Loyalty events for b2b customers. Six tools to increase customer loyalty in B2B

Incentive programs in B2B are nothing new. Dialogue between partners in the format “from you - purchase, from us - a bonus” has been going on for a long time. However, in an environment where competing brands produce goods with similar parameters, it is necessary to restructure communication, supplementing it with new knowledge and values. So, what is a modern loyalty program in the B2B segment?

Building a loyal audience is a key challenge facing today's B2B marketers. It is an extensive loyal audience that allows you to increase your customer base through recommendations and, as a result, create new sales opportunities.

However, the B2B sector is now more concerned with sales volume than with retaining existing customers and encouraging them to repeat purchases and expand partnerships. This problem concerns the majority of players in the entire sector, whose specialists already have a vital need to shift their attention from the product and internal business processes to customers and interact more effectively with them.

Undoubtedly, one of the most important tools here is a competent loyalty program, which clearly articulates the objectives, defines the target groups and ways of dialogue with them, and provides for the possibility of providing relevant, personalized proposals.

It should be noted that in Russia the segment of loyalty programs in B2B sales is not yet widely developed, but it is here that the need for it is especially acute, since attracting new business partners requires significantly more investment than building customer loyalty in the traditional sales segment. And here the losses are especially noticeable. In the face of intense competition in the industry, when many companies produce products with similar parameters, it is especially important to deepen the dialogue with retailers, intermediaries, wholesale buyers, expanding their knowledge about the brand, its values, product benefits and catalog novelties.

If you look at it, interaction with customers in B2B has a lot in common with how a brand interacts with a buyer in the B2C segment. There is a buyer, there is a product, there is a need for the buyer to get in touch with the brand more often and distinguish a certain company from competitors due to a deeper immersion in its values, more voluminous knowledge about its advantages and novelties. And if in the B2C segment the loss of one or two customers does not affect the effective operation of the company, then in the B2B segment it can have quite serious consequences.

Goals of loyalty programs and their evolution

To begin with, sales promotion programs have been around for a long time, and they have some elements of what can be called a “loyalty program”. And their “maximum” tasks are similar: attracting new customers and creating conditions for retaining existing partners. However, in a finer setting, the goals of an incentive program and B2B loyalty programs have fundamental differences and undergo fundamental changes over time.

Historically, most B2B incentive programs have been launched as short-term, and aimed at achieving certain KPIs, such as sales of specific SKUs, assortment optimization, shelf space competition, or improved presentation of a particular product. And when partners act in accordance with the requirements of the program, they receive a certain set of bonuses. The program has its own limited duration, at the end of which an analysis of its effectiveness is carried out.

The main disadvantage of this approach is the impossibility of continuous analysis of the effectiveness of the business partnership, since the joint program has a limited validity period (year, quarter, etc.), and is not related to subsequent and previous activities. The process is often not automated, and manually extracted data reflects only the actions of business partners within fairly limited tasks. Under such conditions, marketers are constantly faced with the impossibility of a deeper analysis of the effectiveness of the interaction. And, as a result, they cannot expand it.

Moreover, such an approach has often become (and becomes) the cause of abuse and tricks, for example, in order to receive bonuses, a retailer buys products with a margin, after which they do not make purchases at all for a long time. Agree, in such a scenario it is absolutely impossible to carry out a clear, systematic work, planning financial flows, the load on logistics areas and other segments of the company's activities.

Due to the same fragmentation, companies cannot assess how one campaign affects another, and which particular techniques affect partners more effectively. The analysis is based on the results of a specific campaign, and does not consider the entire system of promotional activity. In addition to this, manufacturing companies are increasingly saying that they would like to include new options for partner activity in the interaction program, but their desires are not reflected in traditional mechanics.

The main disadvantage of existing sales promotion programs is that they do not in any way affect the deepening of knowledge of intermediaries and buyers about the values of a particular brand, its innovations and production features. We can say that customers deal exclusively with the final product. And the risk that a competitor will start producing the same product and provide no less favorable conditions is quite high.

Raising product awareness has become a new trend in loyalty programs for the B2B sector. Immersion in product features leads to increased sales, as customers not only become more knowledgeable about product features, but gradually take on the role of so-called “advocates” for a particular brand. This, in turn, sets the manufacturer apart from the competition and gives it a strong advantage.

