5 Pillars for Building a Profitable Wholesale Strategy

Research shows that wholesale remains an incredibly important revenue channel for fashion brands. In today’s constantly-changing industry, you need to establish a strong foundation for your wholesale strategy. This will help you adapt quickly to market changes and weather any storm.

Not sure where to start with your wholesale journey? Don’t worry, we’re here to help you! We’ve listed the top 5 essential pillars for building a successful wholesale strategy. Follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way to running a thriving wholesale business! 

What are the 5 pillars for building a profitable wholesale strategy?

Know your customers

The first step to creating a killer wholesale strategy is deciding to whom you are selling. Who is your target customer? Try creating some buyer personas so you can envisage your customers as real people with real desires, values and needs. Is your ideal customer a modern, busy business woman who wants comfortable but elegant clothing for the office? Or are they an eco-conscious buyer looking for sustainable and environment-friendly garments?

You should also think about where your ideal customers shop, so you know which retailers to target. Do you envision your products hanging in department stores, specialty retailers, or online stores?

When finding retailers to target, take a look at their current catalogues and make sure your collections fit their mix. If you specialise in luxury leather handbags, you wouldn’t  want to waste time contacting potential wholesale clients that only sell swimwear!

Read more: Understand your customers better by creation buyer personas

Use a wholesale management platform

Take advantage of the wide range of B2B tools out there on the market. These tools and platforms can do much more than simply take orders and can streamline your entire wholesale process from start to end!

Hundreds of brands have simplified their wholesale business using BLANC. They use our wholesale platform to process orders and payments, communicate with customers, host virtual showrooms and ship their garments to buyers. 

When searching for a B2B platform, here’s a handy checklist of what you should be looking for:

• Self-service 24/7 ordering
• Personalised B2B selling: customised assortments and outreach
• Insights and data: track who is looking at your collections
• International selling: ability to use a variety of currencies and languages

Deliver excellent customer service

Always treat buyers with courtesy and professionalism and be willing to go the extra mile for retailers buying your products. Treat every retailer with empathy and understanding. This will go a long way towards creating a loyal base of wholesale customers.

Great customer service also involves providing fast shipping and on-time delivery. Don’t make your customers wait for their orders! Agree on a delivery date and make sure you can make it happen. Once retailers know that you’re reliable, they’ll come back to buy from you again. 

Create effective advertising

Marketing and advertising is a great way to reach more buyers and increase sales. Have a solid marketing plan in place for the year, so you can plan all your marketing activities in advance. Promote your business through various online channels, whether social media, email or online magazines, to generate interest in your brand. 

Whichever channel you use, make sure your advertising is compelling, eye-catching and appeals to your target audience. The copy should be sharp and concise with a clear call to action. 

Read more: Add these key retail dates to your 2023 marketing calendar

Reward customers

It’s more difficult to gain new customers than to retain existing ones. A general rule of thumb is that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers.

That’s why it’s so important to nurture your existing wholesale accounts and make them feel special. Try giving them a discount or promotion from time to time. This could be in the form of a special holiday offer or a 10% discount with their fifth order. 

Make sure to also check in regularly with your wholesale buyers to see how your collections are selling in their stores. If something isn’t selling well, offer to swap it for another garment. Make a conscious effort to maintain a positive relationship with buyers to continue your partnership long term.

There’s no one route to success and there are many things you can do to increase your wholesale business’s success. By implementing these 5 pillars, you can ensure that your wholesale business is on the way to greatness.

If you’d like to learn more about BLANC and how a B2B platform optimises your sales and elevates your business, click here to schedule a meeting with our team.