What’s at Stake when Your Regional Channel Incentive Programs are not Aligned?

As regional marketing program teams become engrossed in the day-to-day operation of their channel incentive programs, the importance of alignment between teams and best practices are easily overlooked. Depending on how the incentive programs are developed (globally or regionally), they may have nuances due to the geographic and demographic diversity in target markets.

It’s crucial that regional teams overcome these challenges by identifying and implementing best practices. This requires engaging with each other and leveraging ideas about successful operational procedures. Alignment is necessary among regional teams, but also regional to global and vice versa. Only then can a program achieve success, resulting in an increased bottom line for the organization.

Here are 3 key benefits of regional alignment in your channel incentive programs:

• Teams can recognize the complexities in their regional programs. Armed with this insight, they can adjust accordingly and simplify their incentive program requirements and structure, making it easier for partners and internal stakeholders to understand. In addition, the infrastructure required to support it becomes more manageable and straightforward. This provides some form of standardization and consistency across the regions, allowing the global team to seamlessly determine the program metrics and return on investment (ROI) information.
• Working methods vary between regions. Teams that are aligned can leverage each other’s ideas to replicate efficient processes and minimize duplication of efforts. It’s important that this be aligned with global efforts to minimize any disruption in the regional operations. The results are quicker turnaround times for partners to earn their rewards and receive their incentives—which results in increased overall partner satisfaction.
• By sharing lessons learned, teams can gain a solid understanding of the various efforts that support the in-region incentive programs. This enables them to amp up specific marketing tactics or explore new initiatives that have proven successful in driving up program utilization rates in another region. Leveraging the collective experience drives consistency, efficiency, and cost effectiveness.

As you can see, it can be costly to neglect the importance of regional alignment in channel incentive programs. Don’t miss out on the many benefits that your organization reaps from ease-of doing business with its channel. These include increased sales revenue from partners who are kept engaged in their channel incentive programs and gaining top-of-mind awareness for your brand.