Are you ready for your next wholesale commerce event? Make sure you have everything you need, including a B2B order writing platform, thoughtfully prepared showrooms, and exhibits, salespeople who know how to emphasize brand offerings, and an e-commerce website ready for people to visit after the event.
As the premier provider of B2B solutions for wholesale commerce, with over 35 years of experience in the wholesale industry, MarketTime knows what customers expect during a trade show and how quickly these needs can evolve. Most importantly, they want vendors and showroom staff to provide a seamless experience that makes it easy for people to browse through what you have to offer, make purchases on trending items for their retail store, and track their orders.
Here are a few essential tips for making the most out of your next trade show event.
1. Schedule Clients in Advance of the Event
You likely know many of the retail buyers who will be visiting your upcoming trade show. Rather than allowing them to see what your competitors are selling, why not offer them a one-on-one VIP viewing before the event starts? They’ll get to explore your products before anyone else does.
You can also schedule appointments with your top clients, ensuring they can interact directly with your salespeople rather than competing with other buyers for attention.
2. Incorporate a B2B Order Writing Platform for a Seamless Buying Experience
To present your brand professionally, you need B2B wholesale software that will handle the entire order process, from the initial purchase to shipping updates.
Experienced buyers don’t want to fill out complex, handwritten order forms that can easily be lost. They’re looking for experienced salespeople and brands who offer a straightforward buying process.
MarketTime is just what you’re looking for. Our wholesale order management software lets you take orders quickly, and clients can easily track their products’ shipping status. Additionally, customers can easily reorder from you when they need more inventory.
3. Make Use of Bluetooth Barcode Scanners
Setting up your space and merchandising your product offerings takes weeks of preparation, so it’s important to use every tool at your disposal to save time. Showcase your space and make use of Bluetooth barcode scanners (we recommend the Eyoyo Ring Barcode Scanner) to quickly and efficiently scan products and add them directly to your cart in the MarketTime order writing application. Once complete, print or email a copy of the order to your customers to provide a breakdown of what they ordered and how soon they can expect the items.
Of course, you can also use MarketTime’s digital catalogs, which allow customers to quickly learn more about your products and directly add them to their orders. Placing orders and planning for future reorders is easily completed with MarketTime’s B2B omnichannel commerce platform.
4. Be a Hospitality Superstar
You often hear vendors talk about providing snacks or drinks for their customers to enjoy while they shop, but chances are that most wholesale companies are doing something similar. If you want to stand out from other vendors, consider providing a Wi-Fi hotspot that clients can use when waiting for an appointment or taking a break in your showroom space.
While most customers will have internet access through their smartphones, they’ll need it for other mobile devices, like tablets or laptops. When you have free Wi-Fi available, they can easily connect and maximize their time in your space.
5. Provide Real-Time Order Tracking
In today’s tech-forward environment, there’s no reason a retail buyer should ever need to call your company for an order update. When you have a comprehensive B2B e-commerce platform like MarketTime, you provide clients with an easy way to check their order status.
Through MarketTime’s order management software, customers can check on their orders at their convenience at any time. It’s fully accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
6. Be Available to Your Customers When They Need You
Trade shows are jam-packed events. Thousands of people attend, and there may be hundreds of exhibitors besides your organization. It can be challenging for buyers to meet with everyone they’re interested in, so ensuring your exhibit is fully staffed and available is critical to your success.
Many events host before- or after-hours activities in order to connect with clients who didn’t get a chance to visit during the regular show hours. Make sure your business participates in those activities and gives something of value to clients who attend.
For instance, you might offer mini champagne bottles with your company logo so buyers remember your company’s name and how to locate your online shop to place a reorder.
7. Anticipate Your Customers’ Needs with Powerful Business Insights
Through MarketTime, you’ll have access to customer order history, which you can pull up quickly if a client decides to reorder an item. You’ll also have powerful analytics at your fingertips, which you can use to identify best-selling items that a client may not have purchased before. MarketTime’s mtView platform, powered by Tableau, provides actionable insights for brands and sales agencies to make data-driven decisions and offer customers invaluable information.
Make the Most out of Your Next Trade Show with MarketTime
MarketTime offers convenient, all-in-one B2B wholesale software perfect for your next trade show event. With our B2B solutions, you can streamline the order process, showcase your top products, and connect with clients before the event to schedule appointments.
To learn more about our B2B solutions, schedule a demo with us! You can also visit us at our upcoming summer 2023 trade show events.
