B2B loyalty works differently from consumer loyalty: the participant is often a professional customer, employee or subscriber, and the trigger is rarely a direct in-store purchase.
Formula 1 is the points programme: professional customers earn points when they buy products, redeemable for rewards. Knorr applied this with butchers, caterers and hospitality businesses — points on purchases of sauces and bouillons, redeemable for Wout Bru cookware.
Formula 2 is the performance reward or sales contest: employees or partners who perform best receive a tangible reward. BOEMM! used cookware and tableware packages as a reward for its best-performing employees.
Formula 3 is the welcome or subscriber gift: new customers or subscribers receive a gift when they sign up — such as the Wout Bru pan set that Roularta used to recruit subscribers for Libelle and Femmes d’Aujourd’hui.
Formula 4 is the tiered reward based on volume or performance, and formula 5 is the seasonal incentive, linked to a peak period such as year-end. All five formulas share one success factor: a reward with a high perceived value, not an empty cash bonus.
Frequently asked questions
Which formula suits a small B2B team?+
For smaller teams, a simple performance reward often works best — easy to set up and immediately motivating.
