The Incentive Marketing Association recently gave a Circle of Excellence award to Ferguson Enterprises and marketing collaborator, Incentive Solutions, for the distributor’s contractor loyalty program.

In 2016, Incentive Solutions and Ferguson refreshed Ferguson’s long-term professional trade contractor loyalty program, Ferguson PRO Plus. The program’s three goals were:

• Increase long-term trade loyalty program.
• Encourage contractors to purchase online.
• Establish better B2B customer relationships.

The contractor loyalty program exceeded its goals, with 77 percent of contractors participating and metrics increasing across the board. Total average order quantity increased by 319 percent and PRO Plus customers provided 665 percent more revenue a month.

“Ferguson envisioned the program as a strategic component of their overall marketing program,” said Luke Kreitner, vice president of sales at Incentive Solutions. “Their program manager, Colette Garofalis, really takes ownership of the program and stays dedicated to it. She got top-down support from executives and stakeholders. And their communication plan had frequent, multi-channel touchpoints so they stayed top of mind with participants.”

Kreitner credits Ferguson’s success to the following B2B loyalty program best practices:

• Along with core program point offerings, contractors could earn extra points by joining anniversary campaigns and filling out surveys.
• Contractors could earn points from participating in daily football trivia, which included endorsement from a former pro football player during NFL preseason.
• Reward points were redeemable for a diverse selection of merchandise, event ticket and travel rewards.