Spiffs: Good for Reps, Bad for Customers?
I spend probably too much of my spare time thinking about all things customer strategy. In fact, as I strolled home from a trip to the grocery store last weekend I got to thinking about spiffs. What I wondered was, is it possible to make spiffs customer-friendly?
Sure, spiffs can be highly motivating incentives to get salespeople to focus on one brand or product. They sell that item and they win big; maybe they get a bonus or are in the running for a trip or their commission percentage for that product gets a boost. Whatever the incentive, it seems that the only benefit is to the seller. The customer who encounters the spiff-hungry salesperson has a good chance of not getting the best product to suit his needs, but instead will likely be offered the product that delivers the salesperson her extra incentive.
Is it possible for a company that purports being customer centric to offer product-focused incentives to salespeople, dealers, etc., that also benefit end customers? What’s your opinion?
