Attract customers in wholesale trade. How to attract wholesale customers? What's next
In the distant 2000s, almost all companies created their own websites according to the principle “the neighbor has it - I have it too”. The site was a showcase, a means to be in trend, but did not work for the main task - sales.
If now the situation has changed in retail, then in wholesale - no. Most wholesale companies most often do not have their own website. Or they create it because:
- Others have, and the worse we are - for solidity.
- We need a showcase that can be shown to the client at any time, but on which nothing can be ordered.
Both the first and second approaches are wrong. A wholesale business needs its own website in order to sell.
It is a key element of the sales funnel, allowing you to solve several problems at once. Interest, attract, show and implement.
A sales funnel is the process of selling a service or product. It consists of several stages, during which part of the visitors is eliminated, and those who are interested in the offer remain.
How it works in wholesale
Wholesalers promote their sites in contextual advertising systems and search engines in order to find customers for small wholesale. This works great in different niches, from children's toys to furniture.
Buyers themselves are looking for goods in bulk:
And in the end they meet on the site.
That is the site wholesale company important and needed. It helps to automate the sales process and make it more efficient, strengthen the funnel at all stages, from attracting a client to closing a deal.
Only here is the question: at what stage of the sales funnel is it needed and how to build it into it?
Three stages in which wholesalers need a website
Do you know why at the beginning of the article we called the site a key element of the funnel? Because he participates in it at least 3 times.
Stage one: attracting a client
To get a client, you need to bring him somewhere. This is where you need a website that acts as the first stage of the sales funnel.
If you do not make a website, but simply indicate a phone number or a business card page, the impression of the company will be worse, it will be more difficult to track the effectiveness of advertising. Plus, on a small site, a visitor may not get all the information they need and just leave.
Stage two: showcase, inform and attract attention
The second role of the site in the sales funnel is to attract the attention of the visitor and present the product.
So a potential buyer came to the site, so what?
- Show the “product face”.
- Tell about the product.
- Show product photo.
- Tell us about the terms of delivery / payment, cooperation.
- Eliminate objections (expensive, long).
This stage is very important, because during it attention is attracted. It is easy to lose a visitor if they are not interested in the product or if all the necessary information is not provided.
Comprehensive information about a profitable offer will become a hook that will push you to place an order or, at least, to call the company.
- Tell the visitor about the product everything that interests him.
- Give a way to order or leave contacts.
Examples of the implementation of the stage of attracting attention
1. Download price list- the visitor leaves his contacts to receive a detailed offer.
- The price is indicated.
- There is a download button.
- There is an incentive to download it here - 10% discount.
- Below is a catalog of bed linen with prices.
2. Online store format- catalog, terms of payment and delivery, basket for ordering.
- There is a product description that opens on click.
- There are characteristics.
- The set is indicated.
- When you hover over a product, you can see the price.
- There is a video review.
- There is an order button.
If the client is interested in the product, then already at this stage he can call himself and find out about the product. If not, then go to the third stage.
Third stage: obtaining contacts and / or selling a product
The last stage of the site's participation in the sales funnel is getting the visitor's contacts or starting the discussion of the deal.
Some companies exclude this stage from their funnel, offering to download the price list or call them themselves. And in vain.
For a visitor to buy, it is not enough to show him the product. You need to tell me what to do next:
- Click on the order button to start placing an order for the product.
It works on the principle of an online store - when the buyer adds the product to the basket, after which an analogue of the basket appears to proceed to payment. Only after that the manager writes or calls the client to clarify the details. The method works great for small wholesale.
- Leave your email address to receive a price or commercial offer.
Gives slightly worse results, but still works. Ideal for companies with a large price list, which is simply difficult to place on the main page of the site in full.
How to strengthen this stage of the funnel?
- Give the visitor the opportunity to act - order, call.
- Place a bright inscription on the button - “Get favorable conditions”, “Order at a discount”.
- Choose the most convenient way to get contacts - either a shopping cart or an application form.
- Invite the visitor to fill in only the required fields. Usually name and phone number or name and e-mail.
If you exclude this stage, then the site will become just an information showcase. The user looks at the product, sees no way to leave their contacts or order.
Some business owners believe that their client will understand how to place an order. This is right. But consider something else: the visitor does not want to think, he needs to be told how to act. If this is not done, then most likely the visitor will go to another site so as not to look for hidden order or application buttons.
