A wholesaler can adopt a range of marketing tactics to promote its services. Event marketing is an especially useful idea to exploit market opportunity. Event marketing involves a list of activities that enhance brand visibility and brand identification for target consumers (in this case select retailers). Event marketing by wholesalers is usually a ‘push’ tactic, as awareness about products and services is brought to retailers, who in turn procure and promote it to end consumers. Wholesalers usually do not expend resources on promotion of their goods and services, yet, tactical event marketing can fetch impressive rewards.
One of the key elements to successful event marketing is to offer customers an ‘experience’ of the product/service. This is done through live demonstrations, audio/visual presentations, distributing samples and offering free trials. Wholesalers could also regroup products (bulk-breaking) so as to provide quantity and assortment customers need. It also makes business sense to anticipate customers’ needs and buy goods in advance – although this involves an element of risk. By offering to carry products in their own inventories, wholesalers can reduce their customers’ inventory costs. And finally, wholesalers can successfully market by punctual delivery of goods/services and offering credit.
Similarly, by showcasing their expertise through the event marketing tactic, wholesalers can attract new producers. By offering to purchase producer’s output before it reaches the end consumer, the wholesaler can help reduce costs for the former. Hence event marketing is a potent tool that wholesalers can employ to attract new retailers as well as new producers.