Having a great product does not necessary lead to distribution deals and shelve space with retail stores. In reality, many entrepreneurs and companies work very hard on reaching out to buyers of retail stores and distributors to land those wholesale deals. Often, the entrepreneurs and companies experience growing pains, while trying to gain market share and land these deals.
To help out, here are several great tips to get products into retail stores. These tips can be beneficial for most products sold and any size of company. Getting wholesale deals and opening up retail distribution is often a critical part of business development of most brands.
Tips To Get Products Into Retail Stores
Be ready and to the point.
Buyers from retailers and representatives from distributors do not have a lot of time. They are very busy people. They can only give a limited amount of time to each product pitch and review. Brands must be ready and get straight to the point. Skip the story and provide the required details such as price points, manufacturing abilities, warranties, and other data.
Be social media proficient.
Companies must brand themselves these days on social media channels. Retailers and consumers will certainly review them to do their background checks so to say. Companies must have their key social media platforms properly setup, optimized, and marketed to have best chances at landing a deal with retailers and sell products.
Get busy on a local level.
Most major distributors and retailers require brands to be in localized stores before they consider the products and brands. This means companies must start out smaller and get into localized stores first. Major distributors require brands to be in over a dozen local stores before considering a national distribution model. Sales cycles tend to be shorter with smaller store chains and local ownership.
Marketing products online.
In almost most cases these days, buyers and distributors will go online to do their research on brands and products. This was not the case prior to the Internet. Marketing products online is not much of an option anymore. Buyers, distributors, and consumers go online to review products and a brand. Having a reliable vendor for marketing services is critical.
Create lucrative margins.
Money talks! Buyers and distributors will more likely pay more attention if the profit margins are lucrative. Set the retail price properly with the right margins for wholesale to make it attractive for retailers and distributors. Products that have low margins will not be as likely to be considered.
For companies that are not sure how to go about distribution, professional help could assist. Tips to get products into retail stores can help, but to really take advantage of experts, a consultation is much better. Through consulting services, brands can gain a better understanding of options and approaches to increase distribution and sales.