When it comes to running a successful business, there are two main relationships that you should consider. The first is between you and your customer, the second between you and your suppliers. Both are important and both deserve nurturing.

In this post, we will take you through what supplier relationship management is (SRM) and the key benefits it can bring to business growth.

What is supplier relationship management?

In simple terms, SRM refers to the relationship between a buyer and supplier. It aims to encourage communication that identifies and measures the performance of products as well as suppliers.

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SRM aims to streamline such relationships. Your main goal should be to develop a rapport that is beneficial to both organisation and its suppliers. A successful SRM seeks to ensure an understanding of what the business needs and what the suppliers can offer. 

Establishing consistency between the two prevents popular stock selling out and product discontinuation. With effective coordination, companies can take a strategic approach to their products and services. 

Taking a page out of the account based marketing ebook, long-lasting relationships encourage new opportunities. Successful business enterprises succeed on trust and cooperation. 

How to enhance supplier relationship management

There is an economic benefit to both a business and its suppliers developing trusting relationships. No business can operate successfully without embracing the benefits of SRP. Let’s take a look at some top tips to optimise supplier relationships.

Communication is everything

Communication is key when building an effective partnership with suppliers. Keeping suppliers updated on your strategy will allow them time to prepare and time to support you moving forward.

Through openness with your plans, trust is built upon. Trust in your supply chain is an essential step in launching a successful ecommerce business.

Invest in technology

As consumer testing or sales call planning furthers company growth, investing in SRM software will too. Being able to track your supply chains as well as communicating intelligence keeps both parties updated and on the same page.

Get it in writing

Having a contract in place between buyer and supplier increases trust within the relationship. With agreed terms, all parties are invested in the success of the product, and all will strive to achieve this success.

Wrapping up

Like with anything, having a strong relationship increases trust and success. Ensuring mutual respect will have a positive effect on your business and your relationships going forward.

Jessica Day – Senior Director, Marketing Strategy, Dialpad
Jessica Day is the Senior Director for Marketing Strategy at Dialpad, a modern business hosted IP PBX communications platform that takes every kind of conversation to the next level—turning conversations into opportunities. Jessica is an expert in collaborating with multifunctional teams to execute and optimize marketing efforts, for both company and client campaigns. Here is her LinkedIn. She has also written content for Pretty Links and Kanbanize.

Running an enterprise business is an incredibly competitive trade that is constantly growing. New businesses are constantly emerging so  competition will always exist. Therefore it’s important to do everything you can to stay at the top of your game. 

If you’re getting all the traffic but no sales, something has clearly gone wrong.

It’s evident that more sales mean more income for your company. However, you need to ensure that you are using the finest marketing strategies to guarantee those sales.

Top-class marketing strategies are essential for improving your reach and scaling your business. Without them, your company may plateau and become obsolete.

This guide aims to make life easier for you when it comes to assessing why marketing methods to use to get the most benefits. 

Here are 9 marketing strategies to help you grow your business and instantly boost your enterprise sales:

Offer incentives

The main aim of running an enterprise business is to receive regular orders from retailers. But, many retailers may be reluctant to continue giving you their custom if they don’t get anything in return. This is known as reciprocity marketing.

Incentives are benefits that are presented to retailers to encourage them to complete a task and continue purchasing your products or services.

For example, offering a referral incentive would urge retailers that regularly order from you to recommend your services to other retailers. If any of those retailers purchase something from you, the referee receives a reward such as free delivery or a discount on goods.

Promote limited offers

Promoting offers online is the best way to make them known. With over 86% of the global population now online, your posts won’t go missed. And if there’s a chance someone could miss out on a limited sale or product launch, they would jump on it straight away and make the purchase.

The same goes for retailers.

This will result in a drive in sales and the potential to gain regular custom. So, do some research to find out what your retailers really want and learn how to use reciprocity marketing to boost sales.

Promoting limited offers and discounts will ignite that fear of missing out inside your retailers and prompt them to make their purchase now rather than later.

This is a useful way to eradicate any hesitance retailers may have when it comes to placing an order with you. If they realize that they only have two hours left to secure a good deal on a product, they will certainly click that ‘pay now’ button.

Prioritize customer service

This may seem obvious, but some organizations don’t realize the importance of keeping their customers happy.

Word of mouth marketing is a good example of an extremely useful strategy; however, it is only possible if your existing retailers trust in your service and feel that you are reliable enough to recommend to others. If they trust in you, this can increase your conversion rate and boost your reputation.

