ABSTRACT

Creating and maintaining good relationships in the business-to-business (B2B) environment is at least as important as a good relationship between manufacturer and end-user. To find out in which areas additional services and benefits are most required, a portfolio technique can be used that relates the importance of different success factors for the professional or dealer to how much each of these factors can be influenced by the manufacturer. B2B loyalty programmes are the ideal marketing tool to cope with this complicated mesh of relationships, dependencies and connections. B2B members are more rational than emotional in their evaluation of the value of loyalty programme benefits, because they mainly seek professional rather than personal advantages. Many B2B loyalty programmes have therefore installed a special committee which consists of the loyalty programme management and elected or selected members. The members of a B2B loyalty programme want to obtain solutions to specific problems from the loyalty programme.