As SMEs mature, they need to reach their customers faster while continuing to grow their client base. One sure way for online businesses to do this is to tap into the experience and networks of traditional retailers.
The need for speed
The modern consumer has come to expect instant responses and speedy delivery. While online businesses can handle online interactions, delivery, on the other hand, is a different kind of beast.
Many online businesses rely on the marketplaces they sell on, but this can be limiting when they don’t cover certain places. When the marketplaces run short of staff, the underdog might not be the priority.
This has never been more evident than during the Covid-19 pandemic when supply lines ran dry. In situations where retailers and platforms have to prioritize certain goods like medication or cater to the needs of corporations, it becomes very important for small businesses to link up with traditional retailers on the ground.
These businesses master their terrain and have relationships where they operate. They also master regulations and supply chains in their domain.
Tapping into a new client base
Building partnerships with traditional retailers have the added advantage of introducing you to a whole new client base, including people who buy online and offline. Brick-and-mortar businesses collect feedback better than online sellers because they can see and hear directly from clients.
This is reliable information that can be used to improve the customer experience. This kind of feedback is even more crucial when you’re not familiar with the culture of the people you’re selling to.
Here traditional retailers can educate you on how to present your products in ways that will accommodate or even delight your clients with location-specific branding, adaption, and messaging. Traditional retailers can also advise you about seasonal changes in demand, events, cultural shifts, demographics, and trends.
Collaborating with traditional retailers
Traditional retailers have the knowledge and experience to be great partners in marketing and branding. Many businesses have recognized this and are already taking advantage of the opportunity to launch innovative products and marketing campaigns that target new markets. Some of these collaborations look unlikely but make sense from a business point of view.
Walmart and Buzzfeed have joined forces to launch Tasty, an outlet that publishes food and drinks content. Home Depot and Pinterest have come together to help buyers with tutorials and tips on using equipment or finding products that will complement what they already have. Online businesses should converse with traditional retailers to find areas where they can mutually benefit.
Reducing costs
Even when partnerships between online businesses and traditional retailers don’t lead to innovative solutions, they have the practical benefit of reducing costs by relying on the ground man’s knowledge, their warehouses, electricity, transport, and good reputation. Shared costs will bring down the price of doing business.
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