A B2B e-commerce loyalty program makes sense when the cost of acquiring a new customer is growing faster than revenue, and the company already has a customer base that it knows little about. In B2B, the program's benefits must reach a specific customer – a decision-maker, a supplier, or an installer – because each wants something different. This article describes mechanisms that increase purchase frequency, five implementation paths (from the current state of most companies to a dedicated loyalty engine), an example program for architects and installers, and a checklist of questions before talking to a contractor.
Why does a growing advertising budget stop bringing in new customers?
Most online stores go through the same cycle. Initially, every zloty spent on advertising brings in new customers, then channels become saturated, and subsequent campaigns cost more and more and bring less and less. At this point, a B2B loyalty program ceases to be a marketing add-on and becomes one of the few ways to continue growing without a commensurate budget increase.
We described the situation the same way in a workshop with one of our clients, an electrical equipment and lighting retailer: the cost of acquiring a customer in Google Ads is rising, search engine rankings can fluctuate, and the market is increasingly competitive on price. A company pays once to acquire a customer, but can earn from them for years, provided it knows who the customer is and how they shop.
This trend is confirmed by research on customer loyalty. Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company, the creator of the NPS concept, calculated that in financial services, a 5% increase in customer retention translates into over 25% higher profits . This data comes from a different industry than B2B e-commerce , but the mechanism is the same: a customer who stays longer does not generate repeated acquisition costs and, over time, buys more. Therefore, in a mature market, customer lifetime value (LTV) becomes more important than acquisition cost (CAC). We write more about how to calculate return on investment in a platform in our article on the ROI of implementing a B2B platform.
The problem is that most companies don't view their database as an asset. In the case of the aforementioned client, a regular customer who placed orders regularly had more than a dozen guest accounts in the system because he'd never created a single one. Therefore, the company couldn't track his purchase history or offer him anything based on it. It wasn't until the accounts were organized and CRM was implemented that it was possible to return to customers who had already purchased with a specific offer.
How does a B2B loyalty program differ from a B2C program?
In B2C, a loyalty program typically involves points, coupons, and discounts on future purchases. The buyer and payer are the same person, so any benefits go directly to them. In business-to-business sales, the relationship is more complex, and differences between B2B and B2C systems are also evident in loyalty.
The most important differences to consider when designing a program:
- Several people on the client side. The decision to select a supplier is made by the management or owner, orders are placed by the supplier, and the installer assembles the product. A program that rewards only the company as a whole bypasses the people who actually decide where the next order goes.
- Individual commercial conditions. B2B customers often have negotiated prices, volume discounts, and purchase thresholds. A loyalty program must work alongside these terms and not duplicate them, otherwise the company ends up paying the same margin twice. We describe how the platform handles individual price lists in the article about price application in e-commerce B2B.
- Cyclical purchases instead of impulsive ones. B2B customers buy what they need for work. The goal of the program is to ensure order predictability and ensure that the next order goes to you as well.
- B2B and B2C interface. An installer or architect buys in a B2B model, but often for the end customer, who pays for the entire transaction. A well-designed program serves both worlds simultaneously: it gives the specialist a tool to serve their customer and rewards them for making purchases through your store.
Many companies already have some of these mechanisms, just scattered throughout. During the same workshop, we outlined everything the client was doing to maintain their audience: discount codes, freebies in the shopping cart, product reviews, and a marketing automation implementation plan. Each of these elements operated independently, and none were part of a program with a clearly defined business goal.
Who on the client side is expected to benefit from the program?
The first step in designing a B2B loyalty program is to define the roles on the buyer's side and answer the question of what value the program should deliver to each of them. Without this, it's easy to build a program that looks good in the report but doesn't motivate anyone in practice.
| Client-side role | What does she care about? | The benefit you will feel |
|---|---|---|
| Owner, management | purchasing costs, trading conditions, reliability of deliveries | volume discount, better payment terms, dedicated price list |
| Purveyor, merchant | convenient ordering, speed, fewer phone calls | quick reordering, shopping lists, material prizes for yourself |
| Installer, fitter, architect | time, commission, customer service | tool for preparing offers, control of your own margin, awards from outside the industry |
Points credited to a company's account often never reach the person placing the order. The supplier won't experience them personally, and they're the one choosing which supplier to click "order" from each day. A cinema voucher, a free product, or a material reward, directed to a specific individual, works better in such situations than points for the company.
A similar observation was made by someone on our team who previously ran campaigns for electrical installers at a distributor. A discount on a cable that was a few złoty cheaper didn't impress them, but campaigns that allowed them to save up for a smartphone or console within six months worked well. Participants felt they were contributing something to their families from their work.
For a platform to reward specific individuals, it must distinguish them within a single company account. In B2B e-commerce, this is achieved through accounts of multiple users with permissions, and determining who can award points and who can redeem them is a business decision to be made at the outset of the project.