Additional stages of the sales funnel
In addition to the basic stages of the funnel - dating, interest and sales, the site can help simplify the stage of up-selling or next sales. And this will help:
- Personal account with a bonus system or a list of products.
- Subscribe to news and promotions using the email newsletter form on the site.
- Widget for communication with the manager.
These elements will ensure repeat sales and quick contact with the client in automatic mode.
What's next?
- Track which stages leave the most visitors
Simply put, find the weak link that is preventing you from selling or scaring off customers. If the client leaves the site after looking at the product, it means that there is no possibility on the resource to order the product or contact the manager.
- Track after which stage the most customers bought
To understand what information and what actions attract customers, at what stage of the discussion he is ready for a deal. And optimize the rest of the funnel stages for successful ones.
- Add the items you need to sell
And for this, monitor the behavior of customers on the site and ask them how it is more convenient to communicate with the manager or order, what is missing on the site. Maybe it will be a simple card with the address of the office.
Cheat sheet-total:
- Make a simple site directory.
- Add products - their descriptions, photos and video reviews.
- Place buttons for ordering, getting a price list or ordering a call.
- Think about how it is convenient for your client to order, communicate with the manager and what additional information he may be interested in. And post it.
- Test what works better and what works worse.
Today, consumers are already so tempted by the abundance of products on the market that it is sometimes very difficult to attract their attention to a really good thing.
Many worthy manufacturers are left with nothing, as high sales numbers are often concentrated in the hands of well-publicized firms. Is it really impossible to find a buyer? No, it's not. The right tactics and a little knowledge in the field of economics and marketing will certainly help you succeed in business. Let's try to study in more detail the step-by-step action of a novice entrepreneur to attract customers.
Which buyer is "their"?
“Own” buyer is an interested person who is a potential client of the enterprise. Of course, you need to be able to reach out to a person and make him want to turn to you.
As they say, for every product there is a buyer. This rule is due to the difference in individual tastes of individuals, different incomes of households, as well as the quality of the products sold. These factors affect the choice of the buyer in the store. It looks at parameters like this:
- price;
- quality;
- individual characteristics of goods, which may depend on the category to which the goods belong and on the manufacturer (color, size, taste preferences of the buyer).
It is impossible to influence the last point in any way, because you cannot please everyone, but it is absolutely realistic to achieve a good result in accordance with price and quality, only the manufacturer is responsible for his product.
How to find your buyer?
Finding “your” customers is a rather long and costly business. Finding people who are interested in your products is not so difficult, but it requires the presence of specialized employees in the firm's staff. For example, IT specialists, marketers, advertising specialists.
To begin with, it is necessary to develop the company at least to an average level. It is very important to pay attention to the range of goods. A good selection attracts more people and gives the impression of a truly specialized point of sale.
Of course, it is necessary to monitor the quality of products, because this is one of the main factors that affects the amount of sales.
Pay attention to the packaging, the name of the product. Bright colors will always cheer you up and attract the attention of a passing person.
In addition to these obvious things for a conscientious manufacturer, we advise you to pay attention to the following options for attracting buyers:
- Distribution of products to as many points of sale as possible (shops, markets, if necessary). It is advisable to supply products to specialized stores, because in this way an interested buyer will be able to come and find exactly your brand on the shelves.
- Creation of own stores with prices slightly below market or with the same pricing policy. This will help increase sales by lowering the price, although it will be insignificant.
- Advertising campaign. Distribution of advertising throughout the city and in the surrounding areas will help attract more buyers. In order for advertising to be true, it is necessary to constantly improve the quality of the product produced. Then the result will be twice as effective.
- Creation of a group in social networks. The development of a Vkontakte group, an Instagram page, a community on Facebook or Odnoklassniki will also help to interest many people. By hiring people who will develop these pages, you get the opportunity to start selling goods over the Internet. This will be a profitable way to promote your business. You can advertise pages in other groups of a similar orientation. For example, advertising clothes in fashion communities or on similar pages selling things.
- Create your own website with the possibility of buying products online via the Internet and delivery within the country or abroad too. This will expand the markets for the product.
- Create a complete product catalog or booklet to hand out to passers-by on the street. You can also print business cards and hand them out to customers. By number, they will be able to find out the dates of new deliveries of goods, which is very interesting and unconventional for ordinary stores.
