Trend 4 - Marketplace Loyalty - Top 5 B2B Loyalty Marketing Trends for 2022

Our Top 5 B2B Loyalty Marketing Trends for 2022 

Trend No.4 - Marketplace Loyalty

By Ko de Ruyter, Debbie Keeling and David Cox

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.

Here’s the fourth of our loyalty doctors’ five prophecies for what’s in store over the next 12 months. 

4. Pivot towards Marketplace Loyalty Programs

Recently, online marketplaces have proliferated in B2C markets. For instance, Amazon’s Marketplace now accounts for a significant portion of growth in their online sales. It is easy to see why. The marketplace model adds to offering variety, without the cost of inventory, and it offers detailed insights into customer buying habits and trends. Most importantly, however, it creates a network economy as a growth in participating sellers drives an increase in buyers who can find what they need, which in turn attracts more sellers. And a virtuous cycle is born. 

We predict that in 2022 we will see a carry-over effect to the enterprise marketplace. This new business model will create ecosystems which will allow opportunities for co-branding, alliances, portfolio extensions, one-stop shopping and generating sources of revenue. 

There is a great opportunity for your program to play a pivotal role on these new platforms and design coalition incentive structures that promote co-branding and alliances, incentivise solution selling, test and educate on new and hybrid products and services and instigate dialogue between multiple stakeholders. 

2022 will see the rise of so-called marketplace loyalty programs, which are complex rewards ecosystems that cater both to buyers and sellers. Emerging marketplace programs will look to early adopter pioneers, such as Uber, which has developed a program that caters to both passengers (Uber rewards) and drivers (Uber Pro). B2B Innovator programs, such as Lenovo’s LEAP, have explored a two-sided approach through co-branding initiatives and can lead on the road ahead.