10 Tips to Re-engage Retailers After the Holidays

Every brand introduces new schemes, discounts, or products to engage potential customers and retailers during the festive season. But what happens once the holidays are over?

How can brands maintain continuous engagement?

Brands need to consider that the post-holiday period offers a unique chance to strengthen and deepen their relationships with retail partners. This time is crucial for maintaining the momentum gained during the festive season and for setting a positive tone for the year ahead.

In this blog, you will find 10 tips that will be the guideline for the brands in the post-holiday period, and here they are:

Tip 1: Offer Top-Notch Customer (Retailer) Service

Retailers value businesses that respect their time and needs. By offering exceptional, personalized customer service, brands can significantly boost retailer satisfaction and loyalty. Quick responses, customized solutions, and a friendly approach make a noticeable difference.

| “As per the National Retail Federation, dissatisfied Americans sent back 17.8% of products purchased from various retailers in the previous year. This amounts to merchandise valued at $158 billion.” |

In tough and competitive market conditions, retailers need support and encouragement. Brands can assist by offering services such as easy return policies, damage coverage, and investment security. These measures help motivate retailers and other channel partners, fostering loyalty to the brand.

Tip 2: Get Retailers’ Attention Again

To regain retailers’ attention, launch creative marketing campaigns or introduce new, exciting products. It’s crucial that retailers are aware of these initiatives, which can be achieved through email marketing, social media campaigns, or direct outreach with compelling offers. However, simply informing them isn’t enough; it’s important to ensure they understand the re-engagement practices thoroughly.

Brands should use personalization, start communications with active verbs, or employ creative statements to grab the reader’s attention. Examples of this can be seen in the push notifications and emails from companies like Zomato and Swiggy.

Tip 3: Learn More About Retailers with Advanced Retail Analytics

Utilize advanced analytics tools to gain insights into retailers’ purchasing patterns, preferences, behaviors, and key performance indicators (KPIs). This data is essential for developing strategies and offers that resonate with them, enhancing overall engagement.

For that, brands can create a personalized dashboard featuring selected categories. It can include:

• B2B loyalty program platform performance
• Customer segments
• Purchase behavior
• Number of coupons per person
• Redeemed vs. not redeemed
• Customer evolution
• Purchase frequency
• Summary of sales
• Receipts
• Average spends
• Monthly evolution
• Store performance
• Discount analysis
• Categories and products

This approach allows brands to improve their product prospects and sales potential.

Tip 4: Gather Reviews

Encourage retail partners to share feedback on their experiences with products or services. Honest reviews provide valuable insights into what’s effective and what needs improvement, helping to refine offerings.

To incentivize feedback, brands can offer reward points for each valuable review. This approach benefits both parties, ensuring mutual profitability.

Tip 5: Drive Social Engagement

Enhance engagement with your retailers on social media. Regularly share relevant and engaging content, respond to comments, and initiate community-focused activities to keep your brand top-of-mind.

| “If retailers have a good experience with a brand, it’s so easy for them to share it via social channels, which in turn influences others to seek out the brand.” |

Tip 6: Drive Emotional Engagement

Fostering an emotional connection is essential for long-term business relationships. Share relatable stories, create meaningful experiences, and demonstrate empathy towards retailers’ challenges and successes.

| “Google reports that 46% of shoppers say that they make a conscious effort to shop at businesses that align with their values.” |

For instance, brands can engage retailers using the Green Loyalty Program by Almonds Ai. This initiative promotes sustainable products and practices through a loyalty platform.

Tip 7: Offer Great Free Resources

Everyone loves freebies, especially when they’re useful. Brands should share valuable resources like industry reports, insightful articles, or market analysis with their retailers. These not only add value but also establish the brand as a helpful and knowledgeable partner.

Tip 8: Embrace User-Generated Content

Encourage retailers to create and share content related to your products. This can include testimonials, case studies, or social media posts, offering genuine perspectives that boost the brand’s credibility.

Tip 9: Provide Loyalty Discounts and Special Member Pricing

Brands should provide exclusive discounts or special pricing models to loyal retailers. This not only rewards them for their business but also encourages continued partnership.

Brands can also introduce a VIP tier. This adds excitement for retailers and encourages them to keep returning. It goes beyond merely rewarding repeat visits; it gives them a specific goal to actively pursue.

Tip 10: Create (or Review) Loyalty Program

If a brand has a loyalty program, review it to ensure it meets retailers’ current needs. If it doesn’t, consider creating one that provides tangible benefits and acknowledges their contributions.

Re-engaging with retailers after the holidays is a strategic move that can lead to increased loyalty, better business outcomes, and a stronger partnership. For that, aligning brands’ goals, strategies, and technology is crucial. Once aligned, brands can dive into the following key features when assessing brand’s options:

• Prioritize retailers’ engagement solutions tailored specifically for the retail industry.
• Ensure the retailer data platform effectively collects and consolidates data from all online and offline sources for accurate customer profiles.
• Inquire about their data activation capabilities.
• Assess the omnichannel features and capabilities they provide.
• Confirm their collaborations with leading retailers.
• Inquire about the strength of their development team and the frequency of new feature additions.
• Ensure loyalty platforms grant full control and ownership over customer data.
• Verify their compliance with GDPR and CCPA regulations.

Once this checklist is complete, the brand is prepared to re-engage retailers after the holiday season.