The difference between your business flying high and crashing and burning is how quickly you can adapt to changing consumer expectations.
To remain competitive, your team needs to meet your customers where they’re at — today.
Updating your B2B corporate gifting strategy to keep up with the times is critical. Here are four consumer trends to consider as you refine your rewards program.
READ MORE: 7 Ways a B2B Gift Card Is Better Than a Physical Gift
From marketing communications to customer service interactions, the expansion of digital channels has heightened the importance of personalizing experiences to nurture strong relationships across all platforms.
Seventy percent of consumers expect a company to provide personalized responses to customer service needs, according to the 2023 Sprout Social Index. And Deloitte’s TrendRadar: The Future Consumer (2023) takes the idea of personalization even further, predicting that hypersonalization will become more prevalent in the next four to six years.
“Through hyperpersonalization, companies can send highly contextualized communications to specific customers at the right place and time, and through the right channel.”
No matter how you’re using your B2B corporate gifting program — to generate leads, help resolve an issue, or reward loyalty and advocacy — it counts as one of those channels. Your reward experience should be just as personalized as any other interaction, from including a specific, custom message to delivering the digital gift from a recognizable email address using your own authorized domain.
In the battle for brand loyalty, cash isn’t always king. More and more customers are looking beyond low prices and instead seeking out the best customer experience.
Research from Qualtrics found that companies with a strong reputation for customer experience are “best positioned to win share of wallet, even in a down economy.” In its survey of what’s driving consumer purchases, low prices ranked third, behind product quality and customer service at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.
Instead of offering discounts, invest in your B2B corporate gifting to make your customer experience memorable and realize a better payoff. Consider offering customer appreciation gifts at unexpected touchpoints throughout the year to keep engagement high and ongoing.
Research from Deloitte agrees that old pricing strategies need to be rethought and that consumers are prioritizing experiences. But that extends beyond the everyday customer service interactions, with many businesses now trying to “create special experiences in stores or events or even in the virtual world.”
Here are some ways you can use your B2B corporate gifting incentives to increase engagement:
Today’s consumers are savvy. They can tell when a company is not just environmentally friendly but committed to the environment.
The 2024 Global Consumer Trends report from Mintel, a global market intelligence and research agency, found that 60% of U.S. consumers agree that many companies are just pretending to be sustainable.
While your team might not be able to make your company ethos completely green, you can make your B2B corporate gifting more sustainable.
Whether you’re rewarding a new client for coming on board or incentivizing a potential customer to attend a webinar, choosing digital rewards is better for the planet, saves on paper and postage, and shows your commitment to using resources wisely. When marketing your gifting program, be sure to mention this as one of the benefits of joining. For instance: “We want to thank you for your business without giving you gifts that end up in landfills. So we no longer give out branded merchandise to our clients.”
Discover even more trends that can affect how your sales teams use B2B corporate gifting.
BHN Rewards puts the power of digital rewards to work for marketers, researchers, and HR managers. Don't forget to check out all the great content in our Resources section!
BHN Rewards puts the power of digital rewards to work for marketers, researchers, and HR managers. Don't forget to check out all the great content in our Resources section!
