How to Supply a Retailer and License Your Brand
One of the very first things to define and plan out when starting your eCommerce business, is to find a niche product that you can sell to a variety of markets and that has an active target audience. Once you know exactly the type of product(s) you want to sell, you’ll need to figure out how to source them.
At our recent Beyond 24-hour global virtual summit for digital business, we sat down with Manufacturing & Sourcing expert, Kian Golzari who shared all things sourcing and dives into strategies to help you navigate the world of overseas sourcing for your next eCommerce products.
Here’s everything you need to know in order to get your products into the stores of retailers and how to license your brand.
To watch the full session on global sourcing and how to license your eCommerce brand, click below.
Tips on How to Supply a Retailer
1. Make sure you’re ready to supply a retailer
As a retailer, the first thing you want to ask yourself is if you’re in fact ready to supply a retailer as oftentimes, people gravitate more towards the idea of supplying a retailer, yet are not necessarily familiar with the elements that are associated with supplying them. For example, it’s your job to manage the financing for the entire order and do take into consideration that when supplying into a retailer, they typically require 90 days credit. Furthermore, the time from when you pay your first deposit to the factory to when you get paid by your customer can take up to a few months. With that said, are you in a position to be responsible for the financing considering everything mentioned?
2. Convince the buyer of your product
Once you’ve established a financial plan, the next thing you’ll need to do in order to get your products into a retailer’s store is to try and convince the buyer who then makes the decision to whether or not order your product(s). How do you go about convincing them? Well, your approach to the buyer should be unique and multi-channeled.
As many typically reach out via social media platforms like LinkedIn or physically go into stores and request the regional manager, you should (when the climate allows you to) showcase your products at an exhibition or trade show. Once you’ve established a connection, simply offer them value by explaining why your product can be successful in their stores and online.
3. Adapt to retailers’ needs
As all retailers are different, it’s crucial to analyze each of their business needs and then come up with a strategy for each one. First, do your research and know who you are trying to supply and then analyze their target audience, their consumers, prices they offer, their packaging and so on. Basically, you need to get a grip on their brand. Adapt to the retailer you want to supply to and don’t expect that they will adapt to your product.
As buyers are extremely busy people, you should take into consideration that you should do the job for them. This means, find out which products are on their shelves, check for availability and come up with a price plan to bring to the buyer and convince them why your product is better and more valuable then their current stock.
4. Push value, not your product
One thing to keep in mind when trying to convince a buyer to order your product(s) is to not just push your product but explain to them why it’s right for their brand/stores. If you believe your product(s) is indeed a good fit for the retailer, then that’s what you should be pushing. Definitely don’t just push your product just to get on the shelf, retailers want value.
5. Offer a unique selling proposition
When you come to a buyer/retailer with your product(s), it’s crucial to get straight to the point and if you want to stand out, offer them a unique selling proposition with a clear message that they can’t say no to. Buyers are constantly receiving pitches from businesses and you certainly don’t want to be just another sales pitch. As mentioned earlier, tell them why your product(s) is a better fit for their stores than the current stock and remove as much friction as possible. In addition, understand your retailers’ margins, as in offer them products that take up less shelf space, offer them more margin along with a higher price.
6. Test, test, test
Finally, get make sure you get your products tested before you get it into the retailer. This sounds like common sense but if you don’t consider how your products perform beforehand, your entire deal can go up in flames with the retailer. Whereas if you sell on online marketplaces like Amazon, not testing your product(s) is something you can get away with, but not with retailers. The moment you supply retailers hundreds or even thousands of units of your product(s) that are not properly tested or have a defect, they’ll just return it all back to you, leaving you in major trouble as you won’t be able to sell it anywhere else.
Licensing: What You Need to Know & Do
Licensing in essence, can open doors to many new opportunities as it’s a quick way to get the meeting you want with retailers because you’re an “exclusive” license holder. What does that mean? Well, when approaching a retailer that you’re trying to convince to purchase your items, you are in fact the sole owner of these products, so if they want them, they can only order them through you and nowhere else. Basically, the license serves as an official gateway for retailers to order your product(s).
In addition, licensing opens your brand to an even wider customer base as well as an entire market and can really accelerate your business.
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