The desire to expand the scope of partnerships and deepen customer awareness of the final product has led to the emergence of two new elements in modern B2B loyalty programs:

Continuity and transparency

Partners need to understand exactly what they need to do to stay active in the program and how they can reap maximum benefits over an extended period of time.

Increasing the number of touchpoints

The manufacturer and retailer can be useful to each other not only in the context of SKUs and bonuses received. Thus, the brand can receive information about end consumers, and the retailer, in turn, can quickly receive data about its offers, new products, catalog updates, and use them to optimize the assortment. Both are possible due to the creation of a special communication environment, the center of which is in activities that, in a certain sense, lie “above trade”.

And the main question: how to get the supplier to actively participate in the life of such a platform?

How to implement it? – case

An American multinational company with more than 90,000 employees around the world was looking for a new way to interact directly with retailers and wholesalers. Knowing that partners are actively purchasing similar products from other manufacturers, the company wanted to increase buyer engagement, as well as increase brand awareness and customer loyalty.

The task was not easy - to find a new format for dialogue with intermediaries and wholesale buyers in the form of providing them with understandable and interesting content. The company launched a new website and wanted to make it so that partners visit its pages more often and regularly take part in activities that help increase brand awareness and a clear understanding of its values and advantages against competitors.

It was not easy to find a reliable solution provider whose loyalty and engagement program would help automate marketing activities and build an effective and, most importantly, original concept.

You probably know that acquiring a new customer costs 5-10 times more than retaining an existing one. And that's not all: the average bill for regular customers, according to statistics, is 67% higher than for new ones.

In modern commerce, retention and repeat sales are the main driver of growth. Most companies integrate loyalty programs to achieve these goals, but many of them do not think about what is really important for customers.

According to Colloquy Customer Loyalty Census, 13 out of 30 loyalty programs stop working within a year of launch. Companies are losing time and money, and customers do not see the value in the offer to "accumulate points and exchange them for a hat."

To prevent your program from becoming a member of the Looser-13 list, you should first familiarize yourself with the existing customer retention models on the market

Cumulative loyalty program

This is the most common model with a very simple mechanics - regular customers accumulate points for their subsequent exchange for material benefits (discount, free product, special offer, etc.)

Despite the apparent simplicity of this method, many companies manage to complicate the program so much that they themselves begin to get confused in it.

“14 points can be exchanged for $1, and twenty dollars accumulated is a 50% discount from the next purchase in April” is not a loyalty program, but a headache.

When implementing a funded system, remember that it should be simple and straightforward. This model can be integrated into almost any B2C business, but it is best used where there is a high frequency of purchases.

Boloco "s. Loyalty program "Boloco Card".

The American restaurant chain Boloco is known not only for its burritos, but also for its effective loyalty program. According to its rules, members receive 1 item for free for every $50 spent. It can be an extra-large burrito or a small smoothie. Boloco speaks to its customers in a language they understand, measuring points in dollars and dollars in goods.

Tiered Loyalty Program

Finding a balance between the value of the prize and its attainability is the main task of the company when designing a loyalty program. Achieving this goal can be facilitated by the introduction of a tiered model of customer retention and encouragement.

By rewarding small prizes as the client moves up the loyalty ladder to more significant rewards, you keep his attention and maintain interest in participating in the program.

The main advantage of a tiered model over a cumulative one is that the client derives both short-term and long-term benefits from it. The accumulative system is not so interesting for customers, because. the interval between purchase and achievement of the goal is usually too long, so often customers simply forget about the program.

This system is widespread in businesses with high commitment, such as airlines, hospitality and insurance companies.

Virgin Atlantic. Flying Club loyalty program.

Virgin Atlantics offers its passengers a fairly common among airlines tiered loyalty program, which involves the accumulation of miles. Passengers are segmented by clubs: "Red", "Silver", "Gold". Members of the Krasny club can exchange their accumulated miles for car rental, parking and hotel payments. "Silver" - get 50% more points on flights and have priority access on check-in. Gold points double miles and provide access to VIP lounges.

