Orders are just the beginning. The real partnership starts when you empower your retailers to win on the sales floor.
Let’s face it: shipping products is the easy part. If your relationship with your retail partners stops at the purchase order, you’re missing out on a chance to expand your wholesale market and grow your accounts. Today’s retailers need more than just product—they need enablement, insight, and a partner that helps them thrive where it counts: on the sales floor.
Here are five actionable ways to support your retail partners beyond the purchase order—and why that’s the smartest growth move you’ll make this year.
1. Share Sell-Through Data & Insights
Don’t just ship product—share wisdom. Retailers are bombarded with choices and purchasing decisions, constantly trying to balance what they order with what moves off the shelf. By providing real-time sell-through data and actionable insights, you help them order smarter, avoid overstock, and maximize every square foot of shelf space.
- How to do it: Offer dashboards or regular reports that highlight top sellers, seasonal trends, and inventory turn rates.
- The payoff: Retailers can adjust their buys with confidence, even mid season, leading to fewer markdowns and stronger reorders (which, let’s be honest, you love too).
“Smart brands don’t just deliver product—they deliver clarity.”
2. Provide Marketing Support
Your marketing team shouldn’t stop at your own channels. Give retailers plug-and-play campaigns, social assets, signage, and even email templates. The easier you make it for them to promote your brand, the more likely they are to do it well (and often).
- How to do it: Create a digital asset hub with ready-to-use content, seasonal campaigns, and customizable graphics.
- The payoff: Your brand looks consistently great in every store, and retailers feel like true partners in your marketing efforts.
3. Simplify Ordering & Reordering
Replenishment shouldn’t require a scavenger hunt. Make it dead simple for retailers to place and track orders, check inventory, and reorder best-sellers—ideally from any device, any time.
- How to do it: Use a B2B platform (like Envoy B2B, naturally) that offers intuitive, mobile-friendly ordering and real-time inventory visibility.
- The payoff: Retailers spend less time wrestling with order forms and more time selling your product.
Old Way Modern Way (With Envoy B2B) Manual forms, emails One click, mobile-friendly ordering Inventory guesswork Real-time stock visibility Delayed confirmations Instant order status updates
4. Train & Educate
Empowered employees sell more. Arm your retailers with product knowledge, positioning tips, and your brand story—so they can turn customers from browsers into loyal fans.
- How to do it: Provide an educational destination right in your B2B portal. You can populate it with training modules, send video explainers, and technology demos.
- The payoff: Retail staff become brand ambassadors, not just cashiers. And we all know that retailers sell more of what they know and love.
“Knowledge on the sales floor is your secret weapon.”
5. Listen & Adapt
Two-way communication turns transactions into partnerships. Invite feedback, run surveys, and open up direct channels for retailers to share what’s working (and what’s not). Use that intel to adapt your programs, products, and support.
- How to do it: Build regular check-ins into your sales cadence, and create easy ways for retailers to share feedback directly in your platform.
- The payoff: You spot issues before they become problems—and your retailers know you’re truly invested in their success.
Supporting Your Retailers = Supporting Your Own Growth
The brands that win in wholesale aren’t just order-takers—they’re enablers, educators, and trusted partners. By supporting your retailers beyond the purchase order, you set the stage for stronger relationships, higher sell-through, and growth that lasts.
Ready to elevate your retail partnerships? See how Envoy B2B helps brands support their retailers every step of the way.