Most suppliers still behave as if the real work of loyalty happens in Q4: scramble the account teams, send the hampers, add a handwritten “looking forward to working together next year!” and hope for the best at renewal. Meanwhile, the rest of the world has quietly learned that loyalty is a year-round operating system for profitable relationships, not a seasonal act of goodwill. A small uplift in retention can drive anywhere from 25–95%1 more profit, which is a much better business case than “nice Merlot, shame about the margin.”
A bottle of claret is a thank you; year-round loyalty is a business model
A gift says, “We appreciate what you’ve done for us this year” but a structured B2B loyalty strategy says, “Here’s how we’ll help you grow your business next year”. In B2B, typical retention rates are already high – often around 76–81%2 – which means the real prize is deepening value with the customers you already have, not charming them once a year. Modern partner ecosystems (especially SaaS platforms) treat loyalty as an economic engine: tiers, incentives, training and joint marketing that all exist to grow revenue on both sides.
Christmas gifting is transactional; loyalty is behavioural
A hamper doesn’t change how many deals your partner registers, how often they pitch you, or whether you’re first in their proposal deck. Year-round B2B loyalty nudges specific behaviours like training completion, pipeline registration, co-marketing, data-sharing and early adoption of new products. Channel programmes like Lenovo’s LEAP scheme reward partners for both selling and upskilling, all year – a good example of behaviour-led loyalty rather than December hospitality.
You can’t optimise what you only touch once a year
A spend on wine and chocolate comes with zero insight around who valued it, who didn’t and whether it moved the dial at all.
Always-on engagement gives you data you can actually use: activation, participation, NPS, share of wallet, “engaged” vs. “silent” partner performance and more. B2B marketers are increasingly obsessed with retention metrics and expansion within existing accounts as acquisition costs climb – which you simply can’t manage off the back of one seasonal gesture.
Procurement doesn’t care about your hamper
When contracts are up, the conversation is about performance, partnership and risk, not who sent the better Rioja. Structured B2B loyalty gives you harder evidence: engaged partners sell more, stay longer and co-invest more. Advisory work on B2B loyalty consistently shows that well-designed programmes improve lifetime value and make renewal a more rational, less price-led discussion.
Your day-to-day contacts need armour, not alcohol
The person you send the claret to still has to defend their supplier list in internal meetings. Plus, they may not actually be allowed to accept a gift, making these things awkward for everyone! Year-round loyalty gives them armour: Marketing Development Funds, training, certifications, lead-sharing, early access, customer success resources – things that make them look good in front of their boss. You stop being “the vendor who sends nice wine” and become “the partner who helps me hit my number and progress my career”.
Loyalty can be personalised; gifting is usually generic
The same hamper goes to the partner who moved heaven and earth for you and the one who barely moved the needle. That’s not recognition, that’s a spreadsheet. Optimal B2B loyalty design lets you dial up benefits for truly strategic partners: better service levels, early access, joint planning, unique experiences – all visible, earned and justifiable. Mature partner programmes already do this with data-driven tiers that reflect performance and contribution – loyalty by another name.
Compliance, ESG and optics are quietly killing the booze-and-biscuits era
Many organisations now have strict limits on gifts, especially alcohol – so your carefully chosen claret may end up in the office “can’t accept this” cupboard. Year-round value through education, enablement, sustainable rewards and experiences fits much better with modern compliance and ESG expectations.
What “year-round B2B loyalty” actually looks like
Year-round loyalty is based on a clear, tiered partner / client engagement framework with tangible benefits at each level. Optimally, this will comprise:
- Points, credits or funding for behaviours that matter to both sides, such as training, case studies, data quality, innovation pilots and co-marketing.
- A digital hub where partners can see status, rewards and “next best actions” – very similar to how leading tech partner programmes already work.
- Always-on comms: nudges, recognition moments, performance insights – not just the annual “season’s greetings” email.
- A governance rhythm: quarterly reviews, joint plans, and a clear link between behaviour, benefits and commercial outcomes.
By all means keep the claret – just make sure it’s the top note on a year-round loyalty strategy, not the strategy itself.
Loyalty strategy for 2026 and beyond? Contact Peter Gerstle, Loyalty Consulting Director at Collinson.
¹ Collinson research; McKinsey “Five fundamental truths: How B2B winners keep growing” ² Collinson research; McKinsey “Five fundamental truths: How B2B winners keep growing”
