The basis of operation B2B incentive and loyalty schemes the rewards they offer. This seems fairly obvious, but despite this, many organisers fail to update their prize catalogues. As a result, the entire programme can become less effective, as it ceases to hold participants’ interest over time. For this reason, selecting appropriate prizes is an extremely important part of organising the programme.
How to choose rewards in a B2B loyalty scheme
Marketing activities should be selected on the basis of the target group’s preferences, i.e. the audience for a given advertising message. The same approach should be taken with regard to bonuses for participating in the programme. Rewards must be attractive to participants and appropriately tailored to the sector in question. For catering staff, the range of rewards will differ from that in, for example, the automotive or construction sectors.
A wide range of prizes
For the most part B2B loyalty schemes and, as part of incentive schemes, participants can win prizes. Other very popular options include prepaid cards, vouchers for trips and gift vouchers. The rewards catalogue should be sufficiently broad and varied to give participants a sense of freedom of choice. At the same time, it must not be too extensive, as this would give the impression of an overload or of unduly expanding the range at the expense of the quality of the bonuses on offer. The most sensible approach is to select a few tried-and-tested, high-quality rewards that genuinely meet participants’ expectations.
Appropriate prize values
The rewards catalogue must include bonuses of an appropriate value. If participants are only able to spend points worth, say, 100 zł on a reward, but the only options available are worth more than, say, 1,000 zł, the scheme will not be effective. Participants will quickly lose motivation to strive for rewards, as these will simply be out of their reach. Bonuses of too low a value are also counterproductive. They are easy to obtain, so they do not provide any satisfaction and soon lose their appeal. Added to this are logistical problems with distributing rewards, which, in such a situation, have to be sent out much more frequently.
An attractive top prize
An interesting approach is to include a special ranking of participants alongside the standard catalogue of rewards. The person who comes top in a given edition of the programme will receive a unique grand prize. These are usually extremely attractive bonuses, such as an all-inclusive trip abroad – statistically, holidays are the most highly valued by the majority of participants in B2B loyalty and incentive programmes.
The central theme of the whole campaign
The rewards catalogue should be designed to fit in with the programme’s overarching theme. If the campaign is aimed, for example, at professionals in the construction industry, the rewards could be items that help participants run their businesses. In such cases, the catalogue could include specialist tools, equipment, workwear, useful gadgets, vouchers for marketing services (e.g. printing of advertising materials), etc. Another common approach is to base the central theme on the main prize, for example by creating a programme called „Around the World with Company XYZ”, in which the prize is, of course, precisely such a trip.
Connection with participants
By offering participation in special events as part of your rewards scheme, you can further strengthen your bond with the audience of B2B programmes – that is, your business partners. During a trip, a training conference or a visit to a trade fair, both parties – the organiser and the participants – should have the opportunity to meet. It makes the most sense to facilitate team-building for employees who are already in daily contact with one another. Such informal meetings will further strengthen relationships with key partners and contractors.
Rewards are, of course, not the only guarantee of a campaign’s success, but an attractive catalogue is the cornerstone of B2B loyalty schemes and incentive programmes. For this reason, rewards should be carefully tailored to participants’ needs and expectations in order to effectively encourage them to take an active part. Only in this way will it be possible to achieve many tangible benefits, and will the campaign itself prove truly profitable.