What B2B loyalty program mechanisms increase purchase frequency?
Below we have collected the mechanisms we work with in B2B and B2C projects , along with what each of them is used for.
- Points program. Customers collect points for purchases, and the rules in the panel determine what they can be redeemed for, at what rate, and what portion of the order value they can cover. At Sellin, points can be used for payments up to a specified percentage of the transaction value, and the customer's points balance is visible in their account.
- Per product and per share billing rules. Not every product has to earn the same number of points. In a presentation for one of our prospects, we showed a setup where products on sale don't receive points, so that the company doesn't stack discounts on top of discounts.
- Discount thresholds and prices based on quantity. The more a customer buys in a given product group, the lower the rate. In B2B, this often works better than points, because the benefit is immediately visible on the invoice.
- Access to exceptional conditions. A discount zone, early access to new products or a dedicated price list for program members give a sense of belonging without giving away a discount to everyone.
- Affiliate program and referrals. In a conversation with a company considering a store relocation, we discussed an ambassador program: the ambassador receives a percentage discount, can share it with the people they recommend, and the funds are either paid out via invoice or used for in-store purchases. Such a program can be built as an extension of a standard loyalty module.
- Material prizes and vouchers for individuals. Especially where the buyer is not the owner of the company, as we wrote above.
- Limited validity of points. Points that expire encourage you to order again within a certain timeframe instead of putting off your purchases.
- Unique codes and actions for segments. Discount codes with usage reports and promotions limited to customer groups allow you to check which promotion actually brought about returning orders.
- Reactivation communication. An email to a customer who hasn't ordered in a while, a banner on a B2B dashboard targeted at their group, a reminder about points before they expire. Without communication, even a well-designed program goes unnoticed. We write more about automating such activities in the article about sales automation in e-commerce.
How does the program for architects and installers work in practice?
A good example of a program that combines B2B and B2C is a club for architects, installers, and electricians run by one of our clients, for whom we develop CRM and sales tools. The program stems from the observation that architects and installers don't want to run around to suppliers and demand commissions of several hundred złoty.
Instead of calculating commission after the fact, the club gives the specialist a tool: they can browse the store's assortment, prepare an offer for their client, and control their own commission using the discount calculator. This is complemented by preferential pricing, constant access to the discount zone, and advice on ordering. The specialist earns money on every project without additional paperwork, and the store receives orders that would otherwise have gone to another supplier.
In practice, the most interesting part is what happens next. The client connects the club to the CRM, which, on the one hand, maps the club's terms and conditions, and, on the other, searches for regular customers with whom salespeople should contact. In this way, the loyalty program ceases to be a separate tab on the website and becomes part of the daily work of the sales department.
On the platform side, this can be built on standard modules: a B2B account with assigned trading terms, price lists per group, promotions limited to client groups, and an offer module. The part that handles the specialist's commission and the offer for their client usually requires custom work.
Five ways to create a loyalty program in your B2B store
The choice depends on the maturity of the current customer base and what the program is intended to accomplish. We'll start with the state most companies are in, as in some cases, it's still a sensible choice.
| Drug | What is | When is enough enough? | limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Individual actions and conditions from traders | discount codes, freebies in the basket, individually negotiated discounts | small base, a few key clients served personally | lack of history and measurability, discounts are duplicated, everything depends on the salesperson |
| 2. Loyalty module in the platform | points, exchange rules, payment with points, group promotions | point or threshold program for one store | it is more difficult to handle several sales channels and complex billing rules |
| 3. External program integrated with the store | purchasing group or manufacturer program, the store shows points and marks products | the company belongs to a purchasing group whose program customers already know | data about points is outside the store, the source of data and the scope of integration need to be determined |
| 4. Dedicated loyalty engine | platforms such as Open Loyalty, Talon.One or Viscale, connected to the store and ERP | several brands or channels, extensive rules, B2B and B2C program in one | additional maintenance tool and integration cost |
| 5. Tailor-made program | own logic, e.g. commissions and offers for specialists | a business model that cannot be handled by a ready-made mechanism | the longest implementation, requires a clear goal and owner on the client's side |
Route 1 remains a good choice as long as the company has few customers and knows them personally. It stops working as the customer base grows and no one can say which action brought the returning orders.
Droga 3 is appearing more and more frequently in requests for proposals. In a recent inquiry from an installation distributor belonging to a purchasing group, the group's loyalty program was a significant reason for purchases for installers. The first question in such a project concerns data: should the store only mark products included in the program and display the number of points on the product card, or should it also transmit purchase information to the system that calculates points.
We choose Paths 2, 4, or 5 after a pre-implementation analysis , in which we review what customer data already exists, where it resides, and what the program will address. We won't make this choice alone; we'll develop it together with the client, as the answer depends on their sales model and how their sales department currently operates.
