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May 23, 2008

The Corporate Executive Board's Marketing Leadership Council and Marketing Leadership Roundtable has released a new study that has evaluated more than seventy B2B companies that conduct formal loyalty measurement programs in the B2B and eCommerce segment.

Its chief findings are that because the cost of switching suppliers is usually higher and more complex in a B2B environment, it is attitudes rather than behavior that best identify loyal customers.

Alex Tserelov, practice manager for the Marketing Leadership Council says "there's currently a heavy focus on the drivers of B2C (Business-to-Consumer) customer loyalty, but B2B marketers are more frequently being called upon to lead loyalty-building efforts as well."

He added "the findings of our study explain how B2B loyalty is different and identify the statistically significant drivers of B2B loyalty."

While customers in a B2C environment can easily influence their peers, B2B advocates often need to influence several individuals at various levels within the organization before their word-of-mouth recommendation becomes meaningful.

Apart from the finding that loyalty is best measured by clients' attitudes, the study also found that purchase decisions become significantly more complex in the B2B environment than they are for consumers, mainly because input from several individuals is often required before a company appoints a supplier.

The study explored more than one-hundred marketing practices and capabilities commonly believed to contribute to B2B customer loyalty, from segmentation strategies through to designating a single point of contact.

Using self-assessment feedback from participating companies along with financial data and measured percentages of loyal customers, a word of advice was given to B2B marketers and eCommerce managers.

The report recommends B2B companies capture and share segment-level customer data throughout multiple functions and departments within the organization. That data should reveal customer end goals, as opposed to only their immediate needs, as well as the differences between progressive and average customers.

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Source: CEBML-CMLR.