The B2B food industry continues to face challenges that many others within the B2B space do not share. In the wake of COVID, the out-of-home takeaway sector such as restaurants, pubs and clubs are still dealing with the damage dealt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After finally starting to bounce back in recent years, they\u2019re now dealing with stock issues from supply chain disruptions, staff acquisition and retention, and economic factors such as inflation across Australia and New Zealand, there\u2019s a reason that the industry is known as one of the most cutthroat business arenas around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between recent supply chain disruptions facing the industry worldwide and the growing presence of eCommerce within the food and beverage industry, customer loyalty has been harder to capture and easier to lose. After all, if your supplier is unable to meet your needs, and the ease of switching to another provider no longer presents a hurdle, why would you stay with local suppliers who continue to fall short?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, we\u2019ll highlight some of the pain points facing customers in the B2B food and beverage industry, how your business can step up to meet the high demand of current customer trends and expectations, as well as the benefits of a B2B loyalty or channel partner incentive<\/a> reward program that you may not have considered. After all, we\u2019ve been the leading supplier of reward programs Australia<\/a> and New Zealand-wide since 1996 \u2013 it\u2019s our job to present out-of-the-box thinking and strategy to capture the engagement of your B2B channel partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we mentioned earlier, the COVID years presented a large series of hurdles for much of the out-of-home food industry. Lockdowns shuttered restaurants for months at a time, leaving them to depend solely on takeaway and delivery apps, eating into their already-high expenses due to restaurant space rent that they couldn\u2019t use.<\/p>\n Finally, as we started to reopen, it seemed that these businesses were closing in on the light at the end of the tunnel, but the supply chain disruptions proved long-lasting, and stock and employee shortages weren\u2019t helping either. Finally, the economic factors such as inflation across Australia and New Zealand has lead to many consumers cutting back on eating out, which just added insult to injury on an already-suffering industry.<\/p>\n With so many of the above-mentioned global scale troubles currently facing the out-of-home takeaway portion of the food industry, distributors can struggle to find a connection with wholesalers, who have the potential to be active brand advocates if facing favourable procurement terms.<\/p>\n Streamlined operational efficiency can be challenging to meet, but there are other systems that you can compete on as a distributor. Finding a niche to attack from can be tricky, but hey \u2013 that\u2019s why we put the strategy first!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Your marketing efforts can be dedicated to combatting the manufacturers and wholesale distributors on other angles. Considering the B2B elements of value pyramid, you can feel confident in meeting table stakes for your regular buyers of retailers and out-of-home providers because you\u2019ve worked with them successfully in the past. If the struggle is based around economic elements, then you\u2019ll have to move further up the pyramid to create demand on a different scale \u2013 customer relationships and personal value.<\/p>\n So, what can your company as a distributor do to connect with major players within the wholesale distribution food industry? Create a B2B wholesaler and distributor loyalty incentive program, of course! Provided your B2B customer loyalty program<\/a> is structured correctly (which we can help with), you can partner with your suppliers to fund the entirety of your program.<\/p>\n By identifying and distributing additional value to your channel partners, your channel partner loyalty program<\/a> provides additional communication touchpoints with your customers and strengthen your relationships with those partners who are keen to market directly to your customers. Your customers become your brand advocates, promoting a stronger customer experience down the line, letting them feel valued and connected to your brand and success \u2013 which is strong motivation for them to move your product.<\/p>\n By utilising a B2B incentive rewards program for your out-of-home partners like pubs, clubs, restaurants, and cafes, you can increase sales while simultaneously boosting engagement with your brand to more clients. Using a self-funded growth program can also ensure that your clients\u2019 connection with your brand and products will provide the entire funding for the program to be taken once the incentive markers are met, leaving your business with zero risk of being out of pocket.<\/p>\n If you have any interest in developing an incentive program for your buyers, look no further. We focus on the strategy of providing loyalty and rewards solutions<\/a> to your current challenges while still competing against large enterprises in major industries for market share. We\u2019ll work with you to keep on top of the trends of the B2B food industry to let your business focus on what it needs to do \u2013 making sales!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Beyond the challenges to local B2B food distributors through revenue and marketing aspects, additional hurdles are presented through general competition within your local areas as well. With an increased demand for sustainable products, industry trends show that younger demographics are beginning to switch to environmentally conscious options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is important to use analytics tools to ensure that your organisation is aware of where your growth and demand are coming from to tailor your marketing to the appropriate channel partners, as this will allow you to maximise the return on your revenue. Creating a B2B loyalty or incentive group travel <\/a>experience for your channel partners will give you additional access to forms of data you may otherwise be leaving on the table, as well as additional important touchpoints to create conversations with your customer base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nDangers Facing the Wholesale B2B Food Distribution Industry\n<\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n
B2B Food Industry Distribution and Customer Loyalty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n