Pilot programs provide a way for brands and franchises to launch new national marketing programs on a small scale prior to investing in a large roll-out. National brands realize multiple benefits from pilot programs, including the ability to:

1. Try new ideas with less risk. See if the results warrant further investment and if the planned process works as expected.
2. Gain faster internal approval. Less program risk = less risk for your company, and will usually gain quicker corporate buy-in
3. Get a pulse on channel and customer participation and commitment. Is the channel excited, confused, engaged? Do they have suggestions for improvement? Is the end-customer interested in the program/offer?
4. Identify needed program and process tweaks in order to improve long-term program results.
5. Develop best practices to share with your channel at launch. This improves speed to market and results.

I recently read an article about a pilot program PepsiCo launched. They hope to bring “‘some new thinking into the organization’ as the company tries to stay competitive” Pilots are initiated by companies for different reasons, but ultimately it’s to alleviate risk and achieve outstanding marketing results.

In the case of my current work, which is developing Balihoo’s Marketing Education offering, a pilot program enables us to gauge if the education content is deep enough, if the material is presented in a format that is easily useable, and ultimately if the customers find the value we anticipate. With a pilot program, we can get all of these insights PRIOR to developing the full curriculum. This is a win-win for everyone, AND it also enables us to potentially take a few more risks and try some out-of-the box ideas since the pilot will have confined parameters.

There are some basic steps involved in planning and launching a pilot program:

1. Set your objectives, both for the pilot and for the long-term project. Make sure these are communicated to all internal stakeholders and all participants in the pilot. Transparency is important to gaining trust, commitment and participation.
2. Be prepared to show the financial and relationship implications of doing the pilot. How does engaging with a pilot group enhance your working relationship with key channel partners? Is it worth the partners’ time to be part of your pilot? If the pilot does not perform to expectation, what steps will you take to either cancel the program or modify the program? Are you prepared to tweak the program to make it more successful? How much is saved (financially and from a relationship perspective) if tweaks are made to improve long-term results?
3. Clearly define the pilot participants. Who will you involve? Is the pilot geographic-based? Does it include a cross-section of channel partners? Does it include a group that you believe can provide useful feedback? Thoughtful planning will enable you to meet your pilot program objectives.
4. Establish a process or mechanism for ongoing feedback throughout the pilot. Also, spend a little extra attention making sure the pilot program is easy and quick to implement at the local level. Many times your channel partners will agree to participate, but then the marketing materials/products sit in their backroom. Consider if there are actions you can take to make it easier for them to implement quickly (things like implementation guides, launch webinars, on-site assistance).
5. Expect to make some course corrections following the pilot.
6. Launch your final program with confidence.

I’m interested to know what you think. Do you use pilot programs? How have they helped your company? Do you have any suggestions on the best way to implement pilot programs? Enquiring minds want to know.

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Side note: A little fun ad history: "Enquiring minds want to know" was an advertising slogan used in the '80s by the National Enquirer, a supermarket tabloid.