SparkLayer’s 5-Step Guide to B2B for Beginners
Written by SparkLayer
At SparkLayer, we empower brands of all sizes and stages to start selling wholesale. One of the most common questions we get from businesses is how they’ll know when they’re ready to sell B2B.
With more and more brands expanding into omnichannel retail and new territories, it can often feel overwhelming for smaller or newer businesses to explore B2B. There are so many buzzwords and platforms and choices to make that brands tend to hold back from making the leap, missing out on demand.
We’re here to demystify the world of wholesale and help you figure out if you’re ready to start selling B2B. Here are our 5 key considerations for brands considering going wholesale:
1. Review your data and do your research
Going through lines of data isn’t everyone’s idea of a fun time, but it’s something we’d highly recommend doing before making any big business decisions! If you don’t know where to start, there are some great YouTube videos and resources available online – your marketplace might even have a native data analytics hub so you can get everything directly from the platform.
Look at your levels of D2C demand across different months, demographics, and locations to see where most of your custom is coming from. Do certain types of customers buy from you more often than others, who within your customer base is spending the most money per order, what do they have in common, and when is your peak season?
Getting a deeper understanding of your own sales data is crucial to informing your B2B strategy. Use your D2C data to map out potential demand for different products and regions, and start doing some digging…
2. Scoping out wholesale potential
This is the digging we spoke of! It’s hard to predict B2B demand from D2C data alone, so you need to be looking at the overall wholesale space, too.
Research brands with similar products to your D2C items who are already selling B2B. What countries are they selling in on their website and do they have wholesale customer case studies? This indicates where B2B demand is for the type of products you sell and what regions may therefore be interested in your brand.
How are B2B brands pricing their products and can you afford to do the same with yours? How does the price point and profit margin differ from your existing D2C brand and will it cover the increased costs of B2B shipping and inventory management?
Who follows your wholesale competitors on social media and can you contact their followers to scope out interest in your similar products? What kinds of businesses are interacting with B2B brands selling similar products to yours? Do you have any contacts within those types of businesses you can speak to?
You’ll never 100% know until you try, but taking the time to research intent signals within your target demographic and marketplaces will help you get a decent understanding to start with!
3. Refine your USP
In an increasingly competitive marketplace, being able to stand out is crucial. The way you position your brand within the D2C space is a good place to start and can help you strategise your B2B positioning.
Lean on the feedback you get from your D2C customers and use this to generate more B2B demand! Your customers are the best people to help you understand your USPs – they may even be different to what you’d expect…
We work with some incredible F&B brands, like Teapigs, to power their B2B sales – their market positioning is so strong and they’ve seen a 30% increase in average order value since partnering with us!
Refining your USPs will also involve some competitor research – look at how similar B2B brands are positioning themselves and what their USPs seem to be.
Dig into their websites and social media presence to see what products or features they’re shouting about the most – this is a great indicator of their branding and marketing strategy and is something you can include in your own approach.
4. Get honest about inventory
A key consideration when moving B2B is stock – can you realistically meet B2B levels of demand?
That’s a hard question to answer right now, we know, but that’s why Google is so great – get started with some competitor research, set up discovery calls with inventory specialists, like Inventory Planner, and be honest about how it could all pull together. It’s also important to consider how you’ll manage your D2C and B2B inventory separately – SparkLayer allows you to show different products to different customer groups and set up a B2B-only login that separates your hybrid store. This keeps your D2C shopping style the same as it already is while adding wholesale features for just your wholesale customers.
Review your current ordering and shipping process and see how scalable it currently is, or if you’d have to make big changes like renting a warehouse, hiring new staff, or changing your product line. A lot of D2C brands are surprised by how easy it is to manage B2B inventory when they’re working with the right kinds of partners, and the short-term changes are well worth the longer-term increase in demand and revenue!
5. Future proof your integrations
A lot of brands first moving into B2B start selling using their existing D2C platform – there’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s important to ensure that your current setup can provide the level of flexibility and scalability you’ll need as you grow. This saves time and money further down the line and is a great way to set yourself up for long-term success.
Make sure you do your own research – again, look at similar brands that are selling B2B already and see what platforms they’re selling on, like Shopify or BigCommerce. Look into tech integrations with those platforms (like SparkLayer!) and be realistic about your initial budget. A lot of platforms offer tiered pricing based on your monthly order volume, so they can grow with you.
This is where integration partners, like Knotted Commerce, add infinite value. They can help you future-proof your tech stack and make good decisions about software solutions. There’s no point investing in expensive, high-level tech if it’s not hardware agnostic or isn’t compatible with any other software. Knotted Commerce can support you in making choices that will supercharge your B2B growth now and in the future…
If you’re interested in finding out more about how SparkLayer can support your wholesale business growth, book a free demo call with our team and start your free trial!
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