“Likeable” isn’t good enough for channel programs anymore. It won’t deliver the performance you need, the brand visibility you want or the revenue your program was created to grow. Likable channel programs get lukewarm engagement from partners. Loveable channel programs break records and boost loyalty.
For partners to genuinely love your program and see it as “the best,” your focus needs to be on enhancing the five elements that matter most to them (plus, these are the same elements they’ll use to score you against competitors).
How Do Channel Partners Define "The Best"
As part of a recent Insights Study, we investigated how partners define their best and most loved incentive program experiences. Participants shared a crystal-clear picture of what their favorite programs do right, including the five features that prompt head-over-heel engagement. Here’s how they said you can be the best:
1. Offer "Worth It!" Rewards
Program members say the value of rewards is the most compelling aspect of their favorite incentive programs. To gauge reward value, partners do two things. First, they consider the worth of the reward itself (how valuable is this intangible or tangible thing?). Second, they weigh the effort required to reach their ideal outcome (is the outcome worth the investment?).
This mental cost-benefit analysis results from a psychological phenomenon called social exchange theory: If working toward a benefit will cost more than it’s worth, people won’t act. This means that if you’re asking participants to hit aggressive stretch goals or take on difficult, business-critical tasks, the reward must match the effort. A high barrier to achievement requires a high-value payout that makes the challenge feel worthwhile. Otherwise, engagement will suffer.
This is why your rewards and rule structures must be designed to work together. Compelling rewards are a selling point, but fair and clear earning rules are how you close the deal on engagement. When your incentive program stands on its promise to deliver valuable rewards in exchange for valuable results, you become a partner favorite.
2. Be Their (Reward) Type
Our study found that 36% of partners have disengaged from a program because the rewards weren’t appealing. When incentive options don’t align with personal preferences or provide enough earning flexibility, they lose their impact.
To keep engagement high, programs should pair partners’ favorite reward types with strategies that enhance the overall reward experience.
Channel Partners’ Favorite Reward Types
To find out, we asked our study participants to rank a selection of typical program rewards based on their appeal. These are the four most compelling reward types according to them:
- Reward currency or points
- Individual travel (e.g., certificates for flights, hotels, car rentals)
- Group travel (including hosts, transportation, lodging, activities)
- Gift cards/certificates
Tips to Enhance Reward Experiences
What other themes of the reward experiences make programs loveable? We asked channel partners to imagine that they could design the incentives and rewards in their ideal program, and these are the most popular wants:
- Variety & Choice: A broad range of rewards to cater to diverse interests.
- Customization & Relevance: Rewards tailored to individual motivations.
- Tangible & Intangible Benefits: Both material rewards (e.g., money, trips) and non-material rewards (e.g., recognition, skill development).
- Partners said: “Give options, please, not a one-size-fits-all solution.”
Partners appreciate a mix of tangible and intangible reward types. The motivational power of these rewards is even more significant when they’re personally meaningful. Curate a selection of partners’ top-ranked reward types and incorporate the variety and choice partners want.
3. Invest in Seller Success
TIP: Make Your Program a Professional AND Personal Advantage.
Empower your program members beyond brand-specific resources. Helping them evolve as sellers, not just as channel partners, lays the groundwork for loyalty. Career development resources include email marketing best practices, leadership guides, deal-closing insights and more.
4. Make It Easy to Engage
Partners are enrolled in an average of 8.9 programs at a time, so they don’t have to settle for confusing or overly complicated program experiences. To be the first choice, you need to create a journey where partners are confident about what to do, when to do it and how they benefit. When steps to success are clear, the perks of participating sell themselves.
Your earning rules have a huge impact on participation. Depending on your program design, they can present reward opportunities that successfully motivate partners or create barriers that drive traffic to competing programs.
Focus on these themes as you design your program rules and goals:
- Clarity and Transparency: Simple, understandable rules with clear pathways for earning rewards.
- Fairness and Equity: Consistent application of rules to avoid any sense of favoritism.
- Attainability and Relevance: Goals that are achievable and aligned with their roles and business priorities.
Partners aren’t just in your program for the rewards. They want to continue advancing their success as salespeople and drive wins for their business. The more you can help partners achieve growth goals, the more your program becomes a #1 choice in their minds.
Give partners easy access to information and updates directly from their portal, including:
- Role-based training videos
- Brand overviews, guidelines, goals, mission, values, etc.
- New and current product release notes
- Client-ready marketing materials
- Program-partner goal summaries
- Tech and product support
- Learning courses for specific skills, like
- Solution selling
- Negotiation
- Account-based selling strategies
- Objection handling
- Post-sale customer engagement techniques
5. Quality-Check Your Communications
Simple, relevant communications help partners stay focused. According to them, “the best” programs have nailed outreach by focusing solely on details that impact their roles or provide action items. To use their words: “Make [updates] short and sweet.”
Personalizing communications is always a smart engagement tactic. When hundreds or even thousands of participants are in each program, personalized messages feel exclusive, and exclusivity equals value. Partners are always on the lookout for high-value opportunities, so communicate them – and be direct.
Use partner-approved communication practices to align with their interests:
- Multi-Channel Approach: Outreach through various platforms, including email, text, newsletters, partner portals, social media, and mobile app alerts.
- Clear and Consistent Messaging: Concise, timely updates on goals, progress, and rewards.
- Personalized: Tailored messages and content based on individual needs, roles, or partner type.
- Feedback: Two-way interactions encouraging feedback through polls, surveys, and Q&A sessions
Be the Program Partners Love
Program participants have a range of preferences, a growing stack of needs and a laundry list of wants. As a program manager and administrator, your job is to balance engagement essentials with extras that can make your program stand out.
Now that you know how partners define programs they love, prioritize those factors. Build your program with elements that are proven to work and engage partners. When you use their feedback to shape your program, you’re not just on track to be “the best” – you keep evolving to be even better.
