True Fact: 44-to-50% of small businesses have no web site or online presence.

Reasons for going “web-less” these digital days seem perfectly reasonable:

· Number One: “It costs too much to hire professional web site designers.”
· Number Two: “I’m a local retailer or service provider. Why should I be on the world wide web?”
· Number Three: “I’m too busy running my business. Who has time to keep up a web site and answer emails?”

Not Being Online Costs You Even More. A bigger risk these days to your business survival is being invisible to potential customers who do all their product searches on virtual (online) feet … including the locals. Don’t believe it? Listen to Michael Schultz, who (in the interests of full disclosure) is the marketing director for Microsoft Office Live Small Business unit:

1. Fashion Accessories Makeover Wardrobes At Lower Cost With High Style

· In the current economic climate, retail customers are buying more accessories and spending less of their budgets on complete outfits and apparel. “The retailing industry predicts a rise in accessories sales over the next five quarters.” (Specialty Retail trend forecast, Andrew Beauchamp)

· Retail customers looking for something new that won’t break the budget (or a Teen-Tween-aged allowance) are looking to accessories and wearable souvenirs.

“No matter how much money you spend on advertising, you can’t convince customers that you provide better experiences than you do.”

“Managing Customer Experience is not about ‘selling things;’ it’s about helping customers buy.”

Customers come in all sizes in a global marketplace, from a limited number of large Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Distributors … to multiplied prospects among Buyers and Sellers for Chain Stores, Discount Retailers, Auction Sellers … to unlimited potential customers at the retailing end of the merchandise chain.

Of course, advertising costs total up very differently to acquire, convert and retain a manufacturer or wholesale-sized customer, versus attracting and keeping a retail consumer-sized customer. According to wholesale industry trackers, marketing costs to acquire a single new merchandise wholesaler is estimated to run 15-to-25 times the cost of gaining a new retail customer, whose purchase revenues are smaller but who come from a bigger pool of customers.

Listed here are B2B Email Strategies that produce prospects and leads. Includes email industry statistics and results, plus tips from an email marketing professional, founder of BrightWave Marketing, who shared his suggestions at iMediaConnection in How to Deliver on B2B Email Campaigns.

Talk Benefits to Your Audience: Or, What’s In This for Me? Glitzy graphics-heavy emails with tricky subject lines may work well with tech heads (who must have every new electronics device), with online gamers (who are already hard-wired for video image messages) and with casual browsers who don’t feel information overloaded by their email In-Boxes.

Google Search Engine

The Google upgrade uses “concept technology” acquired from a tech company, Orion, which Google bought two years ago. According to Google’s official Blog: This acquired search technology “… can better understand associations and concepts related to your search …” (not rely just on keywords). Google claims that its new search results will be more focused and provide longer search descriptions … delivering “more useful results.”

This launch of Google search improvements is good news for busy professional searchers, who source products, find vendors or get market and industry information ASAP. This tilts toward …

· More refined search results

ASD/AMD Show

Top Ten Wholesale went to ASD/AMD Las Vegas and, maybe, should have launched satellite cameras and Big Picture macro lenses to take in all of the huge ASD/AMD trade show from March 15 to 18. Fortunately, trade show directors (big shout out to Chris, Dell and many others!) streamlined show navigation and traffic, with special market sections across four trade shows at all three venues.

We could focus on person-to-person buyer-seller interactions.

All-Access Passes. Every registrant got an All-Access Pass to Gift, Value, Variety Merchandise, Jewelry and Military-Tactical Outdoor Shows … multiplying access to more exhibitors and more product categories. As we cruised through all the venues, ASD/AMD became all-in-one opportunities for Buyers to add complimentary products to their merchandise mix, compare price points and leverage diverse exhibitors and products.

How To Navigate ASD/AMD

Spotted in Special Show Sections

For buyers and sellers new to the Returns marketplace: Note re-labeling, de-labeling and selling restrictions on returned merchandise. (Tips below.) First, here is a cautionary case study of how wrongly re-labeling return inventory can ruin a carefully marketed reputation and company image.

