Online sales used to be strictly for retailers and service providers. Now, however, wholesalers are very definitely getting in on the act. It’s definitely worth making the effort to have a robust e-commerce offering. To explain further, SOS Wholesale share their expertise on the industry with points on ways eCommerce it can help wholesale businesses.
Expanding your reach
This is probably the most obvious advantage of e-commerce. It’s as valuable to wholesalers as it is to retailers. Even though B2B purchasers tend to have a different set of priorities from consumers, they often value convenience just as highly. In fact, the more you treat your retail customers like they treat consumers, the happier you’ll make them.
Having an online platform also makes it easier to reach out into the consumer world. Most wholesalers should definitely be paying attention here. COVID19 brought many changes to the world but there are two which are particularly relevant to wholesalers considering making a move to e-commerce.
Firstly, it reminded people that there can be a value to holding inventory. This is different from the (understandable) panic-buying at the start of the pandemic. It’s simply a recognition of the fact that supply chains can seize up. It’s therefore helpful to have stocks to keep you going until they start moving again.
Secondly, there has been a massive shift in working patterns. With remote/hybrid work people are increasingly able to move out of cities and into larger properties (with more storage space). Furthermore, the growing trend in self-employment/side-hustling means that consumers are more likely to need business supplies as well as domestic ones.
Managing customer relationships
An e-commerce platform opens up all kinds of opportunities for developing better relationships with your customers. To begin with, it opens up more options for them to interact with you wherever they are.
At a minimum, all modern websites should be mobile-friendly. Ideally, they should have at least one click-to-call button and live chat as well. For clarity, click-to-call buttons only work if you are using a digital (VoIP) telephone system. If you’re not, then this is another compelling reason to upgrade.
Live-chat systems can be operated by artificial intelligence as well as staffed by humans. In fact, it’s quite common for customers to be handled by AI initially and then passed to a human if necessary.
Another benefit of e-commerce is that you collate customer data in real-time. You can therefore make use of it in real-time. For an example of just how useful this is, check out any major e-commerce retailer. Watch how they suggest items and promotions based on your behaviour.
Streamlining operations
Streamlining operations isn’t just about reducing costs although this is often a very pleasant bonus. It’s about making your operations run more smoothly for both yourselves and your customers. The availability of reliable, current data plays a large role in this. It helps you to make accurate predictions and act accordingly.
Having an e-commerce platform may also allow you to niche down. In other words, you could choose to specialize in a particular type of goods even if there isn’t a great demand for them in your local area. This could allow you to present yourself as a go-to purchase destination for a particular sector.