Situation

Bendix Brakes desired to transition their successful annual Box Top loyalty program to an online program to make it more powerful and reduce annual operational costs. The original program, also created with All Star, rewarded brake installers for using Bendix brake parts by earning points when they sent in Bendix box tops. Points were then redeemed for merchandise offered in custom award catalogs. All Star stocked and fulfilled the incentive products. In moving the program online, Bendix wanted to generate excitement about its re-launch and address concerns over whether their audience of installers would shop online and or even have appropriate web access in their shops.

Solution

The new Bendix Online Box Top Program combined integrated online and offline components. Targeting more than 2,500 Bendix installers and 790 warehouse distributors, All Star sent an award catalog teaser to announce the new online program. The catalog and an accompanying introductory letter detailed the online benefits– a greater selection of awards, easier box top redemption, point banking and purchase tracking. A team of 50 sales representatives promoted the program, motivated by a sales incentive program that rewarded those who signed up the most new installers.

The teaser catalog and letter was designed to get installers to register online, but an offline registration form was also included. Offline participants could select merchandise from the teaser catalog, but could create an online account at any time, which would give them access to more than 1,000 award choices. Installers who registered online received 100 free bonus points automatically credited to their new account.

Salespeople accumulated one to four award points per placement depending on the type of placement and number of facings. At the end of the program, points were totaled and participants were given an award code to access one of seven award levels. The top two salespeople were awarded a bonus Panasonic 32" TV for their salesrooms.

Results

In the program’s first six months, the program saw wide adoption from installers from across the country, with more than 90% registering online— far exceeding projections. From a customer service standpoint, the Bendix Online Box Top Program is now more engaging and secure, which has built momentum and loyalty throughout the program.

The new system also improved access to vital sales and marketing data. In addition to opt-in registration form data, reports identify top performers in the incentive program by points earned; point redemption by state and region; and points redeemed by manufacturer and product category. The data provides tools for geographic trending and identification of which products and brand names motivate their channel partners.