What is trade marketing and how to find sellers of your products with it
Without marketing, consumers will not know about the existence of the product, which means that there will be no demand and no one will buy the product. But many companies forget about trade marketing - when efforts to promote a product are directed not at consumers, but at those who will sell it: wholesalers, distributors and retailers.
We have translated an article about trade marketing from Repsly , a service that helps to control the work of field employees . From the article you will learn:
- what is trade marketing ;
- why it is important to use trade marketing;
- what tools are used in trade marketing;
- how to develop a trade marketing strategy.
What is trade marketing
Trade marketing, or trade marketing, is marketing that aims to get a product into stores. To do this, you need to convince sellers that the product is valuable in some way and they can earn on its resale.
Trade marketing is not focused on final deals. Its goal is to interest distributors, wholesalers and retailers in selling the product, that is, to find ways in which you can present products to the buyer.
Trade marketing is carried out by manufacturers of goods. Trade marketing is necessary if the manufacturer plans to sell goods in offline stores. It is easier to get into online stores, since they have no restrictions on the number of goods in the window. But, if an online store buys goods from wholesalers, and not directly from the manufacturer, trade marketing is needed.
Some companies combine trade marketing with traditional consumer marketing. But the promotion tools and goals of traditional and trade marketing are different, so it is better to divide the work of marketers into two areas: some will promote the product directly to consumers, and others to intermediary companies.
The trade marketing team may include the following specialists:
Head of Trade Marketing Department. He develops marketing strategies and manages the work of the department. He should have extensive experience in marketing and experience in B2B negotiations.
Marketers. They launch ads, organize events, support the brand.
Analyst. It works with data related to trade marketing. Based on data analysis, the analyst can develop new, more effective marketing practices.
A marketer in this area must understand marketing trends, understand how to assess the market situation, what data to collect. This is necessary in order to develop and conduct campaigns to increase demand for products. For example, develop loyalty programs or launch new products.
Why trade marketing is important
The profit of the company depends on trade marketing. If the product does not reach retail, it will not reach the consumer. It is important to establish reliable and positive relationships with sellers - without this it is impossible to compete with other brands.
Sometimes trade marketing is the best way to stand out from the competition, especially for FMCG manufacturers. The competition in this niche is very high, and with the help of trade marketing methods, you can demonstrate the benefits of your product to potential sellers.
What tools are used in trade marketing
To strengthen partnerships with retail chains and stores, trade marketing uses the following tools.
Trade shows. Trade shows are the perfect place for marketing events. The manufacturer can showcase his product, draw attention to it and start communication with potential sellers of products.
At the exhibition you need to show your best side. To do this, it is worth preparing a sign, decorations, advertising messages in advance. Energetic people who know the products and the company well should work at the exhibition. They will have to communicate with people and convince them that the product needs to be sold.
Promotions. Promotions in trade marketing include, for example, coupons and wholesale offers.
Promotions are an easy way to grab attention. If your product does not stand out from the competition in any way, you can interest sellers with the help of promotions. Between two similar products, the seller will most likely choose the one that is cheaper.
Advertising. One of the main goals of offline and online marketing is to increase brand awareness. To do this, use different types of advertising. Advertising aimed at sellers is expensive, so before launching, you need to prepare - determine the target audience, study it, and compose selling advertising messages.
Advertising is also used to make the brand recognizable among end consumers. The more often people see the brand name, the more loyal they are to it. And the more recognizable a product is, the more likely it will be bought by retailers, wholesalers and distributors.
We must not forget that the needs and desires of the audience change over time. You should track trends and create ads depending on them so as not to lose customer loyalty.
How to develop a trade marketing strategy
Before launching any marketing campaign, you need to develop a strategy. Let's talk about the main stages of development.
Explore the market. Before launching marketing campaigns, determine:
- who is your target audience;
- who are your competitors;
- what problems you might have.
You can get answers to these questions, for example, by visiting trade shows. They allow you to establish business links with other companies operating in the same industry. This will allow you to study the competitors and understand which of them will be the most difficult to compete with for shelf space.
To better understand the target audience, you need to read articles about your industry, consumer reviews. This information will be needed to strategize, identify risks, and create a plan to overcome them. It is better to develop a plan of action in advance than to come up with solutions on the go.
Lululemon is an example of a business that knows its audience well. The company sells sportswear and spends a lot of resources to develop a community outside the brand, to unite people with similar ideals.
Develop a plan. To make a plan, answer the following questions:
- Where do you want to focus your trade marketing efforts?
- How much resources are you willing to invest in offline and online marketing?
- What goals do you want to achieve in a month? Six months later? In a year?
The plan should indicate what and how you are going to do. The plan will allow you not to stray from the chosen path.
Use the information you've learned from your research to find out what needs customers and salespeople have and how you can adjust your marketing strategy to meet them.
In addition, during the course of research, you may find that your product does not meet the needs of the target audience. During the planning phase, you may want to change the design or features of the product to meet customer expectations. This will make it much easier to explain to the seller why your product should be in his store.
Invest in branding. Branding development should go hand in hand with strategy development. Consumers often make purchase decisions based on emotion rather than evaluation of product features. Therefore, branding is important even if you are not selling directly to consumers. Brand awareness affects customer loyalty.
So, Apple has invested a lot in branding, and now Apple is not only computers and smartphones. For buyers, the company's equipment symbolizes success, individuality and modernity. People want to buy a company's gadgets because of the emotional connection they have with them, not because they're the best on the market. When a person buys an iPhone, he receives not only a smartphone, but also the listed intangible attributes. Therefore, many distributors want to work with Apple.
It is important to consider how, when and where the marketing strategy will be implemented in order to achieve the desired result. For example, attractive advertising on the Internet should lead to a beautiful and user-friendly website. Then the traffic will grow. And if you are promoting products offline, then team members must behave professionally and positively.
The essentials of trade marketing in four points
Trade marketing is the promotion of a product to potential sellers, not to the final buyer. It is needed so that the product can take a place on the store shelf and eventually get to the consumer.
Trade marketing is used by manufacturers who sell goods in offline stores. It is especially important for manufacturers of consumer goods: there is a lot of competition in this area.
The most popular promotional tools among merchants are trade shows, promotions, and advertising, including those directed to end-consumers.
To implement trade marketing, you need a strategy. To compile it, you need to study competitors and the target audience and develop an action plan. It is also important to invest in branding in parallel.