Paid loyalty program

The goal of a loyalty program is to strengthen the relationship between business and customer. Think about it, wouldn't it be better for you, instead of offering a small benefit for free, to give your customers more value, but at a cost?

Apple. Loyalty program "Not in this life, buddy"

Even the most loyal buyers of Apple products do not receive discounts and prizes. A brand focuses primarily on a product and service that fully meets the requirements of their target audience. Therefore, the Apple loyalty program can be called natural.

Finally

Many companies become hostages of their loyalty programs, even when it ceases to bring results - they are afraid to cancel it. Marketers should take a look at the intricate reward and motivation systems and understand what is of real value to customers.

By reviewing these examples, you can begin the process of designing a program that will help you meet your business goals and be of interest to your customers.

B2B business to business (business to business) is a business area that specializes in providing services and selling goods not to the end consumer, but to other companies.

This area of business has a number of significant differences from the B2C business to custome (business to consumer). B2B companies typically don't treat their corporate customers as loyal customers, which marketers see as a huge mistake for large and medium-sized businesses.

However, the B2B sector is gradually adopting best practices from the consumer-facing environment in order to provide its customers with a unique consumer experience that traditional buyers enjoy.

One of the most effective strategic mechanisms that B2C companies use to attract, reward and retain their customers is the implementation of various types of loyalty programs. Is this tool able to integrate well into the B2B business space? Is there any value in big business loyalty programs in the B2B space? Let's figure it out together with the experts of the Manzana Group.

Loyalty programs and their value for B2B business

Rewarding customer loyalty is of great importance for B2B companies as it eventually converts occasional customers into repeat customers. Loyalty programs improve customer experience, minimize, if not avoid, natural churn and retain existing customers, which is considered a strategic imperative for any B2B venture. Despite the fact that loyalty programs for B2C and B2B businesses have the same goal, the methods of their implementation are somewhat different.

What is the difference between loyalty programs for B2C and B2B business

Unlike end-to-end sales, B2B is a smaller, more focused target market with specific customers. To successfully implement a loyalty program for a B2B business, it is important to determine the following parameters:

identify a potential customer segment and calculate the average purchase cycle;

identify interested buying companies and decide how to stimulate them, what goals they pursue and what benefits they seek;

objectively evaluate the value of special offers and rewards under the proposed loyalty program;

determine the subtleties and nuances of the business area you work with, the marketing segment and the sub-model in the B2B sector.

Planning a strategy for a loyalty program in the field of B2B business

To start developing a successful B2B loyalty program, you must first determine how to use customer data to improve customer relationships. As a rule, B2B organizations have a smaller customer base compared to companies working for a retail consumer, which theoretically allows for a more thorough analysis of information and a better understanding of it.

Here are some tips for developing such a loyalty program:

Make a list of all regular customers that your company considers to be a priority and especially important for increasing the profitability of the business.

Make sure you understand the strategic goals of your business and partners and tailor your operations to meet specific customer needs.

Try to analyze the situation within each acquiring company and identify the person who is responsible for interacting with your company. Next, think of a personalized (perfectly competitive) loyalty solution.

Conduct customer interaction research at all touchpoints.

Segment your customer base to maximize your interaction with each segment.

Develop a system for assessing customer loyalty to the company in order to analyze changes in this parameter in dynamics.

Initiate and encourage dialogue with your customers, collect feedback, comments and opinions from various sources.

Determine what triggers and incentives contribute to the achievement of mutual goals.

Set a specific measure to track progress towards your goals.

Experts recommend that representatives of large B2B businesses think first of all about a multi-level loyalty program. Layered systems allow you to increase customer loyalty from the very beginning and encourage existing customers to increase the volume of cooperation in order to acquire greater discounts and benefits.

You can start with small incentives to encourage customers to sign up for a loyalty program and offer more valuable rewards for those customers who have been actively using the program for a long time

The development of a loyalty program for B2B business should be entrusted only to true professionals who are familiar with the intricacies and peculiarities of this area of business activity. It is these marketers who work at the Manzana Group.

The task of most b2b companies is not just to sell goods, but to interest the client in the constant and effective sale of your products. This article highlights the experiences of companies and executives that have successfully achieved this goal.