What to watch out for when implementing a B2B loyalty program?
A loyalty program won't fix the underlying problems. Projects often recur with the same risks:
- No single customer identity. If a single recipient has multiple guest accounts in the system, the program won't count their purchases, and points will be distributed across the accounts. Organizing the accounts is a prerequisite.
- Margin doubling. Points earned on promotional products or purchases at a negotiated price result in the company paying back the same margin twice. Exclusion rules must be established before launch.
- Unclear data source. With external programs, the information about which products are covered by the program is often stored solely in the minds of salespeople and not in any system. Before you begin integration, determine where this data will be stored. systems map and well-thought-out Integrations.
- Program without communication. Rewards that no one knows about don't change behavior. Communication must be planned in conjunction with the mechanics.
- Single actions instead of a program. Adding a discount threshold, then a reward, then segmentation creates a set of features that don't quite fit together. Each element should stem from a single business goal.
- Award to the wrong person. Company points don't motivate a buyer, and management isn't interested in a buyer discount. This brings us back to the table of roles from the beginning of this article.
How to implement a B2B loyalty program step by step?
- Define the purpose of the program. More frequent orders, higher basket values, returning inactive customers, or capturing purchases currently going to other suppliers. One main goal simplifies every subsequent decision.
- Identify client-side roles. Who decides who orders, who uses the product, and what benefit the program is intended to provide to each of these people.
- Organize your customer data. One account per customer, purchase history in one place, and connections to CRM and ERP. Without this, it's impossible to calculate points or measure results.
- Segment the database. Regular customers, occasional customers, inactive customers, and specialists buying for their clients. Each group requires different mechanics.
- Choose the mechanism and implementation path. A module in the platform, an external program, a dedicated engine or a tailor-made solution, as shown in the table above.
- Plan your communication. Emails, banners on the B2B dashboard, information on the product card and point reminders.
- Determine how you measure the effect. Order frequency, percentage of returning customers, customer lifetime value, and point redemption. It's worth establishing these metrics before launch so you have something to compare your results to.
In such projects, we handle everything from data architecture to what the customer sees on the screen. Having completed projects for distributors, manufacturers, and stores connecting B2B and B2C, we know which questions are most crucial, and we always ask two of them at the outset: where is the customer's purchase history today and who on their side will benefit from the program. Our implementations have included a customer club for a sports brand distributor, multi-user accounts with employee administrator approval for a group of B2B/B2C brands, accounts for multi-branch institutions with price segmentation for a medical manufacturer, and a CRM system for managing customer accounts for a retailer of electrical equipment and lighting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a loyalty program make sense in B2B sales? Yes, if customers buy regularly and the company already has a customer base whose acquisition costs were borne. The condition is that the program's benefits also reach the person who actually decides where to buy.
Points or discounts – which works better in B2B? It depends on the role. Client management typically prefers a volume discount or better terms, as they can see them on the invoice. A buyer or installer is more likely to respond to tangible rewards and vouchers personally addressed to them.
Do I need a separate system for a loyalty program? Not always. A points or threshold-based program for a single store can be built on the loyalty module of an e-commerce platform . A separate loyalty engine makes sense for multiple brands or sales channels and complex accrual rules.
How do you connect a purchasing group loyalty program with an online store? First, you need to determine where the data about the products included in the program and the accrued points is located. The simplest option is to mark products and display points on the product card; a more comprehensive integration involves the store sending purchases to the points-accruing system.
Should points be earned on promotional products? Usually not, because then the company adds a discount to the discount. Most loyalty modules allow you to exclude promotional products or selected product groups from the points count.
Where do you begin if customers are purchasing as guests? Organize your accounts so that each customer has a single identity and a single purchase history. Without this, the program has no way to count points or direct communications to them.
What to determine before implementing a B2B loyalty program?
A B2B loyalty program profits when it's based on organized customer data and rewards those who actually choose a supplier. Companies that start with points and discount codes usually end up with a set of actions whose impact is impossible to measure. Left to their own devices, organizing accounts and data can take months, as no one is responsible for it, and the deadline is set only by the project in which the program is to be launched. Therefore, it's worth planning both steps together.
Before talking to the contractor, determine:
- what is the single main goal of the program and how will you measure its effect,
- who on the customer side decides who orders and who uses the product,
- whether each customer has one account in the system and a full purchase history,
- where is the data on trading conditions today and how should the program interact with them,
- which products and actions are to be excluded from accruing points,
- whether you belong to a purchasing group or manufacturer program that needs to be included,
- how the program will be communicated to clients and who will be responsible for it,
- whether a module in the platform is enough, or whether a separate engine or a tailor-made solution is needed.
If you want to see if your customers are returning often enough and how to start a program in your store, schedule a consultation . You can find the scope of our work on the services page , and implementation examples in our case studies.
