Retailers.... oh how annoying

[bebeniquk]

Hi, new to these forums, but thought I'd try my luck anyway.

We deal with independant retailers in the baby/nursery sector. They are predominantly amateur retailers as they are mums who have started a business shortly after having her own first baby, and she thinks nobody was selling anything interesting... oh how boring I tell you!

Anyway, we have been selling some pretty neat and innovative imported products into this sector for around 2 years now, but I find dealing with amateur retailers really draining on my resources as they just do not respond to normal marketing tactics in the right way. Anyone have any ideas on how to market into an amateur retail market effectively?

Jason

[Jayne]

Hi Jason,

Firstly, don't call these customers amateures on a public forum, sounds rude and they could be reading this!

We were all amateurs at the start of our first business. Have you tried asking your customers/retailers what they want, from a customer service point of view, from you? Being a Mum in business should have nothing to do with their abilities to run a good business.

Jayne :D

[directmarketingadvice]

they just do not respond to normal marketing tactics in the right way

Prospects can be soooo annoying.

Sometimes they've just no idea how to respond to marketing.... :wink:

Steve

[bebeniquk]

Jayne,

Thanks for the reply. Sorry I do not think you understood what I meant when I said amateur. In retail you got those people who are professionally trained retailers. They respond to the usual marketing catches like 3 for 2, January Promotions and so on. When I say amateur, I say so with respect for what they are doing, however being a professional business marketing and selling into them proves challenging as they do not know how to respond to our marketing. There are pro retailers in the industry and they respond as expected, i.e. buy when you see a deal.

If we do not have the time to go out there are visit the retailers it means we need to phone them, which many of them do not like and we get on the topic of cold calling. So we use traditional mechanisms to inform them of promotions, new products, specials and so forth. However our return from these retailers is much lower than expected, so my thinking is that perhaps there are some things about these people I do not yet understand.. that I would like to understand to assist them in boosting sales, and invariably profitability.

Thanks again
Jason

[cjd]

Jayne,

so my thinking is that perhaps there are some things about these people I do not yet understand.. that I would like to understand to assist them in boosting sales, and invariably profitability.

Jason

Well it seems you have an oportunity because if you don't understand how these people buy then others don't too.

It seems likely that they are buying as retail punters rather than retailers themselves; so, in effect, they are making buying decisions as though they were buying for their own children. Crack that mindset and you may have an opening.

They will be buying things they like, not necessarily things they can sell or things that are well priced so they can make a good margin.

Of course, it is also very likely that they will just go bust or get bored - so be careful......

[CaroCaro]

Hi there, what is the product? Perhaps we could take a look at it and some of your marketing and share our thoughts. When you say they don't respond the right way, what do you mean? Is is because after one piece of marketing material from you they don't call you up and say 'yipee that's the best thing ever" Independent retailers and buyers are a tough nut to crack and a few mailers and a couple of calls if just not going to pass mustard I'm afraid. You are going to have to get out there and meet them face to face, all brands do this, big and small. From you first posting, for me personally, I can sense a bit of a derogatory attitude towards women in business, I could be worng. But if I get that sense from one posting what are others going to sense? Of course it is impossible to tell anything about you from on posting, but just an observation to throw into the pot.

[CaroCaro]

I have just had a quick look at the products and they only one that stands out as new and innovative is the Weeman, I have seen this in Oz. The others look great, but there are many other brands in this hugely competative market, why is yours so different? This is maybe what the retailers are thinking and if you don't go and visit them and demo the products face to face, you can't build a relationship and show the points of difference. What advertising support underpins the products? You are not going to get customers going into stores asking for your products if they have not seen or read about them in baby/parenting press and vice versa retailers are not going to start stocking them until there are some good levels of awareness of the brand and customers are asking for them. How about sale or return? Low risk for the retailers and if you are confident about the product range and its ability to sell, there should be no issue.

[SillyJokes]

I can imagine that wholesaling into this market is very hard. They are a lot of hassle for small orders and many of them just fade away.

I know that in my sector we found it very hard to get wholesalers to give us the time of day. They simply were not interested in the internet market or people who were just starting out in it. You could see them shut down as soon as you approached them at trade fairs and they never sent the catalogues we asked for.

I suspect though, that we are probably the biggest online joke and party store but we are the exception and that if you looked at 20 indentical 'amateur' businesses who started out that year in the same area only we are still going.

We now spend a very large mount of money each year with the one supplier who paid us some respect and helped us out.

We do have another supplier who contantly bombards us with offers which we never take up because creating a webpage for a one off deal takes too long. Plus I really really hate their agressive marketing tactics.

I hope you can crack these new businesses because if you are lucky and find one in twenty that goes on to be a big success it could be very good for you.

[magic-merl]

Don't wish to appear rude. But if you are having trouble marketing on a B2B matter then the amateur is not the retailer!

Professionalism extends beyond the norm and markets will open up once you understand your clients a little better.

[winton50]

Merl's right

exactly how does one respond in the 'right' way to a marketing message.

If your prospective customers aren't buying it's not their fault it's yours!

[Faith28]

Hi,

I feel like you're talking about people like me!! I'm a new mum and when I was on maternity leave started my own business.

My initial reaction to your comment was how does one respond to marketing tactics in the right way!?! I really found this assumption erroneous. Marketing tactics were based on the market given not the other way around. So if it's not working then the problem is with the tactic not the client/market.

I admit I did find it a little offensive, but I'm sure you don't mean it that way.

[Faith28]

Hi,

I feel like you're talking about people like me!! I'm a new mum and when I was on maternity leave started my own business.

My initial reaction to your comment was how does one respond to marketing tactics in the right way!?! I really found this assumption erroneous. Marketing tactics were based on the market given not the other way around. So if it's not working then the problem is with the tactic not the client/market.

I admit I did find it a little offensive, but I'm sure you don't mean it that way.

[becky]

Hi Jason

Well you are actually talking about me! I'm in the process of setting up a new baby gift website, and have a young baby. (Sorry if I'm boring you!)

You sent me a brochure a couple of months ago. From my perspective I didn't buy anything because there was nothing particularly gifty there - apart from the shoes (and I already have another supplier for them). The products are too practical for my purposes.

If I was in the market for these products though, the different price bands would probably make me up my order. It sounds like you're having difficulty getting that first order, not the upselling. I should mention though that since getting the brochure I've had no follow up.

As was mentioned in an earlier post, if you're predominantly dealing with "amateurs" I think people would respond best to a friendly helping hand. Because of the type of product you're selling you perhaps need to change your attitude to what are likely to continue to be a significant proportion of your customer base.

I must say your post has really annoyed me!

Becky

[silverpuresilver]

Hi Jason

If you are looking to sell to a particular market - regardless who they are (women, men, experienced or novice) - I would guess that you need to research that particular area. Perhaps a different way of approaching them would be better - not everyone responds in the same way. It seems to me that in comparing big companies with small individuals you're only seeing whats 'wrong' with one, not how to deal with the other in a more understanding manner.

If you know that your new customer base is primarily new mums starting in business, (a) find something that is going to capture their interest in you and (b) give them more respect - your attitude is always going to be paramount in building relationships.

Good Luck!

Karen

[caroline]

I don't like agressive marketing tactics either, and would be much more likely to do business with a person who is warm, friendly and compassionate, rather than patronising.