How do you use pilots to grow smarter together?
E-commerce increasingly feels like a top sport. Partners compete daily for the same customer, while expectations continue to rise. During the Webwinkel Vakdagen, Sophie Nijhout, Director Partner Strategy & Propositions at bol, spoke about these challenges and how bol helps partners continue to grow. Customers compare faster than ever and expect competitive prices, a reliable offer, and a good delivery promise. At the same time, improving your customer proposition requires investments, for example in price, product range, or delivery time. This puts pressure on margins and is a recognizable challenge for many partners, and precisely why bol thinks along and invests in this.
Quality growth as a starting point
At bol, we believe that growth is only sustainable if it is accompanied by quality, reliability, and a good customer experience. That's why we focus on partners who demonstrate strength in these areas. With this in mind, bol started testing a growth reward program. This program rewards partners with a commission discount, allowing them to retain more margin to invest in their customer proposition.
From pilots to a proven approach
In the past period, several pilots have been carried out with varying groups of partners. Two approaches were tested:
- Partners choose how they grow: Partners decide which aspects of their customer proposition they want to focus on, such as price, delivery time, or visibility. Bol rewards the achieved growth.
- Bol chooses the area for improvement: Bol determines where the partner should invest and links a reward to it. This could include product range expansion or improved content.
The first approach proved to be the most effective. Partners appreciate the freedom to determine their own growth path, and this led to greater participation and increased sales growth.
Growth Reward: live from July 1st
Based on these insights, bol is launching the 'Growth Reward' program on July 1st. In this growth program, partners receive 3 personal sales targets per quarter. These targets are based on historical performance and market growth potential.
Upon achieving a growth target, partners receive a commission discount on the additional sales. The more targets you achieve, the higher the discount can be. On average, 40% of participants achieve 1 or more growth targets, a result that shows the program works and motivates.
Continuously improving, together with partners
During each pilot, active feedback was collected from partners to improve the program. For example:
- The growth targets have been adjusted and split into 3 levels
- Partners can track their progress at any time in the seller account
- The reward is settled in the same quarter on sales above the achieved sales target
These steps ensure that partners can adjust more quickly and reinvest immediately.
What can you expect?
From July 1st, Growth Reward will be available to all partners who meet the quality and delivery promise conditions. More information can be found on the Partnerplatform, and the required scores will be visible in the seller account from April 1st. In addition, bol will continue to experiment with new pilots, such as rewards for product range growth. Partner feedback remains indispensable. Because only by growing together can we stay ahead in a constantly evolving market.