How to Take Your Channel Program to New Heights

Instead of struggling with the daily administration of your program, imagine getting the opportunity to focus on improving your program’s performance and boosting your program’s growth. Now, stop imagining and learn how to actually do it. Start with these tips to help you overcome the three main obstacles that keep most programs from achieving their best results.

ARE THESE THE TYPES OF OBSTACLES YOU NEED TO OVERCOME WHILE OPERATING YOUR CHANNEL PROGRAM?

TECHNOLOGY

Outdated Tech: When did you first launch your tech? New platforms are constantly emerging, and user experience for your participants needs to keep up with expectations. Security, bug fixes, automation, and regular updates are just a few of the areas where technology impacts your program.

Data Integration Challenges: Data-driven enhancements are the lifeblood of a successful channel program. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true: Poor data integration can damage future results. Make sure your technology can properly track behaviors, sort usable data, and help drive decisions to move your program forward.

DIY that’s not Working: It’s common for a successful program to outgrow its initial technology. Tech designed to drive your channel program may be holding you back today. See if it’s time for an upgrade where you can watch your results soar.

TEAM RESOURCES

Inefficient Staffing: If you’re like most companies, you’re short-staffed, especially in the management of your channel program. When there aren’t enough bodies to do the work, program improvements are perpetually just beyond the horizon.

No Expertise in Key Areas: Does your team have expertise in areas such as loyalty strategy, incentive design, rule structures, rewards planning, data analysis, segmentation analysis and program design? Each of these areas allows you to design and implement a stronger, more successful channel program.

STRATEGY

Program Evolution: What used to work just doesn’t anymore. Channel programs grow and evolve as the market landscape changes. Even your partner ecosystem is likely different than it used to be, so your overall approach should evolve, too.

Loyalty Techniques: Attracting, retaining, and engaging your participants is critical to your program’s success. Incorporate proven loyalty strategies into your program design.

Data Strategy for Incentive Programs: Collecting data is only your first step. Deriving insights from that data, testing your hypotheses, and implementing strategies to motivate your audience will ultimately drive success. Even then, you’ll need to monitor the data to see what’s working and what needs to be tweaked.

WHAT’S KEEPING YOU FROM ACHIEVING BETTER RESULTS?

It’s likely the gaps in your approach. The first step is to identify the gaps. The next step is to close them. We can help you with both. Let’s take a closer look at bridging three barriers to success so you can achieve growth faster in your program.

1. Powerful Tech + A Trusted Collaborator = Performance

History has proven repeatedly that powerful technology outperforms manual processes. But pair that technology with experienced professional services and the resulting success can be a real eye-opener.

To say channel programs are complicated is an understatement. Ask anyone who’s tried to design, implement or manage one. Plug & play SaaS doesn’t always address your specific needs. Lean on our loyalty and engagement experts to help you activate the right approach for today’s market while laying the foundation to scale and grow.

These are the kinds of tools our experience and services put at your disposal:

Tailored Solutions: A generic technology platform won’t address the unique solutions you require. Your program structure should reflect your business goals. Your program—from design to awards—must resonate with your distinct audience segments. Tap into our experience in data analysis, incentive program design, and strategic consulting, all tailored to your specific requirements. When you dial up our experts, you receive proven experience in program design, strategic consultation, data expertise and much more.

Best Practices: By definition, best practices can only be developed through testing and data analysis to learn what works, why it works, and when. Our specialists have crafted packaged solutions based on industry knowledge and proven methods. We offer best practice frameworks for successful programs across a maturity model.

Highly configurable platform: A modular platform allows for easy configuration and the ability to flex to your unique needs. Our platform offers a robust set of features available from Day 1—plus the necessary guidance so you can scale your channel program as you grow. A specialized team is ready to help you develop a roadmap to growth through our horizon planning process. Additional configurations are available, such as a suite of integration options that connect with your existing tech stack.

2. Increased Team Efficiency = An Channel Improved Program

Limited resources or smaller teams make administering programs a challenge. The most efficient solution? An end-to-end provider that can take full ownership of program management and deliver a realized vision with limited administration from you. Alternatively, use a provider as an extension of your team to bring in the expertise you lack.

By teaming with Maritz, you gain a full-service partner as your single strategic resource to deliver on all aspects of your program. This will help your team streamline work processes, reduce complexities and gain efficiencies – each extremely beneficial when designing, launching and continually enhancing the dynamic, comprehensive program you are envisioning.

The result allows you to focus on program performance and make data-driven decisions to enhance your program instead of getting mired in the daily administration tasks. You’ll enjoy the freedom to pivot and the knowledge to know when to do it.

The right provider offers expertise and services to drive success:

Ongoing Optimization: Managed services specialists and customer success teams support the day-to-day operation of your program. They bring a history of launch procedures, transition plans, horizon planning, RTE processes, participant support, and communications planning that dovetail together to drive your program.
Driving Efficiency: Native features make program launch, promotions and campaign deployment easier. Integrations allow data to flow to and from your sources for real-time visibility into your chosen KPIs. Our platform ensures data integrity across multiple platforms by syncing and updating data on a regular basis.
Data-driven Decisions: Stop making gut decisions and hoping for better results. Use real-time dashboards, reports, and solid data analysis to pivot with confidence and add promotions with proper design. Let your data be your guide.
Strategic Automations: Get more advancements – velocity and capacity. If you’re investing your own resources to complete manual processes, we can alleviate some of that cost and effort while mitigating the risks of manual. Set up smart automations, triggered communications, and preprogrammed workflows to save valuable time. Simplify program administration wherever you can.

3. Strategy + Innovation = Growth

Specialized strategic services help you achieve outcomes faster. You know your business. We know loyalty strategy and incentive design. As a strategic partner, we function as a catalyst for your growth, helping you get and remain competitive by tailoring solutions to your unique needs.

Take advantage of our strong bench to generate the strategy and innovation you need to grow your channel program:

Loyalty & Incentives Knowledge: Tap into the knowledge your team might be missing. Take advantage of our team of resources (Strategists, Program Designers, Data Scientists, Creative Personnel, and more) with specialized experience to bring fresh ideas and innovation to your program. Maritz has been in the incentives and loyalty business for a long time—we know what works. You’ll appreciate services like Assessment, Design, Modeling, Communications, Branding, and more from experts in the field.
Client-Centric Solutions: Your objectives, your partners, your culture, and your history are all unique. You need a program strategy that takes advantage of that and follows the data guideposts to know when that strategy needs to be altered.
Engagement Drivers: Smart communications and creative provide engagement. A spotlight on your branding, clear-cut messaging strategy, partner journey map with communications plan, and engaging platform content ensure the program is top of mind and actionable at the right moments.
Evolution of Greatness: A pragmatic approach ensures value is delivered at each phase of your channel program. Moreover, we drive optimization through data analysis to keep adding value to your program to create an evolution of growth with the continuation of a sound strategy.

DO THE MATH

When you add up all the necessary requirements to run a successful channel program, it’s no wonder so many of them fail. Team up with a collaborator who brings a special blend of top-notch tech and a strong bench of experts – and you’ll quickly see that the right numbers will fall into place.

You’ll have the ability to make data-driven decisions to accelerate your growth faster and further than you ever could on your own.

Achieve Growth Faster: Tips on How to Take Your Channel Program to New Heights