To increase the quality of your service, try to be as attentive towards your retailers as you possibly can. Showing them how much they mean to your business will make them feel valued and they won’t hesitate to share this experience with other retailers.

You can also invest in improving the customer experience with your online platforms, and ordering processes. Making all interactions with your company as seamless as possible will ensure your retailers are always satisfied. This may require updating your system or incorporating AI for sales.

Doing this will not only enhance your sales figures, but it will also improve your retention rates.

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Invest in SEO content

This strategy is especially important for securing purchases from new retailers.

A strong SEO strategy is crucial for getting your products and services out into the world, and it’s also important to incorporate it into your omnichannel marketing strategy. This will ensure your website and social media platforms are optimized to show on related internet searches.

This is essential for running a successful business as it will push your company’s online presence towards retailers looking for solutions you could potentially provide.

For example, let’s say a law firm in today’s society of remote working wants to optimize its content and include the phrase ‘virtual law’ in their next blog post. Whenever someone searches for that phrase, the law firm will show in the suggestions.

This is a useful method for increasing your reach which will inevitably increase your sales.

Attend trade shows

Attending (and actively participating) in trade shows is a very effective method for spreading awareness for your brand and increasing sales.

Trade shows are essentially meet-ups for enterprise and retailers (buyers and sellers), and they allow you to pitch your services directly to your target retailer. It would seem ridiculous not to take full advantage of these opportunities when they’re within your grasp.

By securing your place in a busy location and in an efficient time slot, you can boost your sales massively in very little time.

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Send out free samples

Sending out free product samples is a practical way of getting your brand out there and showing potential customers the quality products they are missing out on.

By providing free product samples, you will draw retailers’ attention to items they may not have previously known existed. This will allow retailers to try before they buy and can also help boost their trust in your business.

You will also be helping retailers as they can gauge how popular certain items will be with their customers before making a purchase.

You can even customize the samples to promote your newest or most popular products. This would help you boost sales in specific areas of your business.

Collaborate with social media influencers/celebrities

This is an incredibly useful marketing strategy that has gained traction over the last few years. It has been shown that 27% of shoppers in the Middle East have been influenced to buy a product following an endorsement from an influencer/celebrity. So it’s no wonder why most large enterprise are taking advantage of this marketing tactic.

Collaborating with popular celebrities or influencers can bring an immense level of interest to your brand and its products. 

Members of the public are prone to purchasing products that are promoted by a public figure they admire, and retailers have no choice but to increase their stock levels to meet this demand. Consequently, if your products are in high demand from the public, retailers will be submitting orders left, right, and center.

Collaboration can take on many forms. From a paid promotion on the influencer’s online platform to a televised advertisement featuring a relevant celebrity. Any type of partnership (such as high ticket affiliate programs) will aid in growing your organization’s popularity and increasing sales figures.

Get listed on industry directories

Securing your place on industry directories is one of the most valuable marketing strategies on increasing brand awareness and boosting sales.

By featuring on these directories, you will be making your business known to many professionals in your industry. All important details such as contact details and business purposes will be featured on the list to give readers all the information they require. 

This is an easy strategy as it will continue to work while you focus on other marketing details. The list will always be available so you don’t have to worry about amending it unless any important business details change.

This will make it easy for retailers to locate your company and place an order at any time.

Depending on the directory, this strategy can also be one of the most effortless ways to save money for your business.

Create an email list

Setting up an email list is an often undervalued marketing strategy however, it can help increase enterprise sales hugely.

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Sending regular emails to your existing retailers is a practical way of keeping them updated on available products, offers, and events. For example, if you’re attending an upcoming trade show, make relevant retailers aware of this.

Emails can be customized to suit the recipient to make them feel valued. This will result in a much better reaction than generic, bulk emails that are almost instantly detailed. 

If you are hosting a regional offer you can filter which retailers receive certain emails. Let’s say you are promoting a limited offer that ends at a specific time. You can send customized emails to all retailers to ensure time differences are taken into account. For instance, all emails linked to .au domains will show a different end time for the limited offer than those linked to .qa domains.

By sending emails to launch new products or promote existing items, you will make it easy for retailers to make a purchase.

The bottom line

The above nine marketing strategies are extremely useful for boosting enterprise sales and increasing awareness for your brand.

