LCUK works with a range of organisations including businesses wishing to attract, retain and grow customer relationships within significant B2B markets.

Business to Business relationships are very different from B2C; for example, the decision to purchase is usually a more formal and structured process which can lead to annual or multi-year supply contracts. As such the consumer rules of loyalty do not apply. LCUK has worked with a number of clients in this space, helping them to learn and adopt strategies that deliver the core principles of loyalty for a B2B world.

B2B is changing, some trends emerging before the worldwide recession have accelerated and some have emerged as a consequence of it.

There are some important changes that we see happening as businesses struggle to minimise cost and maximise profit. Business customers are now much more demanding, dictating the terms of business which in some countries is driving local suppliers out of business. Suppliers are now being forced to demonstrate how they add value to a supply agreement particularly so where the purchase is for products and services that are increasingly viewed as commodities with little differentiation.

Selling is becoming a more remote process whereas before the recession, sales representative meeting regularly with the client was the norm. This leaves even less opportunity for relationship building that in the B2B world is vitally important and can make the difference in winning business.

Business customers are getting smarter with the data. ‘Big Data’ initiatives within business are helping purchasing departments to make smarter decisions at the expense sometimes of the existing longer term established supplier relationship.

These trends have established a real need for the B2B community to look at established loyalty techniques that can help to address a market once the exclusive of the classic ‘sales rep’.