Whether you’re looking to strengthen your existing sales channels or establish yourself with Australian and New Zealand audiences, implementing a reward program or loyalty program is one of the best ways to build and maintain strong and long-lasting relationships with customers.
When you think of a rewards program, you might think of frequent flyers points, bonus points, everyday rewards or even heading to your local coffee shop and being rewarded with a free hot drink on your birthday. However, in the B2B sphere, what does customer loyalty look like, and how can you nurture it?
A B2B rewards program might operate differently from the above-listed B2C examples because the importance of a B2B rewards program lies in shaping brand perception to your channel partners who stock and on-sell your products, rather than to the end user. A successful B2B reward program will do some of the heavy lifting for your marketing, allowing your customers to be the ones promoting your brand down the line.
What Benefit Does a Reward Program Offer?
You may be reading this page and asking, “How much value can a rewards program offer my business?”
A reward program is a marketing strategy that rewards customers for their loyalty. By offering rewards for repeat business, businesses can encourage customers to continue purchasing from them. This can lead to increased sales, improved customer satisfaction, and greater customer retention.
Australian and New Zealand B2B businesses can use reward programs to achieve several different goals, including:
- Increase customer loyalty: Reward programs can help businesses with existing customer retention and encourage them to earn rewards and do more business with the brand. Customers like to earn points!
- Generate new leads: Reward programs can also be used to generate new leads by offering rewards to customers who refer new business to the company.
- Improve customer satisfaction: Reward programs can help to improve customer satisfaction by showing that the business values their loyalty. Adopting loyalty and reward program initiatives can help you provide a tangible reason for your channel partners to continue coming back.
- Increase sales: Reward programs can also help to increase sales by encouraging customers to make more frequent purchases. When considering your competition, this may allow you to take a greater share of your wallet from your customers than your competitors.
How Do I Build a Reward Program for My Customers?
When designing your loyalty program benefits, it is important to consider the following factors:
- Target audience: The reward program should be designed to appeal to the business’s target audience. For example, an automotive parts retailer would like to incentivise a mechanic to purchase from them, consistently and frequently.
- Budget: The cost of the reward program should be factored into the overall marketing budget and in some cases, you can have a reward program funded by suppliers. Most importantly it is important to ensure that the program is seen as providing value to your channel partners, through the points they earn. The value of a reward programs points is typically funded by the sales margin or amount you are willing to give away for dollar spent. Getting the reward point value right will be the major incentive to your customers.
- Goals: The reward program should be designed to achieve specific business goals and solving pain points, such as increasing customer engagement or generating new leads. It is essential that you begin designing a rewards program with a clear goal in mind.
- Metrics: The success of the reward program should be measured using metrics such as customer satisfaction, sales, and lead generation.
Reward programs can be a valuable tool for B2B businesses. By carefully planning and designing a reward program, businesses can improve customer loyalty, generate new leads, and increase sales.
Here are some additional tips for creating a successful B2B loyalty program:
- Make sure the rewards are valuable and relevant to your target audience. If the customer doesn’t find appeal within your rewards, it shows a disconnect between the brand and the base, which can cause issues with customer retention.
- Keep the program simple and easy to understand. The work to redeem has to be less than the effort it takes to buy, otherwise, you lose the appeal to your partners.
- Promote the program to your customers through a variety of channels, such as email, social media, and in-store signage. It is important to keep your brand and its appeal front-of-mind, as understanding your customer’s purchasing habits is tantamount to success.
- Track the results of the program and adjust as needed. We can assist with this, as B2B reward program strategy is one of 212F’s key philosophies.
By following these tips, we can create a B2B reward program to help you achieve your business goals.
