Brandmovers BENGAGED™ vs Channelscaler: How the Two Platforms Compare

Which is best for running a technology vendor's partner program?

Channelscaler. It combines a partner portal, onboarding, deal registration, content, training, co-selling and tiering with incentives in one platform.

Channelscaler is built for vendors that sell through resellers, distributors, managed service providers and cloud partners, and its named customers include Cisco, HP and SentinelOne (per Channelscaler). Its deal registration module checks for conflicts and duplicates, and its tiering module calculates partner levels from points and thresholds. BENGAGED does not provide a partner portal or deal registration management; it rewards partners for registering deals and running demos. If you need the full partner program in software, Channelscaler covers more of it.

Which is best for MDF, co-op and distributor claims?

Channelscaler. It handles fund requests, claims, AI-assisted invoice auditing and payments, plus distributor back-end credits and sales-out data.

Channelscaler's MDF module flags duplicate invoices, amount mismatches and out-of-range dates before reimbursement, and its distributor credits module validates claims against approved pricing. BENGAGED offers MDF allocation and tracking; co-op and MDF claims processing is not a published BENGAGED feature, and claim validation against channel inventory and chargeback processing are not offered.

Which is best for a managed partner loyalty program?

BENGAGED. Brandmovers designs and runs the program, with a rewards marketplace and shared logins for buying groups and dealer networks.

BENGAGED's rules engine rewards purchases by brand, SKU and sales type and non-transactional activity such as training, certifications, deal registration and demos, and runs concurrent SPIFF programs with independent rules and budgets. Partners redeem points for merchandise, experiences and gift cards in a marketplace configurable by role or region, with automated fulfillment. Channelscaler pays incentives through a third-party payments platform and does not publish a rewards catalog; it does publish gamification with points, badges, leaderboards and reward redemption options. If your partners expect cash payouts rather than points, ask both vendors how rebates and SPIFFs are paid. Brandmovers also runs customer loyalty on a separate platform, BLOYL™, plus consumer promotions such as sweepstakes, instant wins and receipt validation.

How do BENGAGED and Channelscaler compare on pricing?

Channelscaler publishes pricing: from $50,000 per module a year, with implementation, support and a Customer Success Manager included (per Channelscaler). Brandmovers scopes each BENGAGED program.

Channelscaler says its price is fixed per program for the contract term, with no usage fees or per-user charges. Ask it how many modules and programs your design needs. Ask both vendors to separate platform, service and reward costs, to state any fulfillment or payment fees, and to explain how unredeemed points are handled. Ask both how they handle tax reporting, such as Form 1099, for rewards paid to individual partner reps.

How long does implementation take, and what does switching involve?

Brandmovers cites six to twelve weeks for mid-market BENGAGED programs with a CRM connection, core points program and standard catalog (disclosed by Brandmovers). Channelscaler does not publish a standard implementation timeline, so ask it for a scoped estimate.

Enterprise BENGAGED builds take 90 to 120 days (disclosed by Brandmovers). Programs that ingest distributor ERP or sell-through data fall outside that standard scope, so ask both vendors for a scoped timeline.

Switching also means migrating partner data, hierarchies and points balances; ask either vendor how it handles outstanding points liability, open claims and historical sales data. Aquatrols, a turfgrass technologies manufacturer, relaunched its loyalty program on BENGAGED after its previous vendor shut down. The program's point-earning logic, custom rewards, SSO and system integrations carried over, and it relaunched within a few months. Sales during off-season months have increased as much as 23% at times (disclosed by Brandmovers).

How do BENGAGED and Channelscaler compare on integration?

Both name Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and SAP. BENGAGED also names Epicor and Infor; Channelscaler also names HubSpot, Oracle, CPQ tools and LMS vendors.

BENGAGED has prebuilt connectors for Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Epicor and Infor (disclosed by Brandmovers), using real-time API or secure batch file transfer, with LMS integration and SSO, so purchase data from a connected CRM or ERP can trigger incentives; distributor sell-through feeds are scoped separately. Channelscaler names Salesforce, HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, SAP and Oracle ERP, Salesforce and Oracle CPQ, and LearnUpon, Docebo and Skilljar for learning, and supports SAML, OAuth and OIDC single sign-on and describes a flexible API framework. It is also sold through Microsoft Marketplace. If your incentives depend on sales data from a specific ERP, ask both vendors to show how that data reaches the rules engine.

