OUR TOP 5 B2B LOYALTY MARKETING TRENDS FOR 2022 

By Ko de Ruyter, Debbie Keeling and David Cox, the Loyalty Doctors

What does 2022 have in store for the loyalty marketing landscape as we enter the beginning of what is now referred to as the ‘para-Covid period’? As loyalty marketers, we will need to prepare for a business world in which customer loyalty is re-imagined, the rules of engagement are being rewritten and core values are being revisited. This makes reflections on loyalty marketing trends for the coming year both extra challenging and extra special. In the uncharted territory in which we find ourselves today, it makes sense to reflect on the road ahead in 2022 and help redefine the business of loyalty.

So, here’s the first of our five trends for the future of the loyalty marketing space in 2022, spiced up with actionable advice as indispensable baggage for the journey ahead.

Trend 1 - Embrace a sense of purpose.

Let’s face it, we live in times during which program members are starting to ask life’s bigger questions. This means that they will be re-evaluating life and loyalty choices. In fact, there is mounting research evidence that the majority will consider ‘purpose’ as a guide to making consumption decisions. Whether purpose refers to transparency and equity in distribution channels, or the challenges of environmental sustainability and net-zero emissions, social responsibility, (mental) health and social care, wealth disparities and poverty, members will be reflecting on whether your program can help them achieve not only their goals but also how this will impact their competitive advantage and relationship with their customers.

We all know that it is both easy and tempting to just pay lip service to a sense of purpose. Too often it materializes as an extra paragraph in annual reports or managerial graffiti on websites. Words that have recently been added to the corporate vocabulary, like ‘green washing’, reflect this.

So moving forward into the new year, we advise you to embrace a sense of purpose by engaging with your members and co-creating a set of essential values for your program.

Go the extra mile beyond sales performance, by incentivising and implementing reward structures that align with your program’s reimagined ethos base, introduce purposeful metrics - for example, selling green solutions or offsetting your carbon footprint).

Educate your members on how to instil a sense of purpose in relation to the experience of their customers - for example, help them design and launch end-of-life-cycle programs) and introduce accountability at various stages in their customer journeys.

In 2022, your program’s success will be all about embracing a sense of purpose. And guess what, it will make business sense.