Success in the channel doesn’t come from guesswork. It comes from knowing what truly drives your sellers. That’s why Participant Insight Studies have become a cornerstone of smart program management. By surveying key audiences, brands gain actionable intelligence to help them fine-tune strategies, strengthen engagement and stay ahead of evolving needs.
For a leading manufacturing client, the Insight Study isn’t a one-time fix, it’s a strategic practice that delivers fresh perspectives and fuels continuous improvement.
The Situation
How do you keep programs aligned with seller needs?
While the client’s channel incentive program has long been recognized for it’s impact, leaders understand that assumptions around what their sellers want can quickly become misaligned with what they actually need. Rather than waiting for signs of stagnation, they proactively conduct Participant Insight Studies on a regular cadence.
And what’s their main challenge? Ensuring the program continues to resonate with sellers, identifying new opportunities to improve and validating that their strategic adjustments are grounded in real life participant feedback.
The Solution
Using Participant Insights Study to Uncover What Motivates Sellers
Run a custom survey of your program’s key audience designed to uncover their attitudes, motivations, needs and preferences. Powered by behavioral science, the study provides the insights needed to shape program strategies that improve engagement.
How It Works
- Define Objectives: Align on goals, audiences and survey priorities.
- Behavioral Survey Design: Create a science-based survey to uncover what truly drives your participants.
- Survey Execution: We handle programming, distribution, reminders and data collection.
- Analysis & Insights: Our team analyzes the results, identifying trends, motivators, needs and opportunities.
What You Get
- A robust report and summary of key findings
- Insights into participant satisfaction, engagement and program perceptions
- Strategic recommendations to fine-tune program design
- Actionable guidance on how to deliver more value, boost loyalty and drive sales performance
Key Findings
Actionable Partner Insights
To get to the heart of what truly drives their sellers, we launched the study and results were insightful.
Nearly 1,500 participants weighed in giving us a clear and honest look at what they really value and what keeps them motivated.
The research revealed:
- Simplicity is #1: Partners ranked simple program rules as a top engagement driver.
- Clarity matters: Some participants said tier levels were hard to understand.
- Reward right away: Reps favored programs where “all products qualify” and they earn a percentage from the first sale.
- Stretch goals motivate serious achievers: Top sellers were willing to push themselves more if they could earn more too.
- Non-cash rewards resonate: Tangible and experiential rewards made reps feel appreciated and more connected to the brand.
These insights showed us exactly where the program needed to evolve to better meet participants’ expectations and how to shape it into something that resonates and delivers stronger results.
Program Enhancements
With a clear view into what DSRs really care about, the Maritz team got to work. The Insight Study provided valuable findings that informed program changes and it was out of several inputs, alongside decision science expertise, predictive modeling and industry trends.
The survey played a big role in shaping these overarching program enhancements:
- Removing SKU-based eligibility requirements: Sales reps can now earn on every sale, making the program simpler and more inclusive.
- Updated tiers: Tier structures were revised to encourage stretch behaviors and motivate top performers to reach higher.
- Diversified rewards: The program now offers a broader mis of incentives to keep engagement high.
- Non-cash incentive promotions: These are layered on top of the base cash program providing additional ways to recognize and motivate sellers.
- Seasonal promotions, gamification and campaigns: These initiatives spark engagement and keep the program fresh throughout the year.
Learn more about the rules changes, non-cash rewards and overall program refresh in our related case studies.
The Results
Creating Happier Partners, Higher Motivation and Significant Sales Growth
While the program’s success is the result of multiple factors, including partner insights directly into the updated framework, the refreshed program continues to bring impressive and measurable results.
Rock-Solid Retention
- 81% annual retention rate: Seller participation remains high regardless of structural updates signaling loyalty and lasting behavior change.
Higher Partner Satisfaction
- 4.4 out of 5 satisfaction score: A high rating reinforces the positive impact of refreshing the program design and rewards system through partner insights.
Increased Goal Advancement
- 15% increase in tier progressions year-over-year: Removing SKY requirement and incorporating stretch goals grew tier progressions and contributed to $145M in incremental revenue.
Active Sales Growth
- +13.2% total sales growth over 2 years: Rule changes and increased tier thresholds also escalated sales growth resulting in +9.3% year-over-year growth.
Moving Forward
When you really listen to your partners you uncover opportunities you might have missed, like smarter rule structures or rewards that actually excite.
By refreshing this long-standing program through the lens of participant research, Maritz helped this manufacturer turn a solid legacy into something even more powerful: an ever-evolving revenue and loyalty engine.
Curious about your program’s potential?
Let’s dig into your partner insights and uncover new ways to boost engagement, drive stronger performance and unlock ever more value for your business.
Check out the full case study here!