Running an enterprise business can be extremely rewarding. However, it requires a great deal of time and preparation. This article is here to help you by providing all answers you may have on increasing sales through marketing strategies.

Although all of these suggestions may not be applicable to your company, take what you need and reap the benefits. Whether you decide to launch a paid partnership with a well-known celebrity or attend your first trade show, your sales figures will be sure to rise in no time.

-Grace Lau is the Director of Growth Content at Dialpad small business phone services, an AI-powered cloud communication platform for better and easier team collaboration. She has over 10 years of experience in content writing and strategy. Currently, she is responsible for leading branded and editorial content strategies, partnering with SEO and Ops teams to build and nurture content. Here is her LinkedIn

Have you ever been shopping for groceries when you get a call from your partner who informs you that the Swiss cheese is part of a buy three items for the price of two deal? And you rush back to the cheese aisle and see that, low and behold, the mozzarella is also part of the deal! 

Well then you probably already have an idea about what product bundling is. 

What is product bundling?

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To clarify, product bundling is when multiple products are bundled together with the offer of a discount to entice buyers to spend more than they might have originally intended. 

Maybe they went into the shop to buy one tube of toothpaste, but they left with three because of a three for the price of two deal. Or maybe they’re in the market for some digital products, and if they add a VoIP phone system to their basket, they get 10% off some IP handsets or noise-cancelling headsets. 

Or maybe they wanted to buy a pair of boots for $40 but ended up buying socks as well, and both items were discounted by 10%. You get the idea!

What are some advantages of product bundling?

Product bundling has several advantages, but we’ll cover the main ones here. 

1. Generate more sales (and expend less energy)

The biggest and most obvious advantage of product bundling is generating more sales. You can entice a customer to leave your shop with more than they’d intended to purchase, so your efforts of finding customers in the first place enjoy a bigger payoff. 

Finding customers can be an expensive process to begin with, so once you have people in your shop, you want to maximize their time there. This benefits the customer as they get a better deal than paying more for each separate item over a longer period of time or from multiple shops. It also benefits the company because the AOV (average order value) is higher, which is good for company growth. 

It also takes less effort on the marketing side of things to bundle several items together under one theme than to market those items individually. Customers love a cohesive story, so offering a whole outfit that gives off “cottagecore vibes”, for example, is likely to go down better than a bunch of disjointed stories or themes for each individual item. 

2. Improved customer experience 

Customers get to enjoy a better experience because they can get a deal with product bundling, and save some money. Even if they end up spending more than they intended to on that day, they might end up saving money in the long-run. Who doesn’t love a good deal?

It’s also practical because instead of having to go to multiple shops trying to find a good deal on each item, they can save time by getting them all in one place. While it’s nice to shop around sometimes, fatigue can quickly set in if you have to juggle too many balls. 

Product bundling also takes out some of the effort of thinking about what to buy, especially when buying gifts for others. Getting three books for the price of two to give to three different people is a no-brainer. And a satisfied customer is key to a successful ecommerce business.

3. Reduced waste 

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There’s nothing worse than stock sitting around in storage gathering dust. Mixing less popular items with more popular ones in the same bundles is a good way to move your products off the shelves and avoid both waste and lost profits. 

This also frees up space in your warehouse that you can use for this season’s items, and, by offering a nice bundle, you also stand out from your competition and increase customer retention rates. 

How should I bundle my products? 

So we know why bundling is a good idea, but how should we go about it? 

1. Give options

The first thing to consider is giving your customers multiple options for bundling so that they don’t feel they’re being tricked into buying something of low value. Offering multiple options also gives a nice sense of choice so that they don’t feel funneled toward one product in particular. 

2. Best, meet worst 

You will want to look at the data behind your bestsellers and the things that seem to fall by the wayside. Some items might not seem that appealing at full price, but if they’re tacked onto a more attractive item in the form of a deal, they can suddenly gain a new glow. Maybe this is the halo effect, or maybe customers always liked the item but not the price. Either way, this seems to be a winning combination for getting stock off the shelf. 

3. Be clear about savings 

Make it obvious to your customers how much money they’re saving with the bundles. To maximize this strategy, it’s important that customers can see what a good deal they’re getting. 

Happier, informed customers means lessened workforce management call center demands for you, too. The clearer you are up front, the less likely you are to get calls from confused customers.

4. Get the timing right 

By analyzing seasonal and regional consumer trends in India, the US, or elsewhere, you can figure out the best time to offer bundles. Many companies will offer bundles around gift-giving periods because this simplifies the buyer’s mission. 