By following these recommendations, you will certainly be able to find your buyer. You need to follow what is written only after you have identified the main segment of buyers who make purchases from you. It can be children, women, students, pensioners and other categories. The definition of the buyer directly depends on the category to which the product belongs. For example, children's goods, women's and men's clothing, cosmetics, accessories and more.
Finding clients with ads
- contextual;
- media.
contextual advertising
Contextual advertising is also called search advertising. Its essence lies in the fact that with the help of certain queries in search engines you can find exactly your page and products. A potential buyer, without even suspecting it, finds you. In order for him to pay attention to you, follow these recommendations:
- post as many photos of goods as possible with an indication of the price, describe the quality, composition of the product;
- it is desirable that the page has a large number of subscribers and customers who would be able to leave feedback on their purchase;
- regular competitions will also be effective. Playing gift products, making discounts for the holidays, you will attract a huge number of people who want to try out your products.
2. Develop a well-coordinated scheme of work:
- delivery of goods in a short time by courier or postal services;
- free shipping if the product was ordered for a certain amount and other developments that will simplify the order.
3. Highly qualified online store managers who can help everyone:
- assistance in choosing goods;
- consultation;
- the ability to quickly ask a manager a question in an online chat.
4. It is very important to pay attention to the content of the site or group: 
If you have a website, it will help any resident of Russia to find you by keywords, if they are used somewhere on your website. In order to select the correct occurrences, use programs and services. For example, Wordstat.
Display advertising
Display advertising is used specifically for business development, its use is appropriate in places visited by people interested in buying a particular product. Of course, media advertising involves advertising the company's products in the media. This can be as advertising on the Internet, on the radio, as well as on television channels or in magazines and newspapers.
So, in order to find a buyer, it will be appropriate for women's clothing manufacturers to advertise in women's magazines. This includes weight loss products, cosmetics, stationery and more.
Entrepreneurs who target a male audience can use online advertising. Many men and young guys spend a lot of time online playing games on the Internet. Advertising on sites in this direction, whether it is advertising clothes, shaving products or other men's accessories, may be of interest to go to the product page.
What is contextual display advertising?
The most effective, and at the same time economical option for a young entrepreneur, can be the use of contextual display advertising. These are publications on the Internet that users will be able to see only once. This means that users who have previously seen this banner will not be able to see it again. This helps to save funds by directing them only to really interested customers. 
Ways to attract customers without the help of advertising
- Barter advertising.
- Referrals.
- Newsletter.
Barter advertising is an exchange with other stores. This concept is very close to the exchange of clients, almost adjacent, but it is more extensive and interesting. Barter is an exchange. In this case, we suggest using each other's advertising. For example, if you have an agreement with a clothing store, then their salesperson may advise customers, after making a purchase from them, to match accessories to the outfit in your store. In turn, selling your product, you will offer the product of another store. Unobtrusiveness is the main secret successful advertising. By using this method you can attract a lot of customers who can become your referrals in the future. The product will definitely start to be bought more intensively.
Referrals are customers who like to shop with you, they themselves will advertise the store for free, because they still have pleasant memories of excellent service and high quality of your products. This is one of the best free ways that you just have to work for. Only a non-working store will not be able to get referrals, and for a large number of satisfied customers, you should work very well, delighting them with a high level of service and pleasant discounts.
Mailing is a more intrusive way. This is a type of advertising, but free. You can do the mailing yourself, or you can hire another person for this. You can send advertising messages on social networks (to users who fit the segment of buyers) or by e-mail (if a person has registered on your site earlier). Unobtrusive messages about new products, their quality and pleasant prices will surely attract the reader, make him click on the link to your site.
You wondered: where to find wholesale customers (clients), suppliers and at the same time work with them without intermediaries?
Here are a few ways to announce your company to wholesale buyers from all over the CIS and beyond:
- Participate in thematic exhibitions in key cities of the CIS
- Place yourself on a single wholesale online platform of the CIS and the EAEU
- Advertise your company on Google and Yandex
- Build a dealer and agent network
Learn more about each method of attracting wholesale customers:
Method number 1
Participation in thematic exhibitions in key cities of the CIS
Every year, a huge number of exhibitions are held in various industries in different cities throughout Russia and the CIS (EAEU). The largest exhibitions are held in Moscow at such venues as:
Crocus Expo
ExpoCentre
VDNH
Sokolniki and others.
A few more sites where you can find suitable exhibitions and industry events:
expomap.ru - calendar of Russian exhibitions.
exponet.ru - search for exhibitions in Russian cities.
expolife.ru - catalog of Russian and international exhibitions.