Practice experience

We have developed a system solution that will be effective for many years

Dmitry Mazurin Commercial Director of the representative office of BWT in Russia, Moscow

About five years ago, I worked at an enterprise manufacturing pumping equipment for domestic and industrial needs. Our products have made people's lives easier and more enjoyable, technical processes more efficient and the environment healthier. We wanted our products to be available to everyone in Russia, and for its successful and widespread promotion, a developed network of dealers loyal to the brand was required.

To implement ambitious plans, we thought about developing a loyalty program for distributors. It was especially important for us that this program should operate for several years.

The essence of the program

Our idea was to create a brand promotion management system (through the product) that unites the manufacturer and the regional dealer network. To do this, it was necessary to develop a marketing plan common with dealers (providing for an annual evaluation of the results and adjustment of marketing activities), a budget, a unified style, as well as a system for selecting program participants and a differentiated approach in determining the share of payment for a particular promotion. At the same time, for all parties, the prospect had to be absolutely clear, and the benefits obvious.

How the program worked

Stage 1 (July-August). Regional dealers analyzed the market situation, the effectiveness of marketing tools that were used in the first half of the year; based on this data, they prepared a draft marketing plan for the next year. In the plan, they painted tactical ideas for brand development, taking into account regional characteristics.

Stage 2 (September). The advertising agency received the marketing plans of all the company's regional dealers and chose the best ways to promote products next year. Both for the agency and for the dealers, the benefit was obvious. The agency received an annual volume of orders in the region, and the dealer got rid of the need to keep marketers on staff (the agency took over all the work); it was enough for him to simply formulate ideas, and the agency had already concretized them in the form of a marketing plan. The result is a single regional marketing plan for all dealers with full costing.

Stage 3 (October). The manufacturer determined the final marketing budget for the next year and the share of each of the dealers in it. The share of the dealer in the costs of promotion (advertising in the press and on billboards, on radio and television, participation in exhibitions, seminars) was to be at least 50% for each promotion. We controlled the spending of target funds according to the quarterly reporting of dealers (they sent payment orders and acceptance certificates for work). We were especially careful about the budget at the beginning of the program, as many dealers sold not only our goods, but also the products of competitors. Our employee checked and approved each advertising layout of the dealer, and only after that we paid our part. There was a rule: if only our equipment is advertised, we will reimburse 50% of the costs. If equipment of other brands appears in the advertisement, our equity participation is reduced by a multiple of their number. As a result, very soon dealers began to promote only our equipment and brand.

Dealer rating. We have created a system of criteria with points (annual turnover, experience of working with our company, dynamics of expenses for marketing enterprises, willingness to promote a new product, service). For each of the criteria, points were awarded to the dealer, and based on their sum, a coefficient was derived that determined the maximum level of our investment in promotion with the participation of this particular dealer. Sometimes we were ready to invest 10 thousand euros a year, and sometimes 50 thousand. Of course, provided that the dealer himself invests the same amount.

Result

The first two years were spent on polishing regulations, processes and workflow. The effect of the introduction of the program was so significant that it surprised even its creators. Here are some numbers.

Brand awareness in the home appliance segment increased from 23% to 52% in the first two years.
With an average annual growth of the company's turnover by about 30% (at that time), the savings in promotion costs averaged the same 30% (the significant contribution of dealers affected). In absolute terms, this is millions of rubles.
Due to the developed dealer network, the company annually began to take part in an average of 80 regional exhibitions. At first, these events gave the new organization almost the only opportunity to make itself known in local markets).
The company received a powerful analytical tool that made it possible to accurately calculate the parameters of the program for the next year. The marketing plans were consolidated by one agency, while the performance report was prepared by another. We specifically went down this path to get independent assessments. The analysis of different opinions showed how effective this or that action and the strategy as a whole. From what did not justify itself, we refused.
The partners became interested in the new idea, it captured and united them. The routine sales process was filled with new emotions, new thoughts began to arise, the desire to think and invent (dealers began to show general interest in the third year after the launch of the program).
Dealers consolidated, the usual way of their competitive struggle - dumping - was replaced by a search for interesting ideas that could distinguish a partner from the general list.
The share of the company's products in the portfolios of dealers has increased significantly (it can be called a strategic mini-goal of any manufacturer in dealing with a dealer without exaggeration).
Even small regional dealers felt themselves to be part of a large European company.