By analyzing individual products, you can also figure out the best time to bundle that particular item. If an item is falling in popularity, that might be a good time to bite the bullet. 

5. Make it visible 

While this might seem obvious, visibly displaying bundle items next to each other on web pages and in-store helps drive a sale more than simply informing customers that the bundle exists but making them locate the items themselves. You can also have three for two categories on your website to get all matching offers in one place for customers’ ease. 

If you want to go even further, you could integrate augmented reality software on your website to allow your customers to “try on” clothes online or see how a sofa looks in your living room.

Product bundling is a win-win

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One of the best things about product bundling is that it’s a win-win. You make more sales, shift stock, avoid waste, and need less time for marketing. The customer saves money overall, saves time and effort, and gets to enjoy a cohesive product story.

-Grace Lau is the Director of Growth Content at Dialpad, an AI-powered cloud PBX phone system for better and easier team collaboration. She has over 10 years of experience in content writing and strategy. Currently, she is responsible for leading branded and editorial content strategies, partnering with SEO and Ops teams to build and nurture content. Here is her LinkedIn

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If you have any experience in the business world, you’ll have come across the terms B2B and B2C. B2B stands for Business to Business and describes the business strategy of companies who sell their product or services to other businesses. 

B2C stands for Business to Customer and is the business strategy of companies who sell their product to the mass consumer market. The contrasts between B2B and B2C are essentially the difference between wholesale and retail.

B2B marketing tends to focus on more logical, process-driven purchasing decisions due to the target market being businesses. B2C marketing, however, tends to focus more on emotionally driven purchasing decisions due to the target market being end consumers. They may overlap sometimes but the marketing strategy differences are still significant.

Understanding these differences is key to building a high-performance marketing strategy. Let’s look at some key differences between B2B and B2C marketing.

1. Customer Relations

B2B

The target audience in the B2B model is businesses. You’re a business marketing your product or service to other businesses. Your marketing focus is going to be on creating and building more personal relationships that will lead to long-term business.

Personal relationships are important as potential clients get to know your practices, ethics, and morals. These things can separate you from your competition and let your target audience know that you are a good, reliable supplier. These are long-term qualities that business people look for.

Building these business relationships and generating leads creates repeat and referral business. So developing relationships with target audiences is crucial for B2B businesses. One way to do this is to allow customers to call you at any time using a toll-free number.

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B2C

The target audience in the B2C model is retail consumers. You’re a business marketing your product or service to consumers. Your marketing focus here is going to be on leading consumers to your ecommerce store and driving sales. 

Because you’re only generating one or two small sales at a time with no guarantee of long-term business, your marketing focus can’t be on building personal relationships. Instead, B2C businesses need to focus on sales efficiency and creating extremely transactional relationships.

The marketing strategy for B2C focuses on selling the product, with the majority of time spent on delivering high-quality products as quickly as possible. One way to speed up the customer experience is to use AI customer service. 

2. Branding

B2B

As mentioned above, in B2B marketing, the focus is on relationship building. This applies to branding as well. Honoring relationships through consistent presentation and delivery of products or services will build your reputation or brand in the industry.

Your target audience is businesses whose decision-making is business-oriented. To build your brand you’ll need to market your position in the industry and let your personality shine. This will build brand recognition and generate leads. Don’t forget to adjust your brand towards your target audience and be aware of their personalities.

B2C

When marketing to a B2C audience, branding is essential. Having a strong brand allows you to deliver a message, build brand loyalty, create credibility, emotionally connect with customers, and motivate purchases. 

Branding is the number one priority of B2C marketing due to the fact that the customer and business don’t interact a lot. To make up for this you have to create a lasting, positive opinion and provide a quality experience for the customer, ensuring repeat sales.

Building a brand with a good reputation can be achieved by delivering clear, credible messages, and creating motivational copy that resonates with consumers.

3. Decision-Making Process

B2B

The decision-making process in the B2B model involves more open communication between businesses so that both parties can decide if it would be a good partnership. Therefore appeals to emotional and rational decisions can be made.

In B2B, the decision-making process sees customers evaluating their needs which can have rational and emotional motivators. Rational motivations are driven by financial mindsets; is this a good investment? Emotional motivations are driven by emotional connections; Will we lose money and have to fire some staff?

