Loyalty is undoubtedly an integral part of any business’ success. Be it from the customers or the channel partners, every business thrives on loyalty. In fact, it drives repeat engagement, boosts your bottom line and turns the channel partners into your raving fans.
Distributors, retailers and last mile advocates, who comprise your channel partner network are the backbone of your business. They are the ones responsible for pushing your products to the end customers. Effective loyalty programs can boost a business’ revenue by 40% and digital loyalty points management system streamlines that process well.
But what are the key differences between traditional loyalty programs and digital loyalty management systems? And why should businesses targeting channel partners and last-mile advocates make the switch? We break down all the details in this 1Channel guide.
1.One-Size-Fits-All vs. Personalized & Data-Driven
Traditional Loyalty Programs
Traditional loyalty programs, which are usually manual loyalty programs, have a “one for all” approach with standarised rewards, primarily non-cash rewards like vouchers, etc., which aren’t usually enticing enough for the channel partners since they lack personalisation.
This indicates that a distributor that sold 500 units of products and another distributor that sold 5000 units of products will most likely receive the same reward, which downsizes the hard work of the latter.
Here’s the problem: not all partners are the same. Some are high performers who deserve bigger incentives, while others need motivation to step up, which traditional loyalty management doesn’t address.
Digital Loyalty Programs
With an objective of “smart, personalised and data-driven,” digital loyalty programs like 1Channel truly flip the script. You can track real-time performance and other metrics like sales and engagement of the channel partners and reward them accordingly.
Access to the data makes it easier for businesses to tailor the rewards based on individual partner behaviour to ensure that they are rewarded based on their merit and hard work.
Not just that, digital loyalty management software allows businesses to offer tiered incentives, which fosters a healthy competition among the partner network too.
2. Manual Hassles vs. Seamless Automation
Traditional Loyalty Programs
Manual processes are time-consuming, painful and error-prone, irrespective of what aspect of the business it is targeting. With traditional loyalty management tools, you have to work with:
- Paper-based tracking systems
- Excel sheet updates
- Delayed reward distribution since the process is manual
There could be instances where a channel partner might sell a bulk order but have to wait for weeks to cash in their reward. In the long run, it disengages them from the program altogether.
Digital Loyalty Programs
The mantra with digital loyalty management tools like 1Channel is simple – Set it, Automate it and Forget it (for the most part). The convenience of getting to automate the entire process not only saves time, it also keeps the involved channel partners hooked due to the proactive reward redemption.
With customisable solutions like 1Channel, businesses can track the sales data in real-time through integrations with ERP, POS, or CRM systems and automate the reward distribution accordingly. The channel partners no longer have to worry about submitting the invoices manually and further delaying the process.
3. Paper Coupons vs. Digital Rewards
Traditional Loyalty Programs
The era of paper coupons is mostly a thing of the past now. In fact, most people don’t even reach out for them unless they are handed out to them for free. So, your channel partners, who are working hard to make successful sales and reach their targets will surely not prioritise the use of paper coupons anymore, which is the crux of a traditional rewards program.
Many partners never even redeemed them. Why?
- Paper vouchers get lost or damaged.
- They come with tedious redemption processes.
- Some partners simply forget to use them.
Even with digital coupon codes, the process of redeeming them can seem quite complicated for the partners, making this an unfavourable choice of loyalty program.
Digital Loyalty Programs
The reason why a digital loyalty points management system works among channel partner network is because of the lucrative digital rewards.
There are a plethora of options to choose from including cashback, e-vouchers, or even prepaid cards. Not just the versatility and choices, digital rewards also come with the benefit of instant redemption, creating a sense of instant gratification and fosters a strengthened bond between the business and the channel partners.
4. Static Rewards vs. Gamified & Engaging Incentives
Traditional Loyalty Programs
The biggest flaw of a traditional loyalty program is how boring and monotonous it is. The same kind of rewards, month after month, creates zero excitement. There’s no thrill, no competition—just the usual “Sell X, Get Y” structure.
Digital Loyalty Programs
On the flip side, with a comprehensive loyalty management platform like 1Channel, gamification is at the heart of its existence.
Here’s how it works:
- Leaderboards: Channel partners can see where they rank in sales performance. This taps into their competitive spirit and encourages higher sales.
- Challenges & Missions: Create engaging sales challenges like "Sell 200 units in 30 days to unlock a special bonus."
- Spin-the-Wheel & Scratch Cards: Instant win mechanics make rewards more exciting and interactive.
The choice of the gamification features is entirely on the business and the customisations they want to include in their loyalty program. You dream it, 1Channel team makes it happen.
5. Limited Visibility vs. Real-Time Analytics
Traditional Loyalty Programs
How do you keep track of the number of channel partners that redeemed the rewards and actually made use of them?
Traditional loyalty programs fail to provide real-time visibility into partner performance. Not just that, the curation of the loyalty programs depends on quarterly reports, manual invoice submissions, and delayed insights, most of which take a lot of time to be processed manually, further delaying the reward assignment and redemption.
With traditional loyalty programs, it is also impossible for companies to know which partners are underperforming and even tracking fraudulent practices become harder.
Digital Loyalty Programs
The similar concerns that traditional loyalty programs fail to address are all taken care of by the digital ones like 1Channel.
With a holistic loyalty management platform, businesses can track sales performance live, identify top and underperforming partners and tailor the loyalty programs accordingly. Even fraud detection becomes seamless and streamlined.
6. Costly & Inefficient vs. Cost-Effective & Scalable
Traditional Loyalty Programs
The last point of comparison comes from the cost involved. Traditional ones involve manual processes, physical rewards and administrative costs, which usually add up. So, not only are they expensive, they are inefficient too.
Not just that, scaling a traditional loyalty program is a nightmare. For example, if you started with 2 distributors and now have 200, keeping track of all those records and assigning relevant rewards is nothing short of a challenge.
Digital Loyalty Programs
A digital loyalty management system like 1Channel is built to scale effortlessly.
- You can add new partners, new rules, and new incentives with a few clicks.
- Automation reduces administrative costs, making loyalty programs more profitable.
- You can launch, tweak, and optimize your program in real time without logistical headaches
In short, it justifies the investment you are likely making for your business because the ROI will be well worth the wait.
The Future of Loyalty is Digital: Harness 1Channel LMS
Traditional loyalty programs have served their purpose in the past when options were limited. As technology has grown and evolved, so have the number of available choices and 1Channel’s loyalty points management system for channel partners is one of them.
If you want to keep your channel partners engaged, boost sales, and future-proof your loyalty strategy, it’s time to ditch outdated methods and switch to 1Channel’s loyalty management software.
Book your free demo today!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)