Wholesalers Grow B2B and Retail with Fanspike Ecommerce Websites

• Oct 20, 2017
• Architechs for the Web

Ordering online has become the new norm for consumers, but it’s also gaining increasing popularity with businesses. If you’re selling business to business, then you need a powerful ecommerce website to take orders. If you’re not convinced, then you need to read these 7 reasons why you must have an ecommerce site.

7 Reasons Why You Really Need an Ecommerce Website

Many wholesalers and distributers don’t think they really need an ecommerce site. After all, customers can call, fax in, or email their orders anytime, whether you’re mailing them a catalog or using a PDF catalog. And of course, that’s a viable option for your customers, but how many of them would prefer a more convenient way to order from you?

Make Ordering As Easy As Possible -Your goal should be to make it as easy as possible for customers to order from you. If you have a website where they can order online and update their cart whenever they want, they’re more likely to do that than call you or send you a fax during business hours.

In fact, wholesalers are learning that their customers want to order online at all times of the day. While sales representatives add value to the wholesale ordering process, online ordering should be framed to compliment the sales representative and store owner relationship. Sales representative are now leveraging online sales tools to help increase the frequency and overall purchasing to help their customers place online orders. 

Let Them Order from Their Smartphone - Young people are opening new businesses all over the country. This new generation has probably never even owned a fax machine. Most of them use their smartphones to do everything, including placing orders for inventory. A mobile-friendly ecommerce site would allow them to do just that. And those business owners are more likely to email you than call or send a fax, too.

Make It Easy to Reorder - When you use an ecommerce site and combine it with email marketing, it’s easier for your customers to reorder products. Also, shopping online encourages them to buy more, because you can showcase new products, and they can browse your entire inventory at their leisure. You can even suggest which products sell well together and offer your customers tips on how to sell them.

Customers Place Larger Orders Online - Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to place bigger orders when you’re buying online than when you’re in a store? It’s no different for your business customers. When they browse your selection of wholesale products online, they’ll find new products they’ve always wanted to sell.

Help New Customers Find You - An ecommerce site allows you to find new customers who are searching for a wholesale distributor online. With a website, you can market your services online and rank for the keywords related to the products you sell. When customers find you online, you can direct them to fill out an online form for review. Once you approve them, they will start ordering from you.

Make the Most of Your Tradeshow Investment - As a wholesale distributor, you have probably participated or are planning to participate in tradeshows. Tradeshows are great, because they allow you to reach your target market and collect new leads. But they’re not cheap. To make the most of your investment of time and money at a tradeshow, you need an ecommerce website. Having a website will pay off even if you only get one new customer every week.

Use Email Marketing to Jumpstart Online Sales- As soon as your new ecommerce website is up and running, you can contact your existing customer base and transition them over to your online ordering system. As they discover the ease of ordering from you, you will see the sales increase in quantity and frequency. When you combine that with search engine marketing efforts, where you’ll gain new customers, your sales will really take off.

Ecommerce for wholesale companies is a new trend, but it’s here to stay. Ordering online is the new way of doing business, not just for the end consumer. Without an online ordering presence, you risk losing out on a lot of sales to your competitors. Fortunately, it’s not too late to make the switch.

Companies That Have Made the Switch

We work with successfully propelled wholesale companies throughout the United States. Our B2B Ecommerce system is powered by Fanspike. Fanspike is loaded with an impressive list of core features. What makes Fanspike so powerful is that it is fully customizable.

License 2 Play and Hotaling Imports are great examples of early adopters. These wholesale and distribution companies are seeing increased leads and sales. When it comes to web design for wholesale businesses, we know what we’re doing, and it’s not too late to get on board. Whether you’re starting a new company or have been in business for many years, the sooner you get started with an ecommerce site, the better.

We Get B2B Ecommerce Systems Up and Running

Fanspike is a product of Architechs for the Web. This robust ecommerce system powers hundreds of websites and has been designed from the ground up for B2B businesses in mind. Our firm tailors our marketing services to grow your wholesale business. We help migrate your existing inventory and customer base to your new online ordering system.