Practice experience

We try not to launch meaningless promotions

Anastasia Bezkorovainaya Director of the Department for Work with VIP Clients of the ABE Translation Bureau, Moscow

Loyalty programs are aimed primarily at retaining old customers. The implementation of such a program in our company allows you to keep from 15 to 20% of customers. But, of course, the implementation of the program itself cannot guarantee sales growth or an increase in the volume of orders. To achieve such results, when you run the program, you need to be sure that you are giving customers exactly what they really need. Before developing the program, we carefully analyzed the needs of clients and found out that they needed personal attentions and highly specialized promotions; it was even found that consumer loyalty increases if they can tell colleagues and acquaintances something new and interesting about the contractor. Another necessary condition is the availability of information about the loyalty program.

So what do we do in such a program?

We remind ourselves to each client

In order not to be intrusive, but also not to let ourselves be forgotten, we use a schedule (it can be kept in any program, even in Microsoft Excel; see Table 1). Anything can serve as a reason to communicate with a client: clarification of some nuance in the work, company news. Our experience shows that it is important to maintain human relations, a positive attitude; it is desirable to mention something related directly to the client.

In some cases, you can limit yourself to a letter, but a phone call is more effective. In our company, all managers call clients (according to the schedule), and each communicates with those whom he leads. Sometimes the head of the company also makes calls.

A good occasion to remind about yourself and make the client pleasant - holidays. In this case, we use virtual postcards. The main thing is to carefully choose them, paying attention to the plot and style. If the choice is correct, your customers will start forwarding the card to friends and acquaintances (and your company will receive free advertising). Do not be afraid of humor: if “office” relationships are replaced by human ones, this is wonderful.

Come up with a reason for a discount

Discount promotions are an integral part of loyalty programs. We use both regular discounts (depending on the volume of the order) and regular discount programs. When launching such promotions, the main thing is to think carefully about the reason, mechanism and goal that you want to achieve. We try not to run pointless "5% holiday discount" campaigns. Here are some promotions we have done recently.

"Name Day Month". This promotion was held with us until August 1, 2010. The bottom line: each client (more precisely, an employee of the client company working with us), whose name day fell on the month of the order, automatically received a discount. All partners were checked by our managers, but there were cases when clients themselves drew our attention to their name days and found out the details. In this event, we focused on the involvement of a specific person (in particular, we immediately switched to you), transferring customer relationships to a different level of communication.

"Prospective Client" As part of this promotion (it took place in May), we offered new customers to sign a framework contract and gave a discount on their first order. The idea was to move from a one-time order to a long-term cooperation. By itself, the signing of a non-binding contract in exchange for a discount did not guarantee customer loyalty, however, having received quality services for less money, customers returned to us again and again.

Table 1. Customer support

Practice experience

Sometimes it's good to make the bonus system simpler but tougher

Alexey Filimonov Member of the Board of Directors of Digital Design, St. Petersburg

My experience shows that if non-financial ways to stimulate distributors should be varied (the partner receives positive emotional support in excess of the expected), then the situation is different with financial methods. In some cases, it can be useful to make the bonus system simpler but tougher, so that the distributor clearly understands how much he receives and how much he loses in case of inefficient activity. After all, the formation of loyalty is not only about stroking the head - sometimes it is necessary to put pressure on it.

A few years ago, I ran a branch of a large tea and coffee company. We have had cases where the tightening and simplification of the motivation system had a significant effect. For example, for a number of wholesale clients, I combined all bonuses (for compliance with recommended prices, payment stability, plan fulfillment) into one. These bonuses themselves were quite small (1-2% of the cost of shipped products), so wholesale customers in a certain period could neglect the implementation of some task. Since wholesalers have limited free cash, they sometimes preferred to lose the bonus and invest in the products of another manufacturer (as long as, for example, he has additional discounts). When I combined our small bonuses and made them dependent on the key indicator “sales plan fulfillment”, clients had something to lose. As a result, in two years the sales volumes of wholesale customers grew by 80%, and the sales themselves became significantly more stable.