How Not to Resell Return Merchandise

While it’s not clear who is the true “perp” in this resale story from only a week ago, the situation hit regional television news and consumer protection groups. Everyone up and down the product supply chain took a hit to brand and reputation. The end retailer, discount clothing chain Burlington Coat Factory, is trying to make it right.

Of Spider Bots and Buyers

Online marketing trend trackers and analysts reach the same conclusions: Marketing budgets continue to move from offline media channels (newspapers, print, TV) to online media. The most measurable results come from search-based advertising and marketing, over online display advertising (paying for views or “eyeballs”). And, the best-performing, highest ROI search advertising runs on specialized, business-professional-interest communities called “vertical search engines.”

All built on the right keywords.

Just because you have a brand doesn’t mean
people searching online will find you.
–COO of media company Philippe Guelton
American Magazine Conference

This is part 2 – Marketing Strategies for Wholesale Buyers and Sellers – of our Search Marketing Series.

See part 1 at Search Marketing 1: How Top Sellers Acquire Ready-to-Buy Customers.

Search Marketing 2 > Marketing Strategies for Wholesale Buyers/Sellers: Branding, Product Sourcing, Advertising ROI

Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Distributors and Retailers carve out distinct stages of the buying and selling chain. Simply copying and reformatting marketing strategies that work in the world of direct-to-consumer sales does not meet wholesale industry needs. In fact, marketing activities that focus off-target, on the final retail stages of the merchandise chain, are not cost-effective or performance-based. Not in an economy that demands results from every unit of marketing money invested.

Here are strategies that work taken directly from the experience of wholesale buyers and sellers.

Follow The Money & Results: Ad Channels That Perform

Off Price Show Feb 2009

New buyers (from boutique, international, internet retail segments) … a 10% bump in trade show attendees … great off-price product sourcing for quality apparel (basic, branded, designer), accessories, footwear and jewelry.

The February Off-Price Specialist Show – part of Las Vegas Fashion Week — ran from February 15-18 in the Venetian Grand Ballrooms. This show ensured that buyers, retailers, exhibitors, sellers and industry professionals all brought it home, drawing more than 10,000 value-seeking fashion buyers and exhibitors … an increase of 10% over last year’s show.

The view from Buyers and Sellers –

· Even seasoned off-price show buyers, like Penny Rosenberger of The Merchandise Network New York, increased their buying: “I spent more money at this show than any other Off-Price Show and it’s amazing that this is happening in this economy. But my stores need more value items.”

And, just to close the trend circle here, we’ll highlight at least one or two popular Spring Trends that seem to be spilling over into hot beachwear and Summer apparel.

MEN’S TRENDS FIRST
For a change, we’re breaking the “Ladies First” rule because in Spring 2009 men’s clothing preferences are making waves.

Business owners who source products online and buy B2B from manufacturers, wholesalers and merchandise resellers know exactly what they want from their search efforts:

· The right business-useful information,

· Focused on their own product/industry category,

· That returns leads and resources they can use right now.

In a recent survey of more than 500 professionals (The Vertical Search – B2B – Report 2009 from e-Consultancy and Convera), here’s what business users said:

1. 67% go to vertical search engines to find the information they need quickly;

2. 65% go vertical (industry-focused) sites for their B2B searches because they get more relevant information;

3. 64% find a “significant benefit” — for their workflow and business needs — to searching at vertical sites that focus on their specific business interests.

And here is “where the rubber meets the road” …

Entertainment media companies who profitably wholesaled DVDs and CDs during better times – but are NOT in the Big Box Retailer supply pipeline – can adapt to shrinking prices and sales in the current consumer buying slowdown.

Here are tips to survive and, possibly, thrive in today’s media supplier environment from the vice-president of both marketing and purchasing for Spinning Disc Entertainment. See how Spinning Disc launched dropshipping, new product lines and took a second look at Bargain Buy DVDs to change with changing demands.

–Top Ten Wholesale Newsroom Editor

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How The Economy Has Affected The Media Industry
By Eric, VP Marketing/Purchasing
Spinning Disc Entertainment
Source for Movies, Music & More

The economic downturn has affected people all over the country, not to mention the world. Not surprising, lower consumer spending has certainly had an impact on the media industry.