Company: John Deere & Co.

Programs: Merchandise and travel offerings

Program Types: Reseller

Program Details: To create a better synergy between those who choose suppliers (a dealer's parts department) and those who specify the product (the service department), the Aftermarket Division developed the "After Market Achievers" incentive program in conjunction with MotivAction, the Minneapolis-based full-service marketing company. The campaign rewarded parts and service managers, dealership employees, and field representatives for achieving specific goals. Measurement criteria for the campaign included total parts purchases, "customer-labor sales," and selected product sales. Goals for the parts and customer-labor sales were based on either a three-year sales average or the previous year's actual sales (whichever was larger) plus a percentage increase. The division also wanted a 10% increase in retail parts sales. Parts and service managers and field representatives would earn a deluxe travel reward upon achieving their goals. Two travel rewards were offered to qualifiers: a four-night stay at the San Juan Marriott Resort & Casino in Puerto Rico or an invitation to the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dealership employees received individual travel rewards, merchandise, or gift certificates for meeting retail parts and service sales goals.

Objective: Convincing customers to buy, and vendors to specify, your product is the most common challenge facing businesses. For the John Deere Aftermarket Division the challenge is even greater, because it provides replacement parts to a network of 1,500 dealerships in the U.S. and Canada where both these functions customarily take place under one roof.

Supplier: MotivAction (Minneapolis, MN)

Results: Results: The specific objectives and corresponding results are as follows: Objective: Increase dealership parts purchases from John Deere by 15%. Result: Sales increased 26.7%. Objective: Increase customer-labor sales by 10%. Result: Sales increased more than 25%. Objective: Have 1,200 dealership parts/service managers qualify for a travel award. Result: 1,750 qualified, representing a 146% qualification rate.