E-commerce giants like Amazon have completely transformed how brands are engaging with their customers. They offer a huge range of products and are now making the most of the growing electrical equipment market too. So, with huge brands like Amazon muscling in on the electrical products market, how can electrical wholesalers continue to compete?
Many businesses who are entering the e-commerce market are struggling to compete with the likes of Amazon. This is hardly surprising given their reach and resources. Trying to match Amazon’s products and prices however, is not the best move for wholesalers. Plus, if you’re busy focusing on trying to match a massive competitor, you may lose sight of what is most important of all: your customers.
There’s always room to improve your business and there is plenty to learn from successful brands like Amazon. First, you should review your business model and consider which areas you can adapt and improve. You should also use this as an opportunity to highlight your strengths and what makes you different from other businesses. What can you offer that Amazon can’t? What are your USPs?
Below are some key business areas that you’ll want to review if you want to hold your own against the big brands.
One area that is crucial to the success of electrical wholesalers is how you get your goods from A to B. Your distribution network should run as smoothly as possible, delivering your goods in a timely manner and in pristine condition.
If you want your sales to be consistent, you will need to consistently deliver a reliable service, plus delivering a reliable service will help you to win new business.
Take a look at your distribution network and see where you can improve efficiency and reduce costs. You should also keep an eye on your competitors to ensure your turnaround time is matching up to (or beating) what others are achieving.
Loyal customers are crucial for business success and if you want to encourage repeat business you should come up with a customer loyalty scheme. This may entail a loyalty card that offers a discount off their tenth purchase, or referral rewards that encourage your customers to bring you new business.
You can also make your loyal customers’ lives easier by implementing a repeat order program that automatically refills and ships your customers’ regular order.
In order to tailor your rewards and deals, you should aim to collect and organise your customer data. The better you know your customers, the easier it will be to tailor your service and maximise account profitability.
While selling is the goal, none of us likes having a product or service being aggressively sold to us. If you want to win over your customers you need to understand their problems and requirements before advising them on the best solutions for them. Ultimately, you should be guiding their decisions, not forcing them.
Setting up your team as product experts is an excellent way to stand out from larger companies like Amazon who sell such a wide range of products. Customers are also able to do their own product research online, so it’s best to know as much as possible about your products and those of your competitors.
If you’re constantly trying to match the prices of e-commerce giants like Amazon, you will be unable to sustain long-term growth. If you can offer great quality, consistency and fantastic service customers will choose you. They require a trusted supplier who is available and responsive and while the price is an important factor, building a strong relationship is crucial.
Amazon is clearly doing well and it’s a fierce competitor for electrical wholesalers. However, the bigger the business, the less personal the service and this is where wholesalers can make their mark. Customers want to feel like they are getting a tailored service and personalised advice from expert salespeople. Can you deliver that?
Bridgewater Professionals specialise in recruitment for jobs within the wholesale, distribution and manufacturing industries, recruiting highly skilled individuals at all levels across the UK and Ireland.
If you’re an electrical wholesale, distribution or manufacturing professional interested in developing your career, get in touch with us today.
