Analyst: VARs should adopt consumer-style loyalty schemes

No reason business customers should not be rewarded, says Forrester

B2B tech firms ought to take a leaf out of the book of their consumer counterparts and offer regular customers loyalty schemes, according to Forrester.

The analyst said keeping customers happy so they return is just as important in the B2B world as in the consumer space, but added that marketers in the former industry tend to snub the idea of loyalty schemes.

"Sure, customer loyalty programmes are most frequently associated with consumer-facing rewards schemes, but earning customer loyalty is very important for B2B companies too," said Forrester researcher Emily Collins. "After all, loyal and satisfied B2B customers provide testimonials, case studies and referrals that result in a fuller and more qualified pipeline of new business.

"It can be easy for B2B marketers to dismiss consumer loyalty models as inapplicable to their complex business relationships, but there is a lot more to consumer loyalty than points and discounts."

She added that on top of keeping customers happy, businesses can gain a range of bonuses from offering loyalty schemes to regular buyers, such as a deeper understanding of customers' needs and motivations to buy.

"[B2B companies] must continue to grow their knowledge about the customer," she said. "Building this knowledge base from sources such as satisfaction surveys, digital interactions, and customer success management systems is especially important given the complexity of B2B purchase decisions."

She said that all aspects of B2B organisations need to be on board with any future loyalty schemes.

"Business customers interact with many parts of the organisation including marketing, sales, service, and support," she said. "Reaching across the aisle to teams that interface most frequently with customers, resellers, and end users leads to more productive customer outcomes."