The Future of B2B is Rewarding
January 31, 2022 By Stacey Woods
The secret to revenue growth in 2022
If your B2B business is still relying on traditional revenue channels, you are missing out on massive revenue potential. Surprisingly many B2B businesses are lagging behind their B2C counterparts when it comes to having an e-commerce revenue channel. In fact, B2B e-commerce sales are expected to hit $1.8 Trillion in the next year, a 12% increase from 2021). Buyer personas are changing and so are their expectations. With 61% of B2B transactions starting online, millennials expect a seamless digital customer experience when they purchase from wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers.
To capitalize on growing digital trends, having an e-commerce presence is a start but simply not enough. The true secret for a winning digital strategy is to provide a rewarding customer experience with the power of a loyalty marketing program.
Join us as we unlock the top 3 secrets to a successful B2B loyalty program that will maximize your customer relationships and accelerate your growth.
B2B businesses face a different set of challenges than B2C and this should be reflected in the type of loyalty rewards that are offered. With COVID-19 still impacting the flow of goods, purchasing habits, and communication, loyalty programs geared towards businesses need to deliver a seamless customer experience that informs and delights different customer groups. Personalization, rewards, and remarketing are loyalty methods that can work hand-in-hand with any digital strategy for an increased ROI.
Personalization
The responsibility of the business to a buyer is to provide a seamless brand experience that is personalized and rewarding. Around 80% of B2B buying decisions are based on the client’s customer experience which can lead to an increase in revenue.
Creating a personalized customer experience is a worthwhile investment when retaining clients. Traditionally, B2B relationships have been developed over time leading to a high level of trust between buyers and account managers. Loyalty programs offer a new way to digitize this experience.
With a B2B loyalty program, clients have the ability to log in, track their purchases and progress, while earning rewards as they spend. Segmentation allows clients to receive personalized offers, perks, and kickbacks based on their specific buying habits. This can lead to an increase in customer lifetime value.
Tailoring rewards to your specific clients is one way for your B2B business is an effective way to improve customer retention.
B2B Loyalty Rewards
Cashback Rewards
Cashback rewards are a B2B loyalty rewards strategy that can be hugely beneficial. B2B businesses use cashback to financially incentivize buyers and contractors without undervaluing or discounting products. When targeted to highly valued buyers who frequently place large orders; cashback can be a very beneficial tool to drive volume and increase sales.
Loyalty empowers your business to differentiate between buyer status to offer different cashback rates, point percentages, and discounts. Similarly, cashback can be rewarded in the form of a digital or physical gift card from specific brands.
To leverage cashback, these types of rewards should be conditional, ensuring customers meet specific criteria to be eligible. The most successful B2B loyalty programs are time-based with a clear explanation of how long clients have to claim them before expiring.
Example: Vistaprint, an online, wholesale printing company offers 6% cashback (up to $450 annually)
Tier Rewards
Tier rewards are an exciting loyalty strategy that segments clients into buyer groups based on specific criteria. This helps differentiate your most loyal customers based on contract size or average ticket spend and can increase customer retention by 56%!
Tiers enrich a B2B loyalty program by providing access to special experiences, point multipliers, new products, and contests. Things like tickets to sporting events, exclusive access to industry events, and preferred pricing are some of the ways B2B can reward based on tiers. These rewards incentivize the client to spend either more frequently or at a higher volume.
B2B tiers can be leveraged based on the volume of a sales deal, versus traditional B2C loyalty where customers would be placed in tiers based on the amount they spend over a period of time. A tiered program rewards top vendors which increase overall motivation and can be tracked through an e-commerce or standalone loyalty app.
Partner Rewards
With partner rewards, B2B businesses can work with distributors and suppliers to enhance the rewards redemption catalog with promotional gifts for added exposure.
Branded merchandise, gift baskets, and special items can be used as contest prizes and/or progress rewards based on purchase history. These reward items usually don’t cost much but they bring high value to those who receive them. Partner Rewards are a sure-fire way to deepen personal bonds between the B2B customers, suppliers, and your business.
Remarketing
Marketing to businesses is much different than marketing to customers. B2B marketing must address the needs, interests, and challenges of individuals who make purchasing decisions for other companies or organizations. Loyalty programs provide access to invaluable customer data that allows businesses to remarket to existing customers via digital channels to promote and move products.
Source: content marketing institute
Email is a key tool B2B businesses can use to captivate and inform clients. Since digital loyalty programs allow you to collect important customer contact information, businesses can easily reward and incentivize future purchases with automation. Marketing automation helps personalize relationships with each customer, prospect, and lead through relevant strategies.
The rise of B2B e-commerce has led to more companies conducting business on mobile devices with 80% of B2B buyers using mobile devices to make purchases. Alongside email marketing, B2B businesses can leverage SMS text and push notifications to connect to customers on their smartphones. Successful B2B loyalty programs offer buyers omnichannel marketing in order to reach them at every point.
The strength of a successful B2B loyalty program depends on the ability to engage with customers on different channels. When you understand your customers’ pain points, you can win their loyalty by providing them with engaging and relevant content that speaks to their needs.
The Secret’s Out!
So the secret’s out! B2B loyalty programs are still new, but there’s real potential for increased ROI. By taking your B2B business online and digitizing your loyalty program, you can free up some human resources and do business 24/7. This year, consider launching your own B2B loyalty program – it’s the key to growing revenue, maximizing customer relationships, and it’s rewarding!
Ready to start your own B2B loyalty program? Kangaroo Rewards’ Loyalty Rewards platform can help you attract, keep, connect, and grow your business. Kangaroo Rewards helps you engage your customers and foster better customer experiences. Speak to a loyalty expert today for a live demo to learn more about how we can help you launch your customer loyalty program.