The Scope
This global provider of IT and Cloud services had a long-running incentive program but was worried about underappreciating their top partners. The concern was that the loyalty being shown was going unrecognized, an issue that could erode those relationships and ultimately decrease co-selling efforts.
The Challenge
The Technology company needed to nip that problem in the bud before it could do true damage to their business. So, they engaged HMI (now a part of 360insights) to help them to show appreciation for those top partners, elevate transactional loyalty to emotional loyalty, and drive partner retention.
The Solution
To help this business recognize their longstanding partnership and continued loyalty, we worked with the company to create their VIP Rewards Program.
Invited participants were given the chance to achieve “VIP” status for meeting their channel-led deals and revenue goals, which came with substantial benefits. These included reward credits, swag, and surprises.
Rewards catalogs varied by country, but included some or all of the following:
- VIP merchandise rewards options, featuring the most popular brands in each category
- Virtual events
- VIP concierge experiences
- Additionally, as an extra way to say thanks and keep the program top of mind, participants received a custom branded swag box full of high-value surprise rewards.
Orange Ticket Adventure Promotion: to further boost engagement within the program, we worked together to design a highly successful, layered sweepstakes promotion, the Orange Ticket Adventure. Participants were offered the chance to earn “Orange Ticket” entries for engaging in particular preferred activities with the business and the VIP program. These entries were put towards a sweepstakes for a once-in-a-lifetime experience in one of several premiere destinations, such as the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
To keep the audience engaged in the program, an award-winning marketing plan was conducted monthly, quarterly, and ad-hoc to keep the program top of mind.
- Ongoing communications to thank and reward partners for their loyalty and remind them of their benefits of VIP
- Gamification, including a “VIP Open” golf game for higher-tier partners as an opportunity to earn extra rewards
- Program overview and premium catalog mailed to house
- Surprise and delight boxes and bonus credit communications to thank them
- Behaviorally triggered communications (eg, for participant birthdays or website activity)
- Special statuses, recognition, and rewards to distinguish partners who earned VIP status multiple years in a row
The Results
Demonstrating appreciation to their top-performing partners, the Cloud & Data Storage Company successfully increased partner retention and inspired brand loyalty. The engaging program communications realized an impressive open rate of 60%, nearly triple the B2B industry average.
“I really have to say, this company is head and shoulders above any business partner I’ve worked with in showing their mutual partners real, tangible appreciation for the partnership and business that’s done through the relationship.” - VIP Rewards Program Participant.