This method of searching for wholesale buyers is effective, but at the same time it requires considerable investments. There are much more effective ways and more affordable. They will be discussed further.
Method number 2
Placement on the wholesale trading platform of the CIS and the EAEU
Another great way to attract wholesale buyers is the unified electronic trading platform of Russia and the CIS Qoovee.com. To date, the supplier base in Qoovee has more than 22,000 companies. Tens of thousands of wholesale buyers from different countries, there are thousands of wholesale transactions and hundreds of thousands of page views of products and companies.
Qoovee.com has a “Suppliers” section, which is essentially a round-the-clock and year-round online exhibition where wholesale customers look for suppliers of goods from around the world.
In the "Products" section, wholesale buyers get acquainted with the catalog of suppliers' goods. This section is a huge wholesale hypermarket where customers can easily and quickly create a request for an order.
You can also participate in commercial tenders on the Qoovee marketplace. You can create a tender, i.e. request prices and delivery terms, and receive orders as a supplier.
The Qoovee.com platform is not an intermediary, so your contacts will be available to buyers and they will be able to contact you directly. about the site.
Benefits of placing in Qoovee.com for the supplier and the buyer
Method number 3
Advertising in Google and Yandex.
One of the most effective ways to attract wholesale buyers or find manufacturers and suppliers is contextual advertising in Google and Yandex. Wholesalers often look for suppliers through search engines. They type keywords in the search, for example: Children's clothing wholesale, or Database of clothing manufacturers, wholesale dried fruits and the like.
It's important to be on the first page of searches for keywords that relate to your products. How to do this, how to attract wholesale customers through Google and Yandex, and also how to find out how many wholesale buyers are looking for exactly your products in Google and Yandex search engines, you can, and absolutely free.
Method number 4
Building a dealer and agent network
Why is it profitable to build a dealer network? The answer is obvious: The dealer will invest his resources and he will do the same as you would if you opened your office/representative office.
The development of a dealer and agent network will allow you to cover large territories and expand sales markets with minimal resources. The main thing is the availability of a quality product and a network building system.
How and where to find dealers and agents? What will allow you to quickly bring dealers into business and expand your network? How to build cooperation with dealers and agents? How to organize and create a dealer and agent network? You will receive answers to these and other questions in this material.
To attract and retain quality suppliers, customers need to properly build relationships with a range of potential suppliers, motivating them to fruitful cooperation. Any supplier wants to increase profits by generating additional revenues and incurring reasonable costs (customer acquisition cost).
And since he wants the cost of attracting and maintaining the customer as a client to be no higher than average, the customer needs to try to reduce the cost of participating in the auction of the supplier of interest to him.
This can be done by automating the procurement activities of the enterprise, coupled with a couple of simple, but proven effective management methods. At the same time, the customer optimizes his resources for organizing and conducting purchases in parallel with the creation of acceptable conditions for the suppliers he needs.
Procurement automation means the creation of a certain system (electronic trading platform, SRM, etc.) that can solve a lot of problems, including procurement planning, bidding, monitoring the execution of contracts, etc. I will dwell on ways to attract and retention of suppliers at the stage of preparation and conduct of procurement procedures.
How to separate the wheat from the chaff
It should be understood that by creating greenhouse conditions that reduce the costs of suppliers, the customer cares primarily about himself, about his own procurement efficiency. At the same time, the customer is not obliged to take care of each supplier - these are his costs. Hence the paramount task is to filter out the best suppliers from all the others. To do this, it is possible to add the possibility of automated prequalification for certain categories of goods, works and services to the functionality of the procurement management system.
As part of pre-qualification, which is a pass to future auctions, the customer can clarify whether the supplier has production facilities, what are the terms of delivery and settlements, whether the supplier is ready to integrate its systems with an electronic trading platform, etc. Pre-qualification for a certain period releases the supplier from confirmation qualification requirements when participating in each auction, reducing the costs of both counterparties.
Having identified suitable suppliers, the customer, using the system, invites them to participate in the procurement procedures. But it's not a fact that the best suppliers themselves will express a desire to work with a specific customer. Sometimes it is useful to find the right supplier in the market and send him a personal invitation to become your supplier without qualification.
