Many B2B companies don’t think they need to promote their products or services. Some rely on word-of-mouth, others just feel awkward about “blowing their own horn.” Unfortunately, this is a recipe for disaster when your competitors are showing up in front of your potential customers and actively promoting themselves. Your prospects aren’t going to figure out what you can do for them if you don’t tell them.
Make it Personal
When it comes to sales, face-to-face is still the best way to do business with another business. While social media, email and phone calls may have made it easier to market, a face-to-face conversation still goes a long way to creating a relationship. That’s one of the main benefits of being a vendor at industry trade shows, like CHAMPS and SSE, where you can meet hundreds or maybe thousands of prospects all in one place.
Once shop owners and buyers learn about you they’re going to gravitate to your website to check out (and hopefully order) your products. But the reality of selling primarily to one specific industry like the cannabis and smoke shop markets, is that many websites look a lot alike and have similar product selections. One website section to make sure you’re giving special attention is the “About Us” page. Here’s where you tell YOUR story. It’s not about bragging; this is your chance to explain to potential customers about your core business values, why you do what you do, and what makes your business so special that somebody choose to do business with you over somebody else. And make sure to put your picture on that page — in B2B, people don’t engage with brands; they engage with people they know, like, and trust
Make it Convenient
Many B2B vendors think their buyers are more traditional, not researching or ordering online. The reality is that the world is moving to a self-serving economic model, and relying on phone, fax, and email ordering is simply no longer sufficient. The facts don’t lie. A recent B2BecNews survey found that just about one-half of all businesses—48.6%—now conduct 50% to 74% of all their purchases online, including 23% that do at least 75% or more using B2B e-commerce.
The internet has changed the way people and businesses shop for and buy products, which is why HQ has elevated its online presence too. In addition to being the industry’s number one printed publication, connecting B2B sellers and buyers, HQ has expanded to include a fully functional shopping cart feature. Wholesalers are now able to sell products through the MARKETZONE (headquest.com) under a personal digital page. Pre-qualified registered buyers browsing our site are now able to access participating wholesaler pages and place orders directly.
It’s all about convenience (for a small processing fee, of course). As a wholesale vendor, you get the chance to sell your products easily and quickly with less hassle. Orders placed through the MARKETZONE (headquest.com) are instantly forwarded to the vendor for processing and fulfillment. Think of the site as a new salesperson who’s on task 24/7 working for you. Another great win is the added advertising and marketing reach. For the buyer, it means instead of talking to ten different companies—ten different sales reps—and trying to make ten different orders, they can now log onto one central platform and take care of everything at once.
