Successful wholesalers like George Bardwil know that sales don’t generate themselves – just as retailers need work to find and keep customers, wholesalers also need to find ways to sell their products to retail sellers. There are a number of ways that wholesale businesses can stand above the crowd to create a loyal base of customers among retailers.
Simplify the process
Even though wholesalers and retailers represent different stops on the path from manufacturer to the market, their work involves similar processes – each needs to both obtain goods and also to pass them along. Both need to maintain inventories, and both need to deal with ordering, billing and delivery services. As much as possible, you should work to streamline your processes, and find ways to seamlessly pass products from the manufacturer to the retailer as efficiently as possible. Given the similarities of the processes across the board, some creative thinking about how to make your systems easier, faster and more reliable will give you a clear advantage. Automation of processes will go a long way towards achieving this goal.
Embrace technology
Streamlining and integrating processes is an important step in the right direction, and these can be greatly enhanced by adopted technology that allows retailers to do their ordering online or through their devices, or for sales reps to place orders in real time while meeting with clients. Online ordering systems can be linked up with inventories to ensure that items are available, and with ordering systems so that deliveries are scheduled and confirmed within moments.
Advertise
Wholesalers need to be in on the advertising game as much as retailers. Focus on direct response marketing campaigns to known and potential retail clients, and craft careful response mechanisms that invite some interaction. For example, you could offer some form of incentive to retailers who refer you to their own networks. You could also offer an introductory discount to new customers, or make limited-time offers. Any of these strategies can help to bring in new retail clients and further grow your marketing database at the same time.
Customer service
Retailers are busy people and any way to make it easier for them to work with you instead of other wholesalers will work to your advantage. To a considerable degree, streamlining and automating your ordering and billing operations is very important. With innovations in technology and a streamlined process, your sales reps can be largely freed up from the time-consuming process of inputting orders and can instead spend more personalized time with clients and potential clients to better understand and response to retailers’ needs and concerns. Relationship-building remains a powerful way to maintain current customers and also to cultivate the kind of reputation for customer support that helps to attract new ones.
By keeping current with innovations in software and keeping an eye out for ways to streamline the process of ordering, billing and delivery, you can attract new customers and give your existing customers a good reason to stay with you.