In our June webinar “How to Launch, Pivot, or Scale in the New Era of Wholesale”, brands from around the world had the opportunity to speak with a panel of wholesale experts at NuORDER by Lightspeed. The event moderated by NuORDER VP of Marketing Ashley Wolf featured deep insights and answers to your most pressing questions from three enterprise account managers — Inge Erickson, Drew Hecht, and Alexandra Barron.
Keep reading to get a sneak peek into some of the highlights.
The State of B2B Commerce 2024
Our recent survey report revealed that many buyers have new expectations for brands, while large department stores are looking for ways to reduce their physical footprints. Brands are advised to find creative ways to make up for lost sales amidst these changes while selling deeper into existing accounts and uncovering new markets.
How to lift sales
In light of the new state of wholesale, brands are prioritizing two areas of business — securing new accounts and improving the buying process. From building attractive storefronts to exploring markets overseas, brands are taking a multi-tiered approach to increase sales.
Our panel of enterprise account managers shared a few savvy moves established brands can use to increase sales, as well as tips for brands that might be new to the wholesale space.
Offer better buying experiences
Seamless buying experiences have the power to motivate and inspire buyers to make their way throughout the entire buying journey. It’s important for brands to ensure they’re representing themselves well online. This can take the form of more attractive storefronts, as well as virtual showrooms which are both interactive and engaging.
Also tap into historical sales data to make the buying process easier (and potentially more lucrative) for buyers. Use in-depth data and insights to help them take advantage of promising trends and to recommend items that are similar or complementary to historical bestsellers.
Secure new partners
Instead of primarily searching for new wholesale partners at trade shows and other in-person trade events, brands are spending more time securing new partnerships online. For example, brands are using digital databases like NuORDER Marketplace to look for potential great-fit wholesale partners from a large pool of reputable retailers. Other brands are taking special measures like expanding their product categories to be able to attract different types of retailers.
Recommendations for New-to-Wholesale Brands
Whether you have a recently-launched brand or you’re expanding into wholesale from the realm of DTC, here are a few tips to help you increase business:
Look beyond your borders
Consider selling into new geographic locations to increase sales. For example, you can market seasonal SKUs to different places in different climates at different times of the year or tailor your marketing campaigns to match the seasons in specific locations.
Become more tech savvy
After you have the right solutions in place, start documenting standard operating procedures (SOPs) for your tech stack. Many successful brands also make sure they receive regular performance feedback from their account managers to gain insights into what's working and what might need adjustments.
Choose retailers wisely
When you choose the right retailers from the start, you can secure long-term, profitable partnerships. Take the time to find potential great-fit retailers that align with your values. It can save you lots of time and help you avoid major obstacles in the future.
Wrap-up
Ready to learn more about what successful brands are doing in this new era of wholesale? Watch the full webinar.
