Customer loyalty in Food B2B: A strategic approach for manufacturers, suppliers, and wholesalers

For all stages of the customer journey, we refer you to our article on activation based on the customer journey.

Loyalty can be built earlier in the customer journey simply by doing what you promise. Sounds logical, right? Unfortunately, in the challenging reality of everyday life, this remains a distinguishing factor for manufacturers and wholesalers.

Loyalty begins with satisfaction

By continuously delivering quality and proactively meeting the needs of customers, manufacturers and wholesalers can achieve a high level of customer satisfaction. This also includes providing technical support, training, and after-sales service. From our research conducted by the GROUP7 Professional Community in 2022, it was found that stockouts are one of the main reasons for switching brands or products. Because if you as a manufacturer or wholesaler cannot deliver, the end user – whether it’s the industry or hospitality – cannot run their business as they wish. A dissatisfied customer in the long run will not be loyal.

Why is loyalty important for your business?

The ultimate goal is to create long-term relationships with customers. This requires ongoing commitment from you as a company. By deploying the right people and resources, you can build trust and loyalty.

The long-term goal is to achieve a ‘loyalty loop’, allowing customers to skip the entire journey on their next purchase and make a direct new purchase from the same supplier.

For manufacturers, suppliers, and wholesalers in the foodservice or food B2B industry, focusing on customer loyalty is highly relevant. We give you 7 (of course) reasons:

1. Stable revenue | Loyalty ensures a consistent flow of repeat orders from satisfied customers. Contributing to a stable revenue stream for your business, allowing better planning and long-term growth.
2. Saving costs | Acquiring new customers often costs more money and resources than retaining existing ones. By investing in customer loyalty, you can avoid costly acquisition costs.
3. Increased customer value | Loyalty often results in long-term relationships with customers, which in turn leads to increased customer value. Satisfied and loyal customers are more likely to buy more products, request service expansions, and generate positive word-of-mouth.
4. Maintaining your position to the competion | Strong customer loyalty acts as a barrier to competitors. Customers loyal to a particular manufacturer, supplier, or wholesaler are less likely to switch to a competitor, even if they may offer lower prices or other benefits.
5. Improved customer relationships | Customer loyalty is often accompanied by strong and sustainable customer relationships. By listening to your customers’ needs, taking their feedback seriously, and providing (preferably scalable) tailored solutions, you can cultivate that loyalty. This allows you to build a close bond with your customers. This can be both offline and online. More about customer experience and the importance of customer experience can be read in this article.
6. Perceived quality | A consistent focus on customer satisfaction and exceeding expectations leads to a positive perception of the quality of your brand or company’s products and services. This strengthens the brand image and encourages further collaboration.
7. Opportunities for upselling and cross-selling | Loyalty offers B2B food manufacturers and wholesalers the opportunity to expand their customer base through upselling and cross-selling. Satisfied customers are more open to exploring additional products or services that fit their needs and business objectives.

By investing in improving customer loyalty, you can not only retain your current customer base but also grow and thrive in a competitive market.

Real-life examples

We would also like to share two inspiring examples within Europe with you. And this time maybe not the ones you expect like Unilever Food Solutions or Coca-Cola, but Barilla from Italy and Metro from Germany.

Barilla – Italy | As one of the largest pasta manufacturers in the world, Barilla has a strong focus on customer loyalty. They work closely with chefs and restaurant owners to develop innovative recipes, provide product training, and offer marketing support to get their products on restaurant menus. They have four pillars of customer loyalty:

1. Consistent quality and wide product range: with 145 years of expertise in pasta. This pillar leads to satisfaction, enabling a customer to enter the loyalty loop.
2. Training: on product and kitchen techniques; both digital and offline. By providing training, Barilla builds expertise among its customers but also showcases its own expertise. This increases credibility.
3. Entrepreneurial support: menu planning & community building. They offer ideas for menu planning through logical filtering and, more importantly, they build an online community with Barilla for Professionals.
4. Sustainability and responsibility: Barilla has a strong focus on sustainability and social responsibility. This commitment to sustainability not only strengthens the Barilla brand image but also reinforces the choice for the brand. Due to all European sustainability regulations, the foodservice professional can trust that choosing the Barilla brand is a good long-term investment.

Metro AG – Germany | Metro AG, headquartered in Germany, is one of the leading wholesale companies in Europe, specializing in supplying food, beverages, and non-food products to professionals in the hospitality, catering, and retail sectors Metro has a strong focus on customer loyalty through various strategies, three of which we highlight:

1. Customer-centric services: Metro offers a wide range of customer-centric services, including a very broad range of advisory services, from a digital cash register system to financial services. By providing solutions that meet the needs of their customers, in addition to product delivery, Metro builds strong relationships with chefs, restaurant owners, and other professionals in the foodservice industry. Metro generates lock-in or competitive advantage on multiple fronts.
2. Support and training: Metro invests in providing training and support to their customers, such as cooking workshops, product demonstrations, and educational programs. This enables customers to improve their skills, discover new culinary trends, and make optimal use of the products offered by Metro.
3. Social responsibility entrepreneurship: Metro is strongly committed to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. By striving for ethical business practices, environmentally friendly initiatives, and social responsibility, Metro not only builds trust with its customers but also creates a positive impact on society as a whole.

Both Barilla and Metro have demonstrated their commitment to customer-centric solutions, resulting in a loyal customer base and a strong position in the European foodservice market, thanks to their focus on product quality and sustainability.

Conclusion

For manufacturers, suppliers, and wholesalers in the food B2B market, we advise that customer loyalty should be a strategic pillar for long-term success. By implementing (digital) personalized approaches to keep customers in the loyalty loop, companies focusing on this can build sustainable relationships with their customers and maintain a competitive advantage. European examples such as Barilla and Metro illustrate how investing in customer loyalty can result in long-term growth and success for manufacturers, suppliers, and wholesalers in the food B2B sector in general and the foodservice sector specifically.