BETTER BONDS BETTER BUSINESS

Building great relationships with store owners

Building strong, genuine relationships with your stockists and store owners can actually have a huge impact on your sales — often more than launching a new product ever will. Respect, trust, fairness and honesty are the foundations of any long-term relationship, and this is especially true when it comes to wholesale. But beyond the basics, it’s often the little, thoughtful things that really make the difference and turn a shop into a true advocate for your brand.

When you take the time to get to know your stockists, you begin to understand what really works in their store.  You’ll learn which styles sell best, which colours their customers gravitate towards, what packaging catches their eye and how their buying changes season to season. Keeping in regular contact also means you stay front of mind — something we all need reminding of sometimes! When you’re present and engaged, stockists are far more likely to keep an eye on stock levels, reorder more frequently and actively recommend your products to customers.

There’s also a lovely sense of mutual support that comes from working closely together. Share your stockists with your audience and they’re more likely to do the same for you — a win-win situation of tagging, sharing and brand exposure that benefits you both.

Here are some simple but effective ways to nurture positive relationships with your stockists and start seeing the rewards reflected in your turnover:

• Stay in touch and keep them updated once they place an order. Communication really is everything.
• Be honest if stock is delayed or taking longer to produce than expected — transparency builds trust.
• The little touches matter. Deliver the first order by hand if you can, include a handwritten thank you card or a small freebie… we absolutely love this!
• Share your stockists on your social media pages, and support what they’re doing by reposting their content.
• Let them know when you launch a new product so they feel included and considered.
• Ask if there are any tweaks or changes their buyers or customers have been asking for.
• Offer to swap products that have been sitting in store for a while — you can sell them elsewhere, and the shop gets fresh styles on display.
• Create a simple social media pack with high-resolution, styled images so retailers don’t have to take their own photos. Beautiful visuals make posting so much more likely.
• Drop into the store or send an email to ask for feedback — what are customers saying? What are they loving?
• Collaborate on a giveaway, competition or special in-store offer to boost visibility for you both.

And I’ll be honest — I do have favourite suppliers. They’re the ones who reply quickly to emails, send invoices on time, get orders right with no mistakes, and keep me in the loop about new products. They’re organised, reliable, and genuinely care about the relationship. They’re also the ones who make the effort to catch up for a coffee (or a gin!) when they’re in the area, and who ask for feedback or advice on new ideas.  I even have one supplier who sends me a birthday card and gift every year… how special is that?

You don’t need to go as far as birthday gifts and gin dates, but by using the tips above and working more closely with your stockists, you’ll build stronger partnerships — and you’ll almost certainly see the rewards in return.