I would like to note two more factors on which the effectiveness of customer loyalty programs now increasingly depends.

1 . The importance of information systems is growing, since increasing the efficiency of loyalty programs is possible primarily on the basis of the analysis of statistical data.

2. It becomes more and more important such a factor as the convenience and transparency of interaction between employees of both companies (distributor and manufacturer). I call this the service approach. Loyalty exists not only at the level of organizations, but also - above all! - at the level of interacting employees. This approach to work implies that the manufacturer makes information more accessible to partners, business processes - more transparent and understandable, increases the involvement of the distributor in their activities. Indeed, it is extremely important for partners to feel close to the manufacturer: they want to know what is happening with their applications, convey their opinion about products and their promotion to the marketing department, receive detailed analytical data on their sales and selective data on the work of other distributors. Today, thanks to information technology, it has become possible to provide this information to distributors without much effort.

Expert opinion

Features of b2b loyalty programs

In the sphere of b2b, unlike b2c, there cannot be a quantitative category "mass" when product consumer 1 - anyone. Only target groups of different sizes and single clients are possible. Namely:

a large group (segments are cut off from the entire mass of customers, for example, according to the “expensive” principle);
a small group (customers are cut off from the entire mass of consumers according to two criteria, for example, "price" and "specifics");
units (in principle, a company can have only a certain number of customers, and none more).

Another specific feature of b2b loyalty programs is that the price category does not reflect the unit price of the product, but the amount of the transaction. For example, an expensive product may be sold in a small batch and the transaction falls into the lower or lower-middle category.

In the b2b segment, the loyalty program is much more often local or even private, since a company may have very few customers, but each of them is valuable and each needs an individual approach. There is a widespread belief that the only thing that makes sense in this area is the information load, since b2b customers are looking for information. But practice shows that everything is not so simple. Yes, there is less room for creativity and play in b2b. But people everywhere remain people - they perceive information at a logical, conceptual and emotional level. If you use all the possibilities, then the effect will be different. We must act carefully, but creatively (see Table 2).

Table 2. How to choose a technique to increase customer loyalty in b2b

What are the loyalty programs in the b2b segment
How to find out which elements of the loyalty program will be of interest to your customers
What percentage of the profit can be spent on the club loyalty program and what return should be expected

At b2b marketing three main tasks: to attract new customers, develop relationships with them (work to ensure that the average check grows and orders are made more often) and reduce their outflow. These problems can be solved in different ways. This article opens a series of publications on b2b marketing techniques. In each article, my colleagues and I will consider one tool, the effectiveness of which has been tested in practice. Now we will talk about loyalty programs: I will tell you which program helped our company increase sales to many customers by 30%.

What are the loyalty programs

Loyalty programs used by various enterprises can be divided into three types.

Rollback. The easiest and most inefficient way, as it gives only a short-term result. The bottom line is simple: for a reward or gifts (for example, vouchers), the decision maker chooses the most generous supplier. To continue cooperation, the buyer needs to be constantly pampered with something. I have never used this method.

Bonus programs: gifts for points. This is a popular method of gaining loyalty in the b2b segment; in fact - a slightly improved version of the rollback. Here's how the bonus program works in practice: for making purchases to a decision maker, the supplier accrues points, which he exchanges for something useful for himself. A gift can be, for example, household appliances or even money. Such a program is tied to a specific buyer and improves only his loyalty, while for productive and long-term cooperation it is necessary to increase the loyalty of the client company as a whole.

Solving customer problems that are not directly related to your product. Let's say you sell cement and quite successfully compete with other suppliers in terms of quality and price. But these two factors are not the only important ones for the customer, he has other problems as well. For example , it is profitable for him to buy products in large quantities, but there is nowhere to store them. By relieving the client of this difficulty, you will win his loyalty. That is the way we went.

First you need to understand what problems your customers have.

The idea to increase customer loyalty by helping to solve their problems appeared a long time ago. There are two ways to understand what problems are relevant for the client:

analyze the market in which it operates, its competitive environment;
ask him himself (in a personal conversation or questionnaire).