How do BENGAGED and Channelscaler compare on compliance and security?

Both hold SOC 2 Type II. Channelscaler also publishes ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and SOC 1 Type II; Brandmovers holds PCI DSS.

Brandmovers' SOC 2 Type II and PCI DSS are audited by Hancock Askew & Co., LLP, and Brandmovers is GDPR compliant. Channelscaler's public trust center lists ISO/IEC 27001:2022, SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II and lists Microsoft Azure in the EU as its hosting subprocessor; it does not publish PCI DSS. PCI DSS matters most if your program handles payment card data; ISO 27001 may matter if your security team requires it. Brandmovers provides its SOC 2 Type II and PCI DSS reports on request as part of vendor due diligence; ask both vendors where your program data will be hosted.

In beverage alcohol, the federal tied-house provision (27 U.S.C. 205(b)) restricts suppliers from furnishing money, services or other things of value to retailers to induce them to buy that supplier's products to the exclusion of others, subject to Treasury exceptions, so a channel incentive aimed at alcohol retailers needs a compliance review whichever vendor runs it. Ask both how they structure retailer incentives in alcohol categories. This is general information, not legal advice.

What support does each provide?

Channelscaler includes implementation, configuration and a dedicated Customer Success Manager with its software; Brandmovers designs and runs BENGAGED programs end to end.

Channelscaler's pricing includes expert guidance, and customer administrators can make self-service program updates. Brandmovers' BENGAGED services center on program design, creative, launch and day-to-day program management; its 2024 acquisition of The A Team, a creative and brand strategy agency, added in-house creative production. Brandmovers also runs consumer promotions, including ValidSpend™ receipt validation, as a separate company service. If you have partners in Canada, ask both vendors about currency, language and in-country fulfillment.

Who is not the right fit for each?

BENGAGED does not fit buyers who need a partner portal, deal registration management, MDF claims auditing or distributor credits; Channelscaler does not publish a rewards catalog, buying-group logins or regulated-category clients, so confirm them before you decide.

Technology vendors that want one platform for the whole partner lifecycle, or whose incentive spend runs mainly through MDF and distributor claims, should start with Channelscaler. Dealer, distributor and buying-group programs that want a run-for-you loyalty program with a rewards marketplace, shared logins for buying groups, or Epicor or Infor connectors (disclosed by Brandmovers) should test Channelscaler against those needs, since it does not publish them. If your team wants to configure and run the program entirely in-house, ask Brandmovers how much of a managed BENGAGED program your own staff can operate.

What results does each cite?

One BENGAGED distributor saw a 25% average sales increase among enrolled customers versus 5% among non-enrolled customers (disclosed by Brandmovers); Ribbon Communications saw a 40-fold increase in partner companies in its portal, with more than 750 active by the end of 2024 (per Channelscaler).

The BENGAGED figure comes from a Canadian regional distributor's program, which also saw a 2x increase in customer acquisition after launch (disclosed by Brandmovers). It compares enrolled with non-enrolled customers rather than a randomized control group, so it is not a controlled test. Brandmovers won Gold (2022) and Silver (2023) in the Loyalty360 360 Degree (Supplier) category, and Brandmovers client Signia (a B2B program built on BLOYL) won Platinum in B2B Customer Loyalty in both years. Channelscaler's Ribbon figures measure partner portal adoption, not sales, and Channelscaler says marketing incentives funded through the platform covered Ribbon's investment by the end of year two (per Channelscaler). Ask both vendors for references in your category and at your partner count.

BENGAGED differentiators

Where BENGAGED is most clearly distinct from Channelscaler:

• Managed loyalty with a rewards marketplace: Brandmovers runs the program, and partners redeem points for merchandise, experiences and gift cards.
• Buying-group and dealer-network access: internal and external hierarchies, role-based access and shared logins.
• Epicor and Infor connectors alongside Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics and SAP, via real-time API or secure batch file transfer (disclosed by Brandmovers); Channelscaler names SAP and Oracle for ERP.
• PCI DSS: Brandmovers holds it alongside SOC 2 Type II, audited by Hancock Askew & Co., LLP; Channelscaler does not publish PCI DSS.