As anyone who runs a business knows, some customers are better than others. It’s not just that they spend more money. Like any good relationship, it’s the little things that count the most. And also, they spend more money.
Free Download: B2B Customer Loyalty eBook
Revisiting the Pareto Principle
When we’ve talked about this subject in the past, we’ve tended to focus on moving that middle 60 up through points programs that reward them for spending more.
But—though it may seem counterintuitive to suggest—there’s more to focus on than how much they buy from you.
Great Contractor Rewards
-
Following up. How often does a contractor follow up with your sales reps? How often are they communicating with you outside of a transactional context?
-
Training and enablement. One of the most valuable things a loyalty program can do is improve not only how much your contractor spends with you, but how they run their own business. Attending webinars or completing training modules can be as beneficial to you as it is to your contractors. That’s because these strategies enable them to better use or sell your product.
- Online engagement. If you’re in the B2B world you’ve probably come around to the notion that it’s necessary to have an online presence. You know this, and your contractors know it. So, make it worth your time: reward program participants for interacting with your eCommerce platform if you have one, or for writing a review for one of your products online.
-
Referrals. The classic “refer-a-friend” program has long been a staple of the business world. Incorporate it into your contractor loyalty program. Offer a reward to your program participants for either bringing more of your contractors into the program or bringing new customers to your business. Or both!
If you’ve set incremental goals for your program participants to meet, you can help them reach their goals by assigning a monetary value to these behaviors to encourage your contractors to engage in them.
Or, if your program isn’t structured that way, you can offer bonus points that they can redeem for contractor rewards in your catalogue.
Conclusion
A great contractor loyalty program succeeds at multiple different levels.
It’s mutually beneficial for you and your program participants.
It reinforces a sense of partnership and community.
And it rewards everyone’s best practices.
Making more Number-Ones isn’t just good for you; it’s good for them too.
The main question you should be asking yourself as a B2B business is: what’s going to move the needle for your company? What is your marketing team working on right now that your program can help forward by rewarding a desired behavior?
A program doesn’t need to stay isolated to your sales team and channel partners. Make it a company-wide endeavor. Make it work for you and your business’s goals.
