The Customer Loyalty Metrics That Matter Most for B2B Companies

Tracking metrics of customer loyalty has become a standard practice in consumer markets. But it’s less common in business-to-business (B2B) markets, even though it's at least as valuable. With business customers, spending with a provider tends to be larger than a consumer’s spending, the overall experience is richer, and referrals are more consequential.

Tracking loyalty on several dimensions thus becomes critical to a provider’s growth and economics, as the accompanying chart using Net Promoter System^SM for a European distributor illustrates.

Three types of NPS^® benefit any B2B company:

• Strategic NPS for the company as a whole, done every one to two years. Ask how buyers in the market rate their vendors, how the company compares with competitors, how that varies by customer segment, and which key operational factors or aspects of the experience matter most to customers’ perceptions.
• Relationship NPS, annually. Ask key stakeholders in each account for their assessment. The answers will generate insights for account teams and close the loop by suggesting possible actions to take with each stakeholder.
• Operational and customer journey NPS, continuously. This tracks developments in key initiatives around customer support, logistics handovers, and joint projects.