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Three ways to stand out to retailers launchgrowjoy.com /three-ways-to-stand-out-to-retailers/ This is a guest post by Sarah Leung of Handshake. The world of wholesale is a competitive one. Retail buyers are overwhelmed by a market saturated with products and the many high-stakes decisions they must make to stock their store shelves. When meeting with retailers, therefore, there are a few things you can do to stand out from the competition, and they all have to do with creating the best possible experience for the buyer. Customer service is everything. It seems like an obvious point to concentrate on, but it may not be readily apparent just how important it is. Customer satisfaction translates to customer retention, and according to KissMetrics, research shows that just a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by a whopping 25-95%. In today’s competitive wholesale marketplace, impressing your retailers has never been more important. Wholesale Competition: How to Come Out on Top 1. Always arrive prepared. Showing up to a meeting informed and well-equipped for a productive conversation can have a huge impact on your sales with retailers. The most important information for those dealing with existing retail relationships is the retailer’s past order history–especially the list of the items that they order from you most frequently. If you have this information in mind before going into a meeting, you can spend less time looking things up and more time building rapport. Having that information will not only impress retailers with your knowledge, attention to detail, and commitment to providing a personalized experience, it will also allow you to create easy re-orders to replace out-of-stock units. Furthermore, their order history will give you insights into their buying patterns, allowing you to suggest new products that they’d be likely to add to their shelves. On the other hand, if you’re looking to sell to a retailer you’ve never dealt with before, you can prepare by visiting their stores. Take a look at the store’s layout, product displays, and assortment . Buyers want to be able to trust that they’re making the right choice when deciding on a purchase, so rather than solely discussing your product, you should also be talking about how it will fit into their existing assortment. If you instigate a conversation about why your products are right for their stores in a broader context, you’ll project the confidence that will build trust and ultimately bring 2. Take up less of their time.

Three ways to stand out to retailers

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Page 1: Three ways to stand out to retailers

Three ways to stand out to retailerslaunchgrowjoy.com /three-ways-to-stand-out-to-retailers/

This is a guest post by Sarah Leung of Handshake.

The world of wholesale is a competitive one. Retailbuyers are overwhelmed by a market saturated withproducts and the many high-stakes decisions theymust make to stock their store shelves. When meetingwith retailers, therefore, there are a few things you cando to stand out from the competition, and they all haveto do with creating the best possible experience for thebuyer.

Customer service is everything. It seems like anobvious point to concentrate on, but it may not bereadily apparent just how important it is. Customersatisfaction translates to customer retention, andaccording to KissMetrics, research shows that just a5% increase in customer retention can increase profitsby a whopping 25-95%. In today’s competitivewholesale marketplace, impressing your retailers has never been more important.

Wholesale Competition: How to Come Out on Top

1. Always arrive prepared.

Showing up to a meeting informed and well-equipped for a productive conversation can have a hugeimpact on your sales with retailers. The most important information for those dealing with existing retailrelationships is the retailer’s past order history–especially the list of the items that they order from you mostfrequently. If you have this information in mind before going into a meeting, you can spend less timelooking things up and more time building rapport.

Having that information will not only impress retailers with your knowledge, attention to detail, andcommitment to providing a personalized experience, it will also allow you to create easy re-orders toreplace out-of-stock units. Furthermore, their order history will give you insights into their buying patterns,allowing you to suggest new products that they’d be likely to add to their shelves.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to sell to a retailer you’ve never dealt with before, you can prepare byvisiting their stores. Take a look at the store’s layout, product displays, and assortment . Buyers wantto be able to trust that they’re making the right choice when deciding on a purchase, so rather than solelydiscussing your product, you should also be talking about how it will fit into their existing assortment.

If you instigate a conversation about why your products are right for their stores in a broader context, you’llproject the confidence that will build trust and ultimately bring

2. Take up less of their time.

Page 2: Three ways to stand out to retailers

Retailers, like most people, are busy. Between managing their stores, dealing with customers, and havingconversations with vendors, their time is stretched. In especially time-constrained situations like tradeshows, they may only have a few minutes to talk with you.

Retail buyers should be able to very quickly understand what your brand is all about. Be as clear andconcise as possible when talking about your product and brand. Make sure that your products are lookingtheir best by keeping high-resolution, detailed product images in a digital catalog that you can easilynavigate. You only have seconds to capture a buyer’s attention, and paging through product catalogs orgiving long, verbose explanations of your product line could kill a sale.

If you’re still writing orders by hand, you know that process takes time as well. To make the order writingprocess faster, try investing in a sales order management tool, which will allow you to not only enterthe order more quickly, but also send it out for fulfillment immediately (as well as store your products in adigital catalog and keep track of order history).

When thinking about customer service, the last thing you want to do is take up more of a retailer’s timethan is absolutely necessary. Figuring out ways to present your product line and write orders moreefficiently should be at the top of your priority list.

3. Ship faster than the competition.

Another way to stand out to retailers is by shipping your products out quickly and efficiently. If yourshipment arrives even earlier than they expected, they will definitely remember you for it.

They’ll be able to trust that if a product is going to go out of stock, you’ll be able to quickly fill those orders.Keeping shelves well-stocked increases sell-through rates, which is good for them and for you.

The way to achieve this faster shipping process is by reducing order submission delays. Make sure thatyour orders are being sent out and processed as efficiently as possible, and retailers will love you for it.Not only that, it will speed up your sales process, shrink your cancellation window, and bring in faster cashflow.

A Modern Customer Service StrategyWe’ve stressed the importance of demonstrating your commitment to a high level of service whenspeaking with a current or potential retailer. The manifestation of “excellent customer service” today,however, is changing, and it has more to do with technology than ever before.

Like most others who have access to an internet connection, your retail buyers are probably used to theconvenience of apps, mobile devices, and other technologies in their everyday lives. Indeed, according toAccenture, ⅔ of B2B suppliers acknowledge that shifting customer expectations are driving theirtechnology investments in omni-channel initiatives, like mobile services and B2B e-commerce.

By going into a pitch meeting and showing your products to buyers in the same way they might scrollthrough products on their phones or tablets, you’ll give them a simple, modern experience that mirrors theconvenience they’re used to in their consumer lives, reflecting very positively on what kind of vendor you’llbe like to work with in the long run. In the end, you’ll leave them with a clear, concise order summary,rather than a torn carbon paper order form.

Imagine you’re in a meeting with a retail buyer, and you’re able to rapidly scroll through digital images ofyour line, zoom into pictures, pull up their information, place an order through a digital portal, and have itshipped out the same day without a problem. In a world where much of this process is still done on paper

Page 3: Three ways to stand out to retailers

and many have yet to adopt new technologies, you’ll leave a lasting impression!

Sarah Leung is Content Marketing Specialist at Handshake, where she creates high-impact sales,marketing, and technology-related content for wholesale brands. When she’s not writing, she’s talking withsales reps, sales managers, and other industry professionals to source new topics of interest and furtherunderstand how Handshake has helped them increase sales and build their businesses.