Case Study:
Manufacturer Builds Direct Channel to Influence End User Buying Decisions
CLIENT
Manufacturer selling through wholesale distribution.
THE CHALLENGE
Distributors tend to be very protective about their relationships with end users. How can a manufacturer access sales information about their downstream customers when the proprietary data is held by the distributors?
KEY RESULTS
Unit sales growth of 55% through existing accounts.
Total unit sales were
more than 4X higher.
Background
For manufacturers in many industries, getting products to market relies heavily on the use of wholesale distributors. The distributors tend to be very protective of their relationships with end users, resulting in manufacturers having limited details about who actually buys what, for how much, and how often.
Our client, a producer of automotive packaged goods selling through wholesale distributors, wanted to create a loyalty program that could incentivize distributor sales teams to help grow accounts in underdeveloped territories while also reaching the retailers who stock their products.
Solution
Lift & Shift recommended our Distributor Data Direct™ (DDD) program, where we act as a secure third-party data center, working with manufacturers and their distributors to aggregate purchaser data and oversee reward earning, while keeping customer details separate.
Eligible reward transactions from each distributor are vetted and approved by Lift & Shift using the manufacturer’s qualification criteria. This enables the distributor’s customers to benefit from the reward program, driving sales for the manufacturer without requiring the distributor to disclose their sensitive customer contact details. The manufacturer is able to build a direct channel to influence end-user buying decisions while adding value to its distributor network.
The program profiled here featured performance-based incentives, including bonus points for sales growth to existing accounts, as well as additional bonus points for opening a new account.
The manufacturer was able to directly impact end-user purchase decisions while still maintaining an arm's length distance from sensitive distributor data. Growth-based offers were an effective tactic for targeting new or underdeveloped accounts. Working in collaboration with the distributor's sales team, incentives for new account openings provided a pathway to substantial overall sales growth.
Results
Increased Sales
Unit sales growth of 55%
through existing accounts.
The manufacturer also had a significant increase in the number of accounts.
Increased Total Unit Sales
Total unit sales were more than
4X higher vs. existing accounts only
Adding value to the manufacturer/distributor relationship is an often-overlooked benefit of a manufacturer’s rewards program.
Contact us, and we'll show you how our Distributor Data Direct can benefit your business.