Making Business Happen

How do you get your products on shelves? Reaching the retail buyers to carry your products can be a difficult task. It takes a balanced multipronged strategy that includes both passive and active marketing initiatives. With the right data, and the right tactics, you can get your brand in front of the decision makers that can propel your revenues to new heights.

Passive Marketing

Passive marketing is a set of tactics to generate awareness and organic revenue with the lowest amount of ‘direct to client’ activity. This includes paid advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), becoming a member of an association or industry directory, product discovery services, and including trade shows. The key benefit is that once setup, most of these campaigns run continuously and allow a brand to become discovered by the target audience while freeing time to pursue other marketing efforts. While it often requires a low time investment, the monetary requirements could be challenging for many small businesses and startups. This type of marketing can be costly with no guarantee of return and all passive marketing methods need some level of technical knowledge to execute effectively. Although there are disadvantages, it is still an essential tool for marketers to utilize as long it is used in conjunction with other methods and not relied upon as one size fits all solution.
 

Active Marketing

Active marketing is where sales & marketing teams actively pursue clients directly to generate revenue. This is the main driver of profits and growth for most manufacturers. Campaigns may include sales calls, email marketing, direct mail samples & catalogs, speed meetings at trade shows, and social media including direct communication. This gives brand owners the opportunity to get in front of buyers and sell themselves. Active marketing often requires a larger time investment than passive marketing; however, it leads to more direct engagement with clients. The time required is counterbalanced with lower costs, though the amount of work needed in active marketing can be overwhelming. Still, partnering with the right services will ease the burden of the individual work. That is why balance is important and active marketing can be enhanced with passive campaigns; this tactic is called hybrid marketing. A multipronged approach like this will maximize both time and money and increases your chances for your products to be reviewed by buyers.

The last two years have really expanded the digital options available to both passive and active marketing. Active campaigns should be the backbone of any strategy to sell your products with passive acting as support to increase brand recognition. Current supply chain disruptions mean that buyers are looking more than ever for new vendors. However, don’t wait for business to come to you. Direct marketing allows you to bet on yourself to make business happen. Competition is at an all time high and the empty spaces in the supply chain will not last forever. Now is the time for brands to get their products in front of buyers and show them what makes them unique. To complement your hybrid marketing strategy going forward, partner with Chain Store Guide and get the contacts, data, and insights you need to launch your next multipronged campaign.