B2B BRAND - THE MARKETING SUPPLEMENT
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THE MARKETING
B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
SUPPLEMENT
JANUARY TO MARCH 2020
PHOTO BY ZOHRE NEMATI
B2B BRAND
LOYALTY IN
2020
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
1
FIRSTLY B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
THANK YOU
“It’s always a proud moment to see our brand on home grown content. A lot of hard work, creativity,
passion and commitment goes into everything we do, and this new supplement is an example of
that work. I hope you enjoy this content as much as we enjoyed making it for you.”
Chris Solis - Executive Director, Alexandra Wren Marketing Consultants
Credit to unsplash.com and the artists who share their amazing work on this platform. It’s a
privilege to represent their work and name within our content. All the photography featured in this
supplement can be found by the artists name, on unsplash.com.
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
1
B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
Thank you for downloading the first issue of The Marketing Supplement by Alexandra Wren. In
this quarters release, we open the subject of B2B Customer Brand Loyalty in 2020, looking at
communication, brand inclusion and customer insights, and how they impact customer brand
retention in today’s business environment.
PHOTO BY ZOHRE NEMATI
“Communication, brand
inclusion and customer
insights.”
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
2
“Ultimately, the objective is to create a close bond with the customer, built on trust and communication throughout.” PHOTO BY ALI MORSHEDLOU
B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
CONTENT
INTRODUCTION 5
MORE THAN JUST A TRANSACTION 7
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND INCLUSION 9
UNDERSTANDING CURRENT AND FUTURE CUSTOMER
11
NEEDS
SUMMARY 13
ABOUT ALEXANDRA WREN 15
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
4B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
INTRODUCTION
In 1995, Tesco launched the Clubcard points scheme and this year, it celebrates its 25th
anniversary. The Clubcard is one of Britain’s most successful long-term customer loyalty schemes,
but customer retention didn’t start with the Tesco Clubcard.
Brands have been fighting the eternal battle for customer loyalty for years, using everything
from points, discount vouchers and money-back schemes to encourage buyers to pledge their
allegiance and stay faithful to the logo.
As consumer, entertainment and retail brands continue the fight on the front line with the very
fickle foe that is the customer, how are B2B brands handling this same challenge? And what are
the core tactics to securing the crucial advantage of brand loyalty in the business world?
PHOTO BY RAZVAN CHISU
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
5B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
“Gone are the days
where a sale takes
place and the customer
is then left to use the
product.”
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
PHOTO BY RYAN TANG
6B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
PHOTO BY TIMON STUDLER
MORE THAN JUST A
TRANSACTION
One thing is for certain, the way we invest in products, solutions and services in the modern
business world are no longer driven by price point alone. In fact, this hasn’t been the case for a
very long time. Gone are the days where a sale takes place and the customer is then left to use
the product. So, what’s changed?
The growth of the Internet has completely altered the landscape of the true voice of the customer.
More recently, the evolution of B2B comparison sites and business review portals has shifted
customer reviews from the consumer environment to its business counterpart. This has essentially
opened up the door for people to get behind the shiny websites and smart-talking sales teams, and
really get to grips with what the real customer experience is like before they make an investment.
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
7B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
To prevent business reputations being publicly dropped from a great height, many companies now
invest in carefully orchestrated customer marketing programs, using personalised communications
to maintain easy access to updates, product information, support information, development
roadmaps, help desk options and more. To improve this further, seamless end-to-end brand
experiences, from the first engagement to post-contract aftercare, are helping to secure early
buying decisions for businesses willing to go the extra mile to remain competitive.
Ultimately, the objective is to create a close bond with the customer, built on trust and communication
throughout. This sets the foundations for the future strength of the brand relationship, so that if
anything should go wrong at any point, the customer should feel confident that the brand is in
control and that they are considered a priority. If people feel connected with the brand, even in
difficult circumstances, they are more likely to stay loyal.
“The growth of the
Internet has completely
altered the landscape
of the true voice of the
customer.” PHOTO BY JOHAN DE JAGER
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
8B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
AND INCLUSION
The expectations of buying business products and services is now closer to the consumer
experience than ever before. The customer expects quick and seamless communications, easy
access to support services, information that helps them get up and running quickly, and to feel like
they have a voice when they want to express their desire for improvements or to be involved in
future developments.
In short, the business customer of today is more engaged, more informed and wants a connection
beyond the product and service they’re purchasing. They want to feel like they are part of the
brand, to be a product champion and to be able to share these experiences with peers and fellow
users of the brands they have invested in. But if this experience is not forthcoming, the customer
is likely to get frustrated quickly, feel isolated, shy away from progression and eventually switch
off, dropping away from the brand and any future loyalty.
PHOTO BY BENJAMIN SOW
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
9B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
“Customers One of the best ways to engage customers in a brand
is through social media marketing. Social media by
nature is visual, responsive and has a ready-made
of brands who community of people waiting to share content. And
unlike other forms of communication such as email,
market in this
social media is a great way to stay connected with
customers without the fear of creating frustration
through over-communicating.
way feel part of But most importantly, social media content can be
consumed in the user’s own time, at their own pace
a cutting-edge, and through their own choice of channel. So, a
business that regularly drives engaging content into
social media demonstrates brand creativity, modern
contemporary marketing and a passion for what they do… which
is everything the new-age business customer wants.
product or Customers of brands who market in this way feel part
of a cutting-edge, contemporary product or service.
service.”