Understanding your audience can help you comprehend the decision-making process that may apply to you. This allows you to get ahead of competitors by creating an emotional connection through clear, specific messaging.

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B2C

With B2C, the focus is on the sales funnel. Marketers should use their knowledge of the conversion funnel in the decision-making process, maximizing ROI. At the top of this funnel are advertisements that give customers the need for a product.

Now, the customer will know what product they want to purchase. However, unlike B2B, customers are more open when looking for a specific product to buy.

That is why it’s essential to simplify the decision-making process for consumers while continuing to appeal to them. There is still a high chance that consumers are looking at your competitors as well. Using an influencer marketing campaign is a great strategy, especially when paired with discounts via a referral code.

4. Audience Targeting

B2B

B2B businesses operate in a niche market, and so it’s very important to know your target demographic. An example of a niche may be cheap electronic parts made specifically for the Indian market. To effectively attract customers, you must compile and analyze accurate data (both qualitative and quantitative).

B2C

Since the target audience is so broad (retail customers), B2C businesses must work in larger-scale markets. For marketers, the marketing funnel is crucial for attracting customers.

Start at the top of the funnel and cast a wide net. Use emotional and product-driven advertisements. From there you can create a warm lead list and remarket to those target audiences who showed interest.

5. Ad Copy

B2B

In B2B it is important for you to speak your target audience’s language. This is because businesses want to partner with experts who understand their industry. Understanding the terminology, processes, and even the decisions made by customer businesses can greatly increase the chances of a purchase.

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B2C

In B2C, customers only care about the product or service they receive. So instead of using industry jargon, you can use more straightforward language to speak to customers in a relatable voice. Aim to evoke emotion in your audience.

B2C customers want to enjoy a purchase, whereas B2B customers are making a rational, logical financial purchase.

Conclusion

As a marketer, it is crucial that you understand the key differences between B2B and B2C marketing. 

Knowing these key differences will drastically change your marketing strategy and allow you to create highly effective marketing practices applicable to both B2B and B2C businesses.

-Grace Lau is the Director of Growth Content at Dialpad, an AI-powered cloud PBX phone system for better and easier team collaboration. She has over 10 years of experience in content writing and strategy. Currently, she is responsible for leading branded and editorial content strategies, partnering with SEO and Ops teams to build and nurture content. Here is her LinkedIn

Paytabs, an award-winning payment solutions company that helps entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises in the MENA region achieve their full potential in online payments – has launched a new platform called, Paytabs market.

Paytabs market is the ideal express payment platform for managing a handful of sellers and vendors in the e-commerce space. It is a centralized platform designed to help companies and businesses of all shapes and sizes manage online payments across multiple branches and stores.

It works best with any business or company that operates more than a single branch or store across different countries and cities in the MENA region. Businesses can now use the platform to manage multiple sellers and vendors and also receive payments from customers.

The way this works is simple. You can use it to create and access multiple vendor profiles within a single dashboard. The business, merchant or company will go through a series of registration and onboarding processes, while the stores and branches will become listed under the same company.

The company or merchant will sign up for the platform and then continues with the onboarding application. Paytabs then reviews the company in need and then approves the application. After that, the platform creates profiles for the merchant or company for each sub-vendor. Now the vendors and branches can start processing their activities while the merchant or company monitors their transactions.

The platform gives the ability to report and manage the group profiles involved for the business. It also offers management capabilities for the user or teams involved.  You can also use the dashboard to view and monitor the activities and transactions of the group profiles within the business.

Paytabs Market offers lots of benefits. Some of these are:

1. It supports multiple currencies and local payment options for the country in which the business operates.
2. It supports online wallets or e-wallets, debit cards, and credit cards.
3. It helps merchants to offer unique and customized invoices to their customers.
4. It supports and manages store accounting and pay-outs.
5. Offers single and bulk invoicing options to businesses.
6. It helps merchants and businesses to operate manual, scheduled and recurring invoices to their customers.
7. It supports Paylinks – a web link that directs customers to a payment page and QR payments for social commerce. It helps to make online payments super simple.
8. It integrates e-commerce plugins from popular providers like Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and many others that suit your business model and online shoppers and enable seamless check-out for customers.

-Abdullah Idris Makarfi is a writer and content marketing strategist for companies in the finance industry. He works with brands offering financial services to create content that increases their website traffic, generate inbound leads and improves their keyword rankings. You can check out some of his work here: https://medium.com/financegeek.