What It Takes for Small Wholesale Distributors to Grow & Become More Profitable
Written by Hannah Whittenly

Small wholesale distributors may have the most difficult customer base in all of the small business world. There are so many large competitors who can and do offer their goods at cut rate prices to retailers, and small wholesale distributors may not always be able to compete with these rates. However, there are ways for the small-time distributor to go big, and compete with the big dogs.
Offer Discounts for Loyalty and New Customers
Everyone loves a great deal, especially retailers who are essentially reselling a product that they have already purchased. As a wholesaler, you have to consider the plight of a retailer, which is profiting of what they purchase from you. For this reason, discounts can play a great role in growing your business.
Loyalty discounts focus on offering premium prices to those who purchase from you consistently. This shows your buyers that you appreciate their business, and look forward to doing more with them in the future. Most importantly, for you, is that now they can purchase even more of your goods then they normally do. Give these discounts at intervals, and you will see an increase in the frequency and bulk that your loyal retailers buy from you. Offering discounts to prospective buyers is perhaps even more effective. If you give them an introductory cost that is lower than what they currently pay when purchasing from your competitors, then you will cultivate a whole new base of buyers. Also, making these discounts a limited time offer will increase their immediate value, and making it that much more likely that you will receive new orders immediately.
Make Purchasing From You Attractive to Retailers
Walk into any successful retailers business and you will notice that the entirety of their operation is designed with the end user, or customer, in mind. Their goal is to make buying from them an attractive experience. As a wholesaler, you have to match your retailer's zeal for customer satisfaction step for step. The way to do this is to ease the stress associated with buying from wholesalers.
Automate as much of your ordering and delivering operations as possible. This can reduce the waiting time for busy distributors, and they can rest easy knowing that once an order has been placed with you that they will receive their goods in a timely manner, enabling them to meet the demands of their customers at all times. There are IT companies that can help you set up the infrastructure necessary to handle all of the needs of your customers. For a better idea of what such a company could do for your small wholesaling business, checkout various types of wholesale distributors software.
Create an Eye Catching Campaign
New customers are the most integral part to growing your business, and you will need a magnetizing campaign to draw them in. If your business is the new kid on the block, then it is likely that your prospective customers already have a supplier, and even a discount might not be enough to woo them into buying from you. To increase your chances of gaining new business, put together an attractive campaign that will draw interest in your business. Color, artistic lettering, and even animated emails that read like a press release are methods that play on the senses and help grow the visibility and recognition of your business.
Give Excellent Customer Service
Customer service is all about ensuring that the businesses that spend their money with you feel like they made a wise decision in doing so. Let your retailers know that their concerns are your concerns a well, and work with them to find solutions that benefit both you and them. This creates a cooperative atmosphere between you and your customers, and your firm will gain a reputation as being one that goes the extra mile to make sure that their customers, and their customer's customers, are all pleased.
Growing your wholesale business is totally within your power. The key is incentivizing interest in your business, and this can be achieved by putting yourself in the shoes of the retailer, and asking yourself what you would want from a wholesaler. Remember, success in business is achieved by meeting needs, and doing it better than your competition.
Article author
About the Author
Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake.
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