Anything that gives you a louder voice with your customers could help you grab a bigger slice of the retail and foodservice market. With that in mind, for this month’s cover story (page 18), we asked wholesalers how they market their businesses.
Some said that their best results come from direct-to-consumer advertising, such as radio and TV. Despite being costly, this can bring big returns.
However, some marketing doesn’t need to cost anything. Others wholesalers we spoke to get by purely on customers’ word-of-mouth recommendations, while a few digitally savvy wholesalers are generating loyal customer followings on social media. Another Birmingham-based wholesaler raised the profile of his business by getting involved in community events. The result: his name and business in the local press.
Meanwhile, JJ Food Service, which calls itself ‘the best kept secret’, is embarking on some exciting marketing
activity in-depot to boost coffee sales among foodservice and retail customers (page 5).
But marketing is just as critical to your customers’ survival. This issue, we also speak to one wholesaler that’s charging an annual fee to help retailers improve their marketing activities (page 10).
I hope we’ve given you some food for thought and, if you do decide to try anything new, we’d love to hear about it