Miser pays twice
Next, the supplier proceeds to work directly with the e-procurement system. Everything here should be as simple and convenient as possible. If every time the supplier needs to bid, he starts to shudder, then this is unlikely to add points to the customer who saved on the development of an automated solution. In such an "economy system" of procurement management, problems with the interface and usability, as well as internal system failures and other problems that interfere with the comfortable and fast work of the supplier, are most likely to appear.
What else can arrange suppliers? A necessary condition for participation in the auction is a real opportunity to win. Having bargained for nothing on the site once or twice, the supplier will understand that he has nothing to “catch” here, and will simply leave. You need to understand: when there is only one high-quality supplier on the site, he will certainly break the price, so you need to attract as many of these suppliers as possible to create quality competition. It is necessary to maintain competition on the site, giving a real opportunity to win to suppliers offering the highest quality goods, works, services.
If we are talking about an exceptional situation when you need to keep a particular supplier who is very important and the relationship with him is important, then the organization may even enter into a contract with him to purchase from a single supplier in order to keep his interest. And so that he does not break prices, you can conduct a request for prices or a request for proposals before that. With this approach, today the customer may lose in money, but in the future, due to the competition of high-quality suppliers remaining on the site, the customer will win. It is also important to note that maintaining a sufficient level of supplier competition for all purchases is good, but it is more expedient to create better conditions specifically for suppliers of key product groups.
For effective procurement, there must be competition from quality suppliers. It will not appear on its own, we need to work on it, including investing in tools and technologies.
Hello! In this article we will talk about increasing sales in the wholesale business.
Today you will learn:
- What is wholesale trade;
- How to increase the volume of wholesale sales;
Features of wholesale trade
Is the production volume of your enterprise large enough and you do not have time to sell products? Then it's time for you to think about wholesale sales.
Wholesale - a type of trade in which one enterprise provides another enterprise with goods in large quantities.
If you decide to hire new employees, it is best to look at the sellers retail stores similar specifics. They are already familiar with the product, they know the features of sales, they know how to work with needs.
Another equally successful source of personnel are competing companies. By enticing several employees to your staff, you will kill two birds with one stone - you will unsettle your competitor and get professional salespeople.
However, be careful. A competitor's employee may turn out to be a spy or simply return to the old place over time, taking your customer base with him.
In search of employees, you can go to companies from related industries. Such candidates will be easier to train than those who worked with a completely different product.
You can not look for new employees, but train existing ones. In addition, there are various ways to increase sales. For example, host a competition among account managers, according to the results of which you will be awarded the best seller of the month.
How to attract new customers
- Through cold calling. We have already talked about them before, so we will not stop. Let's just say that when choosing this method, special attention should be paid to the database itself with contacts of potential customers and information about them, as well as. Script - a conversation script that your manager will follow.
- A great source of customers - your customers. If you have established a trusting relationship with your customers, then ask them to recommend your company to their partners. This is a pretty efficient method.
- Look for clients at various events: get acquainted, exchange contacts.
- Use to attract customers. It will be especially relevant and personal sales via the Internet or telephone are also relevant.
Wholesale optimization mistakes
Mistake 1. A good salesperson will generate high sales volume.
There are not so many really good merchants, so there won’t be enough of them for everyone. In addition, it is very difficult to determine the degree of professionalism of each individual employee. Therefore, if you rely only on your staff, you are unlikely to get high results.
Mistake 2. Expansion of the product range will cause an increase in sales.
This is the misconception of most entrepreneurs. The introduction of new product categories can reduce profits, especially if the new product has nothing to do with the main one.
Example. The Bis company several years ago introduced solid perfumes into its range, the bottles of which resembled a lighter in shape. However, the project turned out to be unprofitable and soon the perfume-lighters were discontinued.
No, it will not. It is necessary to advertise the product, but in moderation. Excessive advertising will not only hurt your pocket, but will also annoy potential consumers. It is better to advertise not much, but qualitatively, that is, personalize your messages, choose the right communication channels.
Mistake 4. Reduce the price and sales will grow.
This is not always the case. The wholesale business is characterized by large volumes of purchases, which increases the risk of buying for the consumer. If your price is below the market average, then the client may suspect the low quality of the goods or your dishonesty.
Remember that too high or too low a price must always be justified.
For example, if you set a high price, you can show the client that your product is of very high quality. In the case of a low price, tell the client that you have your own system that you save on, or you own several levels of production at once, or the raw materials from which the product is made are supplied to you at a deep discount due to long-term cooperation with the supplier.
