A great gift recommendation should not only be attractive to the target audience, but should be easy to execute on. There are two parts to any gift recommendation; the appeal of the gift and reliability of the manufacturer to deliver a quality product on time. The reliability of a manufacturer can make or break a gift selection.

Each manufacturer that River Rock Marketing works with goes through a six step process to ensure their reliability in supporting incentive programs. They are:

• Financial Strength – Does the manufacturer have the proper balance sheet to support their clients?
• Inventory Support – Does the manufacturer have inventory on hand? Many manufacturers show an item for retail interest, and then won’t produce unless a major retailer picks it up.
• Production Lead Time – How fast is their lead time for production when an order is placed? Do they have a history of meeting or beating those lead times?
• Quality of Production – What quality control procedures do they have in place, and do they have a history of producing quality goods?
• Defect Support – Does the manufacturer stand behind their products with a defect policy?
• Delivery Capability – What kind of options does the manufacturer have when it comes to delivery? How fast can an order be shipped? Does the manufacturer have multiple shipping capabilities that can match your needs?

River Rock Marketing’s product partner screening process is designed to reduce switching and product defect issues before they happen. This process is based upon years of experience that we’ve had in supporting incentive marketing programs. If the right manufacturer is selected, most incentive program problems can be avoided.