The B2B landscape is competitive, so as a brand, it is not surprising that you want to stand out and a proper loyalty management solution makes that possible. So, let’s talk numbers.
You have got a fantastic loyalty management system, right? You are rewarding your channel partners and last-mile advocates for their hard work, fostering a stronger relationship and driving sales too. But, here’s the million-dollar question: Are you truly maximising your potential? Are you truly recording and analysing what makes your channel partners stick?
The importance of data analytics is paramount. It is the fuel that drives the engine of your loyalty program. With minimal or no fuel, you will be moving for some time but come to an abrupt stop, falling apart like dominoes.
If you are confused how to approach loyalty management the right way and drive hard bargains without failure, this 1Channel guide will highlight how data analytics can make all that happen for you.
1. What Are Your Partners Actually Doing?
If you are throwing a party, would you do so randomly without knowing what your guests like in terms of music, food or entertainment? Most likely not, right?
That’s exactly what happens when businesses launch loyalty programs but without data analytics. Everything is chaotic and in a haywire.
With data analytics, you will likely end up offering your channel partners rewards and incentives that doesn’t excite them. However, with data analytics, you get to segment your channel partners based on their behaviour, sales contributions and preferences and then tailor the rewards to meet their interest.
For example, you can analyse transaction patterns. Let’s say that a small town retailer prefers instant cashbacks over long-term loyalty points. Shifting their reward structure according to their interests thus contributes to better program participation, driving success of the loyalty management software.
2. Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Wouldn’t it be great if you could predict which partners are about to disengage before it happens? Data analytics makes this possible.
Surprisingly, every transaction, login, or reward redemption tells a story. With a comprehensive loyalty management tool like 1Channel’s, you get to track these patterns and identify the warning signs.
But, what are the warning signs? The following scenarios could explain things better:
- A distributor who was once highly active but has stopped redeeming rewards.
- A retailer whose purchase volumes have steadily declined over three months.
- A delivery agent who no longer completes incentive-based tasks.
The key is to keep a close eye on these trends, uncover more of the data and then take proactive measures to regain their interest. You could send personalised offers, reach out with support or tweak the reward structure to better attract their interests.
3. Using Data to Make Loyalty Fun with Gamification
Long gone are the days of boring loyalty management system. If you want to motivate your channel partners, you have to garnish your loyalty programs with some hot sauce, aka gamification. However, random leaderboards and badges won’t do the trick. You have to dig deeper than that.
The power of data analytics comes into the picture in this situation. It helps to identify which types of gamification strategies resonate best, so you aren’t implementing strategies in vain.
For example, the retailers in the competitive market might respond well to leaderboards with exclusive rewards for top performers. Similarly, your last mile advocates might be more engaged with tier-based challenges where they unlock better incentives by completing milestones.
Beyond these, you can also add the element of mystery rewards, which are tucked away only for the best performing partners at the end of every quarter. Make the rewards exclusive and enticing enough that pushes every channel partner to perform their absolute best.
4. Hyper Personalisation Because One-Size-Fits-All is Outdated
What if we tell you that you are silently killing your loyalty program yourself? Around 77% of the implemented B2B channel partner loyalty programs fail within the first two years.
Wonder why? It is usually due to poor execution and the lack of data analytics is the key driving force behind that.
In the present day of competition in the B2B landscape, the need for personalisation isn’t a luxury anymore, it has become a necessity. So, if you don’t have access to the right data and real-time analytics, you won’t be able to curate a loyalty program that’s personalised to the best interests of the channel partner.
Think of it this way – “A retailer in Mumbai may prefer free advertising credits, while one in a rural area may find bulk purchase discounts more valuable.”
The need for customised rewards for the hard work that your channel partners are putting in is not too much of a stretch to consider.
5. Who’s Crushing It & Who Needs a Push?
Another important benefit of data analytics in the success of a loyalty management solution is performance benchmarking.
Much like how you won’t purchase or drive a car without a speedometer, running a loyalty salesforce program without measuring who’s performing well and who needs a push, if futile (and dangerous).
Access to data analytics helps you:
- Compare a channel partner’s performance against the industry benchmarks.
- Identify top performers in the program.
- Spot the struggling partners and offer them support.
The process is simple. You get access to the data, you analyse it and then you use the data to drive the success of your loyalty program by making tweaks, offering support or offering better rewards.
6. Continuous Improvement Through Data-Driven Insights
How would you know if your channel partners and last-mile advocates are liking the loyalty program or not if you don’t get firsthand feedback from them?
Data analytics thus creates a strong feedback loop that allows you to continue to improve your loyalty program to best align with the interests of the channel partners and last-mile advocates.
You can implement surveys, have a dedicated comment section or track the activity data to see how the partners are interacting with the programs in place. Once you have enough data and feedback, you can then collate them to identify common pain points and areas for improvement.
With access to real-time insights, you also get to make adjustments based on them and ensure maximum output from your loyalty management solution.
Harness the Power of Data in Loyalty with 1Channel
Without data analytics, loyalty management is like playing darts in the dark—you might hit the target occasionally, but most of the time, you’ll miss.
1Channel ensures that you hit the bull’s eye EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
If you are still relying on your gut feelings to curate and operate your loyalty program, well, it is time to change things. With 1Channel’s loyalty management solution, you get to prioritise a data-drive approach, because, why guess when you can know?
Leave all the guesswork behind and take a leap of faith with 1Channel. Book your free demo with us today!
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