How You Can Market Your Wholesale Business in 2021?

Risor
Risor Blog
Published in
5 min readAug 10, 2021

In 2021, all small business owners are looking for economical ways to leverage their marketing strategies and score more customers.

Given wholesale distributors only make feasible revenue from bulk orders, finding the right customers who have good purchasing power is essential for survival. You’d be surprised how much you can profit by making small tweaks in your current business and growing a little online presence.

Here are some wholesale marketing strategies that are not only effective but also practical for micro-enterprises:

  1. Know your Target Audience

Before you even start with marketing, know whom to target. This is critical because not everyone would be able to purchase your products in bulk.

Hence, it is best to target your marketing towards specific customers who would be able to purchase products in high quantities.

Target those that can not only become your customers but also expand your network by referring you to their contacts.

2. Ask for Referrals

As a business, you might have made some industry connections with those who regularly purchase from you. Now, think about it. These industry connections also have a group of clients that you can leverage for marketing your wholesale business.

Ask your present customers to refer you to others in exchange for discounts or priority service. And who doesn’t love discounts? Most people do. So, when someone asks them about purchasing products in bulk, they will happily refer to your wholesale business. A win-win situation for both parties.

Some of the incentives you can provide are:

  • Offer discount on any outstanding payment
  • Offer free goods or merchandise.
  • Instant cash reward

3. Switch to Digital Store

Owing to the digital boom that keeps getting bigger and bigger with every passing minute, it is essential to selling your products online. Here is all that you can do:

  • Open an online store: Online shops have various benefits over offline one which include lower or no rent, less maintenance, global visibility, good customer experience and so much more. You can easily open your digital store with Risor. It is a B2B platform that lets you create an online store along with a rich product catalog, easy sharing, reseller management features and so much more. Take your offline business online today with Risor in just three easy steps.
  • Photography matters: As a wholesaler, you might have the habit of taking a picture with your phone without giving it a second thought if your customers will like them or not. When you are online, product photos are the customer’s first touchpoint with your product. They cannot touch it, hence you need to show every minute detail that makes your products stand out from your competitors.
  • You can become a wholesale drop-ship supplier on B2B platforms which is a way to earn extra income. This process involves signing up on a drop-shipping platform where the retailer keeps a product list on the e-commerce website but doesn’t keep the products in-store. If the retailer receives an order, the wholesaler ships the order directly to the customer.

4. Grow your Presence online through Social Media

If you want to expand your online visibility, there’s no better option than social media. Today almost half of the world’s population uses social media sites every single day! According to a study, there are 3.96 billion social media users. This is a big opportunity that you cannot just leave.

Although you might not get any sales directly from social media, you can expand your online reach just by posting a few photos every day. And best of all, it is free.

Here are some ways you can expand on social media:

  • Respond to your customers on social media: According to Harvard Business Review, simply responding to your customers on social media can help to create a positive image in people’s minds. This study also found that if the brand representative responded to questions, people were willing to spend more money with the company.
  • Build a community: Communities have existed even before social media. Today, you can leverage social media functions like Facebook groups to create a loyal brand community to network with like-minded businesses and clients. Studies also show that participating in online communities helps increase brand loyalty. The more you network, the more opportunities you will find in your wholesale business.

5. Prioritize Your Customer Service

In business, getting a customer is key to success. But what’s more difficult is getting them to keep paying you.

A buyer who makes only a single purchase is likely an impulse buy, or from urgent need. But the buyer who keeps coming to purchase from you is the buyer you can serve for years to come.

According to a study, acquiring a new customer is five times costlier than retaining the existing customer.

So, how do you retain your existing customer for a long time? It’s simple. By providing excellent customer service. If your customers feel that you value them and want to genuinely help them with their problems, they will stay longer with your brand even if your products are slightly higher in costs than your competitors.

Most small businesses neglect the value that customer service can provide. But if you are neglecting the importance of customer service, then you are missing a critical point. You see, a large company will have a large customer base. Even if they try to please customers, it is just impossible to please every one of them.

But as a small wholesale business owner, you have a small customer base. Use it as an opportunity. You can provide excellent value to each of your customers as you can personally attend to their needs and problems.

Here are some things you can carry with you while visiting existing or prospective customers:

  • Product Catalogue
  • Visiting Card
  • Sample products (if feasible)
  • Company Flyers

Conclusion

Marketing your wholesale business requires time and effort but thanks to the digital resources, the marketing has become cost-effective and you can get started quickly.

Use the tips given in the above article for promoting your wholesale products and earn good money with less investment in marketing.

Open your online store free with Risor and start selling within minutes.

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