How to Work Your Loyalty Program During Covid-19?

We are in times of uncertainty like we have never experienced before. The Covid-19 pandemic and the “new normal,” as we tend to call it, have brought about challenges for everyone. It has affected not only our lives as individuals but also businesses. B2B brands are trying to adapt to this huge change. Finding new ways to engage with customers, such as loyalty programs, has never been this challenging, as well as crucial, during the times our priorities have altered drastically. Therefore, your B2B loyalty software during COVID-19 gained higher importance when sustaining your engagement channels.

Sustaining the Bond through Rough Times

The world population probably has had no similar experience recently, where they had no time to adjust but were “forced” to get used to many changes simultaneously. Imagine the chaos that would grow in any business directly affected by human behaviors. Let’s look at things in the most basic way: the first thing for people worldwide to cut down on was spending. We can even say spending activities are at an all-time low now. In times when we cannot predict anything related to the future, we tend to prepare for the worst. This is our primary instinct, so it is very understandable.

But this should not prevent you as a brand from investing in B2B engagement activitie such as loyalty programs. If we need to establish consistent engagement within our channel for ensured success at “normal” times, don’t you think these hard times require it more? Can you think of a more crucial time? Than the pandemic for tighter bonds, where people feel the most vulnerable? People need the most basic and primary things in life nowadays. Focusing on the same basics while responding to the emotional aspect is even more important for the business context.

Addressing the “New Normal” Needs through Your Loyalty Program During COVID-19

The new normal involves how businesses will operate in the post-pandemic world. Companies that have completed their digital transformation might have a swift adaptation. As part of this transformation, marketing automation, if utilized properly, will open up domains for finding new ways such as customer loyalty to engage with the customer base without falling outside the context. Ultimately, our lives and basic needs have altered greatly and even irreversibly. The extremely challenging and overwhelming first months of quarantine were concrete proof of that.

Stick with What Matters

During times like these, people become extra sensitive to how brands, especially the ones they feel an emotional connection with, will respond. Your tone and offerings become marks of your mindset and attitude. Even if the world falls apart, your channel will look for consistency. Make the concept of “survival” your anchor, and when you find yourself getting carried away amidst all the anxiety of uncertainty, think about what would be compatible with it. What would a person think of to survive? What would your business thrive on, very basically, to survive?

• Adjust your offerings accordingly, balancing your needs and your channel’s needs. Leave the other minor issues for later.
• Define real purposes that address the needs of your channel based on context and relevance.
• Establish these values through proper leadership, empathy, and the use of technology.

Staying Present, Through Thick and Thin

Communication has become vital in 2002. Have you noticed how dramatically the number of webinars, online events, etc., have increased, and we need to be more clingy with our smartphones? It’s no coincidence the need to stay in touch has peaked. For the B2B landscape, this has more significance. Properly treated customers will reach their customer base, passing your message across their channels and contributing to your channel loyalty program.

Investing in continuous communication through your B2B loyalty program will strengthen your place in your partners’ minds. Togetherness through hardship will flourish when better times arrive. Apex Loyalty also offers real-time interaction management tools to provide this very approach. You can get out of this period with stronger bonds with Apex Loyalty.

Get Creative with Ways of Doing Business

The world has taken a massive turn in “ways of doing things.” It’s also very likely that it will have a lasting impact on how brands will operate, even after the pandemic is taken under control. The notion of remote work is far more widespread now. Even the companies that are less agile in embracing chance had their fixed mindset blown.

Covid-19, without a doubt, has turned our lives upside down. But if we find a single positive side to it, we can easily say some fixed mindset on certain things cannot exist anymore, and the biggest impact is in our workspaces. In summary, the business world is transitioning from in-person to remote activities.

Looking for ways to integrate this mindset into departments that are used to more conventional ways of “doing things” is never a bad idea. Since your loyalty program is not only about B2B customer engagement strategy but also your loyalty program for employees, our offerings are worth a closer look. The concept of “being interconnected” has never embodied more meaning. Apex Loyalty has a flexible foundation, and all your remote efforts will strengthen bonds.

You can read our previous post on https://www.apexloyalty.com/7-features-of-a-successful-reward-program-in-b2b-loyalty/