This not only keeps them engaged but encourages
them to distribute content, share positive messages
and feel strong brand loyalty. Carefully planned, this
channel can stimulate feedback activities and allow
the customer to talk directly to the business, which
generates further feelings of inclusivity.
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
PHOTO BY LINKEDIN SALES NAVIGATOR
10UNDERSTANDING
B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
CURRENT AND FUTURE
CUSTOMER NEEDS
No matter how great a product or service is, it must evolve and change over time to meet the ever-
growing needs of its customers. Typically, if this is not considered in the evolution of the business,
customer lifetime value reduces, competitors gain the advantage as the brand becomes stagnant,
and customers are lost.
There are lots of reasons why products and services become outdated. But one very important
and overlooked cause is lack of customer feedback and having the right means of channelling that
feedback back into the business.
PHOTO BY CHARLES
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
11Outside of account management, few businesses have the mechanism B2Bfor listening
BRAND to customers’
LOYALTY IN 2020
current and future requirements, other than verbal insights gained from conversations and
meetings. This leads to product and service development becoming more bespoke to individual
customers, impacting general day-to-day business productivity, straining support mechanisms,
and complicating product and service offerings moving forward.
Genuinely valuable customer feedback is like gold dust and collecting this precious data can’t be
done through a monotonous cycle of dull surveys and unwanted scripted phone calls. It requires
more creative, thoughtful and spontaneous forms of engagement. But staying ahead of customers’
wants and needs and ensuring their loyalty doesn’t have to be a complicated process.
Marketing mechanisms for collecting great customer insights include gamification. For example,
a well-devised competition using a simple online game format can be fun, deliver useful insights
and enhance brand reputation. Carefully crafted customer portals that offer product development
programs with incentivised reward schemes also stimulate insights, while making customers feel
like they have input into the development of the future of the services they receive.
However, not all customer feedback has to be online. Digital data collection is great for harvesting
constructed answers and scales, but in the age of GDPR there are restrictions on what information
can be gathered. Capturing opinionated feedback digitally is also extremely time-consuming, can
be hard to categorise, and critical points of emphasis or context can easily be lost.
So, getting customers into live workshops, seeing their body language and really understanding
the passion behind the reasons why they use products and services is just as important, if not
more so, than structured insights. Additionally, approaching data collection in this way allows the
customer to see the people behind the brand and that businesses in 2020 are still human.
“Genuinely valuable
customer feedback is
like gold dust.”
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
12
PHOTO BY CHARLES FORERUNNER“In order to increase B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
retention and secure
customer loyalty,
businesses must first
recognise that the brand
experience doesn’t
start or end with a
transaction.”
PHOTO BY LINKEDIN SALES NAVIGATOR
IN SUMMARY...
In 2020, customer loyalty for B2B brands is no longer a question of how competitive the price point
is. It’s a question of trust, reliability, stability, inclusion and an investment in a long-term business
partner that listens, understands the needs of its customers and will evolve as they evolve.
In order to increase retention and secure customer loyalty, businesses must first recognise that
the brand experience doesn’t start or end with a transaction, it begins at the very first touch point
and continues beyond. Setting the right brand experience early on in the journey and carrying that
effort and dedication throughout the entire life cycle of a customer is where the roots of loyalty will
grow.
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
13B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
As well as committing financially, business customers want to invest emotionally in the brands
they choose. They want to be submerged in a product or service they love using and share that
experience with their peers and colleagues with rich content and commentary. Businesses that
market across channels that enable this to happen will provide a platform for their customers to
become true brand advocates and express their satisfaction with their choice and investment.
In any business, the ongoing development of products and services to meet modern requirements
is imperative to its future growth and sustainability. However, understanding the road map and
where this development should go from a customer retention perspective is even more critical.
Developing channels for facilitating customer data and feedback - be that online or face-to-face -
will not only ensure that the product and service development is in line with what customers want,
but by inclusion, will create a sense of ownership, a sense of loyalty and increase the customer
life span.
PHOTO BY TIMOTHY BARLIN
“As well as committing
financially, business
customers want to
invest emotionally in the
brands they choose. ” PHOTO BY AMY HIRSCHI
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
14B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
WHO IS ALEXANDRA WREN?
Alexandra Wren was founded on years of strategic and creative marketing, working on the ground
within global and small businesses throughout various industries including finance, technology,
engineering, Saas, Paas, retail and leisure.
Our experience across different business models and markets has allowed us to fully understand
the day to day challenges faced by marketing leaders, whether that be a global director driving a
multi-regional strategy to a one man marketing team striving to get a brand off the ground.
Our philosophy is built on objective driven, consultancy led marketing.
Every company is different, every marketing leader has different ideas, wants, needs, expectations,
goals and objectives to meet. So, before we even consider strategy, tactics or delivery, we identify
the business needs first to determine the next steps and how we can help.
PHOTO BY YOU X VENTURES
HOW TO
CONTACT US
EMAIL: INFO@AWMC.CO.UK
WEBSITE: WWW.AWMC.CO.UK
YOU CAN ALSO FIND US ON LINKEDIN.
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
15B2B BRAND LOYALTY IN 2020
MARKETING CONSULTANTS AND SERVICES
“We are creators, we are
innovators, we are modern day
marketing architects, helping
businesses to design and build
their future.”
The Marketing Supplement www.awmc.co.uk
PHOTO BY MICHAEL
16
DAMPHOTO BY JAMES ZWADLO
THE MARKETING
SUPPLEMENT
JANUARY TO MARCH 2020
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