A recent survey by
Bain & Company of COO's has highlighted the impact tariffs will have on business priorities in the coming months as they drive up product input costs.
Here are 5 reasons to introduce a customer or channel reward program:
1. No advertising or marketing costs
You already own your sales data; you just need to put it to work. A
customer reward and/or
channel partner incentive program is the perfect vehicle for you to do this, helping drive retention, maximize available market share and drive growth from new sources.
2. It’s much less expensive to sell to existing customers than trying to acquire new ones
According to the book,
Marketing Metrics, the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60–70% versus only 5-20% for a new customer. On top of that, customers who participate in a reward program are over 60% more likely to keep buying from you versus those who don’t earn rewards.
3. Customer retention is a very lucrative undertaking
According to a research study by
Harvard Business School, increasing customer retention rates by as little as 5% can increase your profits by 25% to 95%. So, building customer or channel loyalty is hugely beneficial. A performance-based reward program can be a huge driver of customer retention and/or channel engagement.
4. Low cost of entry
The costs associated with setting up an effective best-in-class customer reward or channel incentive program are surprisingly low. Working with a service provider like Lift & Shift enables you to take advantage of templated program assets, including a reward program website and monthly reward statement that are fully customized to your requirements and fully branded for your organization—and the return on investment is surprisingly large and immediate, with program sales lift in the 25% range and program ROI of at least 400%.
5. No new staffing requirements
Thanks to the availability of full-service providers like Lift & Shift, any company can launch a best-in-class customer reward or channel incentive program without having to hire a new employee to run it. Not only can you avoid adding to your head count, but your program will also be expertly set up and managed from day 1 with optimal results and
built-in ROI, resulting in incremental sales volume and gross profit that pays for all program costs many times over. For the cost of less than one new staff member, you can access all the specialized services that go into the set-up and management of a great program: program design, program development, program account management, program marketing, program reporting, transaction processing, reward website updates, reward statement creation, deployment and reporting, member services, and data and analytics services.
Investing in your sales data is always a sound strategy—but if economic concerns are restricting your advertising and marketing budgets, using your customer or channel sales data to promote your products and services could not be more important. Your sales data is an incredibly valuable sales and marketing tool, so be sure to tap into its many benefits.
(NOTE: This article has been updated from a post originally published November 23, 2022)
The Ultimate Guide to B2B Loyalty Programs
This article is part of a series covering how growth-based loyalty programs can elevate sales and company profits by incentivizing current customers to spend more, attracting new customers with appealing rewards, and motivating your sales team.
Lift & Shift™ offers a powerful proprietary B2B reward platform that can help your company leverage its sales data to drive incremental purchases with customers and channel partners or motivate sales staff. We work with manufacturers, distributors, and service providers to analyze sales data, identifying purchasing gaps, and other valuable targeting opportunities.
We create and deliver highly relevant offers to customers, in-house sales staff, or sales associates, motivating your target audience to respond, using a wide array of appealing reward options as influencers. Our performance-based reward structures deliver an unparalleled return on investment, with absolutely no wasted budget.
Our customizable reward platform enables clients to easily benefit from a robust loyalty reward program. It's affordable and includes Lift & Shift’s turnkey professional program administration. We take care of everything, so you can focus on your key initiatives.
