Drop shipping is a great way to offer options without having to pay for warehouse space, whether you want to start a wholesale dropshipping business that sells directly to customers or to retailers. Drop shipping is a way that the biggest retailers in the world fill orders. There’s no reason why your wholesale business shouldn’t as well. It can be hard not to have the product in your hands, but it can also be nice not to have to deal with shipping and keeping track of inventory. As the owner of a wholesale business, your main job is to get people to buy from you. The drop shipping company will take care of the products. Here are seven things to think about before you start your wholesale business.
Have a website that is easy to use.
Your first job is to look at the websites of your main competitors. Make a list of what you like and what you think needs to be changed. How images are set up and how their descriptions are written can do a lot to help sales. Make sure that the background has been taken out of your pictures. Make a list of the things your customers might want. Include links to your social media profiles so that your users can find you on the sites they use most. Make sure the images on your banners are related to your product niche. Showing something relevant helps people picture how a product would fit into their lives. Sort your products into categories that make sense. It’s fine to cross-list your products as long as users can find them easily. Users will come back to websites that are easy to use and earn their trust, even if the products are shipped from a third party.
Price Intelligently
Drop shipping is a great way to sell things because it cuts down on costs and keeps you from buying too much inventory. It can help keep your prices and costs down. Since one reason you chose to use drop shipping to fulfil orders was to make money, make sure you’re making one. When setting prices, leave room for returns and costs you didn’t expect. A rule of thumb could be that if it costs you $5 to make a product, you should charge around $20 for it. Even after paying for marketing and paying employees, that should be just enough to make a profit. Don’t lower your prices just because other brands do it. Customers will respect the value of your products if you sell them at fair market value. Think of ways to get your customers to order more and more, on average. Add low-cost extras and a minimum order amount to qualify for free shipping. With these perks, buyers will have a reason to buy from your wholesale business instead of one of your competitors.
Make sure your business can change.
Tastes change, and businesses need to be ready for that. Things that are selling like hotcakes today might not sell as quickly tomorrow. Your supplier could stop making the products you stock, making it harder for you to give your customers what they want. Don’t be afraid to pay attention to trends, but keep in mind that they can change quickly. One of your ads might suddenly make more people want to buy a certain item, so make sure that your customers can get enough of that item quickly. Keep in touch with your distributor to make sure that they will also let you know if there aren’t enough products or if it will take a long time to get more. You might need to completely change your brand. Give people space to grow and change. Get your team and yourself ready. Many successful businesses have changed direction to grow faster. Change can be good.
Serve your customers well.
Since you don’t have any products on hand, you need to give your customers something else. Things like giving refunds and getting back to customers quickly are things that should go without saying. Being a smaller brand lets you handle things in a more personal way. Use your social media account to make customers laugh. Customers who have been loyal should get special deals. And give good customers who have problems with your services a little something extra. You wouldn’t be successful if your customers didn’t keep coming back. Whether they buy from you directly or at a store, give them something for the holidays to say thank you. Tell your best customers that you appreciate them by having your drop shipper add a little something extra to their orders. If your warehouse distributor makes it hard to do this, make sure to stay in touch online.
Every day, do something.
You can take the weekends off, but you should work on your wholesale business every day, even if it’s just a little bit. Whether you’re posting about new products or just checking in, it’s good for business to be on your customers’ minds regularly. Look into services that let you schedule social media posts so you can set everything up on Monday and forget about it over the weekend. Make sure you’re taking care of orders and talking to customers every day. If you make sure they can count on you, your drop-shipping business will look as well-run as you want it to. Make sure your ads are running by setting up alerts.
Keep an eye on your rivals
Even though it seems counterintuitive, the first thing you should do on social media is “like” other companies, even your competitors. So, you can keep an eye on what products are popular, see what people are talking about, and change your marketing to fit. Keep an eye on their posts to find out which products get the most attention. Don’t just copy them, but try to move in the same direction. You need to know what’s going on in the niche where your wholesale business is. Social media is a way for the public to find out what’s going on. Find out what drop-shipping services your competitors use. If you’re not already using one of the best services out there, this research can help improve your customer service even more.
Don’t forget to talk to your warehouse.
As you probably know, there are risks to moving your fulfilment to a third party. There can be mistakes, orders that get lost, or materials that get broken. Warehouses know that their reputation is on the line, so they will probably try to make you and your customers happy. Staying in touch with your drop ship distribution warehouse is the best way to make sure you have a good working relationship. Keep a list of phone numbers and email addresses on hand. Check in to let them know about changes, let them know when your customers give you great feedback, and send them candy around the holidays. If they are close by, stop by and talk to the people who work there. When people can put a face to a name, they think twice before taking short cuts.
A wholesale business should use drop shipping if they want to be smart.
When you decide to work with a fulfilment centre, you’re making a smart choice. Your costs will go down, and you’ll be able to fill more orders. Contact us today if you are still trying to figure out what the best drop shipping solution is for your business.
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