Nothing like a great incentive program case study to start the week! This case study is particularly interesting since it demonstrates how, with the right incentive technology, manufacturers can incorporate a dealer incentive program as part of their marketing strategy. In this case, a global manufacturer of wheelchair-accessible vehicles and products used dealer incentives to nearly triple their percentage of warranty registration submissions, from 37% to 92%

Warranty registration submissions? That might not sound as exciting as a raw sales increase, but you have to consider why the manufacturer wanted those warranty registrations…

Can you guess?

OK, I’ll give you a hint: It starts with ‘end user’ and ends with ‘emails.’

Incentive Software Yielded Priceless Marketing Data

In fact, those end user emails were extremely important to our client. Prior to working with us, they already had a dealer incentives program with another company. However, their program was under-performing. Uploading the warranty registrations was cumbersome, dealers had to wait weeks to receive their rewards, and the rewards program they were working with had limited, lackluster reward options.

The instant verification and upload tools and data tracking in Performance Tracking, in conjunction with reloadable debit card rewards, made things easier, instant, and presented a compelling offer. Over the course of the program, 95% of eligible dealers and sales reps participated and 97% of participants reported preference for the new program.

Key Marketing Data Led to New Verticals

Consider all the efforts businesses go to to find new marketing verticals. Many business use automated platforms to discover potential accounts and pay for re-targeted ads with a high rate of failure in the hopes of collecting that kind of marketing data. And those are leads who may not even be in the market for their products or services.

The mobility products manufacturer had other product lines that would be super beneficial to end users who were in the market for wheelchair accessible vehicles: mobility lifts, wheelchair storage products, wheel-lock restraint systems, and transfer seats.

Each of their customers represented a potential vertical. All the manufacturer needed was the means to reach them. That is where a dealer incentive strategy came into play.

Repeat Customers Are the Real MVPs

Additionally, these customers had already purchased from the manufacturer once, making them even more valuable. Consider the following:

• According to the book Marketing Metrics by Paul Farris, repeat customers are 60% to 70% more likely to convert.
• According to the Harvard Business School, repeat customers are more likely to refer your product to a friend and increase their spending with your company over time.

That is also why a loyalty rewards program can be so profitable.

Channel Incentives Make Channel Marketing Great

In addition to its primary goal in regards to gaining key B2C marketing data, this incentive program also doubled as a B2B incentive marketing campaign.

Consider things from the dealer’s perspective. Every time they sold a product from our client and uploaded a warranty, they were rewarded. As conduits to the end costumer that influence purchasing decisions and product visibility, whose product do you think they are more likely to recommend, our client’s or a competitor’s?

These types of brand interactions are essential in channel marketing, creating meaningful business relationships, motivating channel partners, and achieving more visibility throughout your distribution channel. Channel partners are more likely to keep your business top-of-mind when they’re rewarded for doing so.

Run a Results-Driven Dealer Incentive Program

Ready to get these kind of results for yourself? You’re in luck. Extu just released a new e-book. Guide to a Successful Dealer Incentive Program will walk you through how to structure a dealer incentive program, from beginning to end, to help you achieve the kind of results our clients did.