Sleepwear wholesaling - need advice on advertising

bobolee

Hello,
I`m new in the business world, and opened a sleepwear wholesaling business about six months ago.  Although business is not that bad, it`s definitely not very good.  I have trouble finding retailers stocking up my pajamas and nightgowns.  I`ve tried advertising in the local paper, distributing flyers in the mail, and the traditional method of knocking on retailers` doors and representing my products.  What other things can I do to get more retailers` attention?  Would sending out advertising mail to businesses farther away from the city core (like smaller cities and towns) work?  Any advice would be great!!  Thank you!!

lucky1

You need to identify who your target market of clients would be.  You can do that by looking at current clients and why they buy. Find similar merchandise and determine which stores carry it. Which stores sell the most of this type of merchandise? Find out how those companies sell their product by acting as a potential store buyer. Do they have reps? Are they at trade shows, and which ones. Typically buyers, even at small retail locations go to national shows to do their buying. In my experience it is very unusual for them to buy outside of those shows unless it is a unique item with a proven sales record.
 
Depending on who is buying your product (specific ages or style), and what differentiates you from your competitors this will assist you in making a marketing plan. Your plan should have a budget of how much you can spend, what you initially think you should spend it on, and a way of assessing the results. Emailing is inexpensive and photos of a model wearing your pajamas can be sent with a link to your website.  Printed materials are expensive and rarely get peoples attention. Draw your clients to you through a unique "campaign" where there is a combination of messages that feature your products. Donate some of the pajamas to charity and have a local paper do an article. Get the charity to do a press release about the event.  Let them sell them (they only pay for what they sell) at a charity event. Send cards with cut-outs of pajama tops and bottoms in your fabric, to the owners of the stores you have identified as your market. You can usually find out who they are by doing a search on the store online.
 
Are you selling them yourself online? Stores don`t like other competition locally or on the internet if they are going to carry a product. They like some exclusivity if possible.
 
These are just some ideas that may help.  Good luck.
Alicia

lucky1

Hi Craig,
Thanks for your vote of confidence. I happen to be a sales and marketing consultant. The plan is very specific to each client as their needs are different depending on several things:
1. product or service
2. available capital
3. goals (service, sales, revenue, growth, personal)
4. size of company
5. experience of people involved
6. competition
7. market
There may be others too, but these are the ones, in my opinion that have the most impact.
 
Regards,
Alicia