Steve Damerow, CEO of Atlanta-based incentive program provider Incentive Solutions, recently kicked off his Business Radio X show "Business Matters" with an exciting premiere. Damerow was joined by three of his clients: Gary Childress from Honda Marine, Lawrence Constantin from Saint-Gobain Solar Gard, and Mike Smith from Mitsubishi Electric. In discussing how they go to market and use incentive programs, they help shed light on B2B marketing strategies so that listeners can benefit from their experiences.

Solar Gard’s Lawrence Constantin explained that his company is “really, a B2B2C company… [Our] professional-grade window film product [is] sold through a dedicated network of mom ‘n pop installers.” Solar Gard considers those installers part of their company family and invest a lot of time training them. Solar Gard uses incentive programs to maintain positive relationships with these installers and ensure the health of their sales channel. “These customers are really not customers, they’re partners,” Constantin said. “We use incentive programs to give back to them.”

Honda Marine’s Gary Childress discussed his company’s challenge of maintaining a vast network of sales forces. “We’re responsible for sales in all 48 states,” he said, “and it’s a challenge to engage our dealers and make sure they’re properly trained.” With the help of sophisticated online technology to manage their network, Honda Marine has been able to stay afloat and survive the economic meltdown with a discretionary-income product. 

Mike Smith of Mitsubishi Electric discussed some of the challenges his company faces, even with innovative new HVAC technology—with their zoning system, consumers can cool or heat specific parts of their homes to conserve money and energy. “Our installers consciously make a choice to install our equipment over the standard types,” Smith said. “We have a responsibility not only to train these contractors, but also incentivize them to give our types of systems more of a frontline consideration… I’m wearing multiple hats in terms of influencing the channel to give our solutions more top of mind.”

These three companies, though they are all top names in their industries, face significant challenges moving their products through a complex sales channel and ensuring their contractors and installers stay educated and trained. Online incentive technology helps them thrive by motivating channel partners with rewards. Streamlined reward, training, and communication technology makes the B2B process easier and more efficient, leaving industry leaders to focus on what they do best: create exciting and innovative solutions.