engagement strategy.
THINK BEYOND THE SPIFF
The larger lesson extends beyond any single incentive program. Manufacturers that sell through dealers depend on people outside their organizations to represent their brands every day. Yet dealer engagement can easily become transactional. To combat this, communicate when there’s a new product or promotion, or something else the dealer can focus on.
There’s an opportunity to think more broadly.
The goal is to make your brand easier to understand, easier to sell, and easier to remember. That means giving dealers the information they need to better serve their customers. Manufacturers should ensure that sales and marketing efforts reinforce one another, and use it to consistently build familiarity and confidence that make your brand the one they genuinely prefer to recommend.
A SPIFF can provide an ideal moment to put those principles into practice. By making the experience more engaging, educational, and valuable for retail sales associates, manufacturers have an opportunity to build stronger brand relationships.
Manufacturers can potentially turn occasional sellers into enthusiastic brand ambassadors. Because when a sales associate has a genuine preference for your brand, that connection can influence recommendations long after the incentive ends.
Chris K. Bailey is president and CEO of Bailey Brand Consulting.
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