The line between B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing has blurred significantly. Today, most B2B customers have the same expectations as they have for their B2C experience. This shift in behavior is largely due to the increasing influence of digital channels and the ease of access to information. This has made B2B loyalty customers more discerning and demanding.

B2B loyalty programs are essential

Gallup reports that 71% of B2B customers are at risk of taking their business elsewhere. And the rise of B2B2C (business-to-business-to-consumer) models has introduced an additional layer of complexity to the buying process. An effective loyalty program helps you keep customers engaged as well as provide on-going opportunities to recognize and reward your distributors, suppliers and end customers.

Here are five of the top benefits of a B2B loyalty program:

1. Leverage loyalty data

Loyalty programs not only offer benefits to your customers but also enable your business to collect valuable zero-party data. By encouraging customers to share their personal information and preferences, you can gain a deeper understanding of their values and needs to create a more personalized experience for them.

This zero-party data can also be used to inform marketing strategies, operational decisions, product development and more. The ability to collect this data adds significant value to your company, not just in terms of customer experience but also in the eyes of the investment community.

2. Gain a competitive edge

If your competition has a B2B loyalty program and you don’t, you may be at a disadvantage. Implementing programs across your supply chain and customer journey can help you not only compete but stand out.

David Slavick, Co-founder and Partner at Ascendant Loyalty Marketing, shares his perspective: “A formal program combats this weakness and blunts the competition and/or gains a competitive advantage by creating a program more compelling than what’s offered in the market to in turn achieve the desired effect of incremental revenue at a profitable rate of return.”

3. Meet customer demands and expectations

Having a loyalty program has become table stakes when it comes to retaining customers—whether they be consumers or businesses. In addition to being ‘the price of admission’, loyalty programs also provide a mutual value exchange as well as opportunities to have an on-going conversation with your customers and distributors. The more you learn about them, the more relevant an experience you can deliver.

4. Differentiate your brand

Competing on price alone isn’t an effective long-term business strategy. Loyalty programs give you opportunities to add unique value, giving your customers, agents and distributors additional reasons to do business with you vs. competitors. Offering incentives and rewards, convenience, education and services that make their lives easier encourages them to pay attention to your communications and be reminded of the value of your brand.

5. Experience exponential growth

Loyalty programs are designed to increase customer engagement across the buying journey, taking the customer relationship beyond transactions. According to Gallup, B2B customers with high customer engagement scores achieve 50% higher revenue, 34% higher profitability and 55% higher share of wallet.

David Slavick further reflects on the power of loyalty saying, “As the [loyalty] program continues to delight that member and other decision makers or downstream users of your product/services whether new or existing, their tendency is to become advocates of the program or at the very least more inclined to recommend the brand and likewise the program, thus fueling new customer acquisition via referral.”

B2B loyalty programs in action

IKEA recently launched their free Business Network loyalty program offering perks that include access to IKEA’s consumer loyalty program (IKEA Family), the ability to use IKEA’s Interior Design Service, employee discounts on everything from cars, travel, electronics and more, training, and free coffee or tea when they visit IKEA’s Swedish Restaurant.

Lowe’s recently expanded their MVPs Pro Rewards and Partnership Program to include time-saving tools, such as online quotes, a volume savings program for orders of $1,500 or more, easy reordering of frequently purchased items, and a centralized page to view purchases and track deliveries.

Lenovo was determined not to lose IBM’s former business partners when they bought their X86 server division, so they created the Lenovo Expert Achievers Programme (LEAP). Using education as an incentive, Lenovo helped businesses make more money. Business partners received points for completing education modules and their sales converted into points. The program exceeded their goals, with 700 partners joining. Participants sold seven times more products than the previous year, exceeding their revenue target by 40%.

Celebrity Cruises created a loyalty program for travel agents that included gamification. Agents received higher points for upselling and could earn additional points by besting the leaderboard. More than 12,000 agents joined the program and revenue increased by 13% as a result.

B2B loyalty programs need the right technology

In today’s highly competitive landscape, businesses must find a way to stand out and add value, not just for end customers, but for distributors as well. Annex Cloud has many clients leveraging our scalable, configurable and flexible Loyalty Experience Platform to effectively satisfy the diverse needs of different segments while driving growth and increasing profitability. Contact Annex Cloud today to explore how to engage and retain both B2C and B2B customers while improving their experience with your brand.