6 Ways Wholesale Merchandise Buyers Can Reach Their Audience Better

Buying wholesale merchandise allows you to purchase inventory at low prices, and then resell at a significant profit. Of course, that does you no good if you’re unable to reach your audience. Ecommerce platforms provide you with global reach, but it’s not as simple as building a store and enjoying immediate profitability. Only 34% of online shoppers use Google or another search engine to find the products they want. 44% actually go directly to Amazon, instead:

1. 81% of shoppers conduct online research before making big purchases. (Retailing Today, 2014)

2. 44% of people go directly to Amazon to start their product searches, compared to 34% who use search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo to search for products. (Marketing Land, 2015)

3. Mobile commerce makes up 30% of all U.S. e-commerce. (Internet Retailer, 2015)

How do you overcome those trends? In truth, there are several ways that wholesale merchandise buyers can reach their audiences better

Play Ball with the Big Boys

One of the first things that come to mind is turning those search/buying trends mentioned above to your advantage. Use Amazon’s platform to expand your reach. Considering the fact that 44% of all online shoppers head right for Amazon’s door, this can help ensure that you’re reaching more potential buyers.

You can choose to fulfill orders yourself, or you can use Fulfilment by Amazon and house your products in one of the retail giant’s warehouses if you prefer. The most important thing is that you’re able to build a presence on Amazon.

Don’t Neglect Organic SEO

According to HubSpot’s statistics, there are more than 1 billion Google searches per month. That’s an awful lot of people looking for products, and many of them may be in search of the wholesale merchandise you have to offer. The problem is that you can’t take advantage of that massive trend if you’re not optimizing for organic SEO.

Yes, you can use Amazon’s platform, but you should also have your own e-commerce platform, and you need to make sure that you’re utilizing the right keywords at the right density to attract your audience.

You also need to think outside of the box here. Yes, product types can make great keywords, but understand that 50% of all Google searches contain four words or more. You need to use longer keyword phrases to target that traffic. You’ll also find that this can reduce competition you’d face by targeting shorter keyword phrases, or single keywords.

Mobile Matters

Think that all of your customers will find your wholesale merchandise through a PC search? Think again. According to Google, more searches take place on mobile devices than PCs today. You’ll also find that those who use mobile devices for search appreciate relevant content more than they care about who the provider of that content is.

What this means is simple – you need to provide the information that your potential buyers are searching for in clear language. Mobile searchers are also more likely to start off using a search engine than PC users are – 48% use Google, Bing or another search engine on their mobile device to find the products they want to purchase. This makes it even more important to ensure that you’re paying attention to organic SEO.

You’d Better Be Social

Social media has become incredibly powerful today, particularly Facebook. FB’s rollout of shopping options through both the website and mobile app provide you with additional ways to reach your audience and sell your wholesale merchandise. Why not ensure that you have a presence on social media, particularly on Facebook?

72% of adult Internet users are on Facebook, most of them daily. In fact, 70% of Facebook’s user base logs on at least once per day, as well. If that’s not a powerful reason to ensure that you’re actively using the platform, we’re not sure what is. Facebook allows you to reach your audience in a number of ways, as well. You can list your wholesale merchandise to sell through FB’s marketplace, but you can also create ads, promote posts that see high levels of engagement, and more.

Make Sure to Take Advantage of Email Marketing

Sure, there’s been a lot of talk in recent years about how email marketing has finally died off, but guess what? Businesses large and small are still using it and to great effect. You can turn email marketing to your advantage in a number of ways. Perhaps the best option is to build an email list and then segregate your audience based on their interests.

When you buy wholesale merchandise that fits those interests, send them an email about what you have to offer. Of course, building an email list in the first place can sometimes be a challenge, but you can use lead magnets to entice signups, and encourage your fans and followers on social networks to add their name to the list. Just make sure that you don’t send emails to anyone without their authorization – creating a reputation for sending spam will do your business no good at all.

Write Guides

While eBay might be the most obvious place to find buying guides, they can actually be used almost anywhere. If you buy specific types of wholesale merchandise on a regular basis, consider creating several buyers’ guides that cover some of the most popular options your customers are searching for.

These guides can be posted online (on your website, blog or eBay itself if you like), but they can also be used as lead magnets to entice people to sign up for your email list, as value-adds, on social media and in numerous other ways. The point is that creating content that offers value to your audience builds authority and can bolster your success.

These are just a few of the ways that wholesale merchandise buyers can expand their reach and connect with their audience. There are numerous other options, ranging from using PPC campaigns to offering incentives and discounts.

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Henley Johnson

Henley currently works as a sales representative for Direct Liquidation, assisting businesses with product sourcing of liquidated merchandise from the largest retailers in the world. Whether you are looking for a pallet or a truckload Henley is here to help you grow your business.

View Henley’s Bio on YouTube.