Dive Brief:
- The Home Depot has added rewards from four partner companies to its Pro Xtra Rewards program, the retailer announced Monday.
- All members, regardless of tier, can now receive discounts on work boots from Tecovas and on orders over $100 from Jimmy John’s. Members are also eligible for a fuel discount on up to five fill-ups at 7-Eleven as well as a free trial and two free months of business management plans from Rosie’s AI Answering Service.
- The offers will refresh every quarter across four core lifestyle and business categories: food and beverage, fuel and fleet, lifestyle and travel, and business management. The updated offers will include a mix of new partners and fresh incentives from existing ones, according to a Home Depot spokesperson.
Dive Insight:
Home Depot wants to win more market share with professional contractors. Pro Xtra, and its recent updates, is part of how the company is building relationships with these customers, according to the spokesperson.
“This expansion is part of The Home Depot’s broader, ongoing investment to build a comprehensive ecosystem of Pro capabilities,” the Home Depot spokesperson told CX Dive in an email. “By continuously enhancing these tools, we are ensuring we remain the go-to partner for Pros looking to save time and maximize profitability.”
Business-focused loyalty programs are often overlooked compared to traditional consumer-facing programs, according to Halle Stern, director analyst in Gartner’s marketing practice. Pro Xtra and its partnership are an example of a brand getting a B2B program right, she said.
Consumers are drawn to “earn and burn” loyalty programs focused on earning and redeeming points, Stern said. This approach doesn’t work as well for business-focused programs where each company has a different budget and multiple people may belong to the same loyalty account — making it difficult to determine a fair distribution of points.
“How do we create a loyalty program for distributors, for partners, for contractors as well as end users of our product to deepen the connection outside of just giving those traditional earn-and-burn rewards?” Halle told CX Dive.
A good loyalty program delivers value at the point of purchase and continues to offer benefits outside those moments, Stern said. Partnerships can help deliver value before and after a purchase is made as well as along “critical touch points” outside of traditional customer journeys.
Home Depot’s professional customers have needs beyond building materials, according to the spokesperson. The Pro Xtra partners were chosen to generate offers in areas where the company heard its members needed more support.
In general, business customers are looking for three different kinds of benefits, according to Stern. They want it to deliver value and help them be successful in their role, help deliver results for the organization, and connect them to their peers and assist with networking.
“That's what I think that Home Depot did so well,” Stern said. “They took from all of those categories in their partnerships.”
The partnership with Rosie’s AI Answering Service in particular shows clear alignment with pro customers’ needs, according to Stern. Food and retail benefits are helpful, but tying the loyalty program to job site administration with AI capabilities will be extremely impactful for Home Depot’s target audience.
Home Depot could help the program stand out even more if it included access to networking opportunities for leaders to connect with their peers through events like forums or road shows, Stern said.
