Promotional activities are very important in wholesale business as they give a boost to the repeated sales of the business. Doing any kind of business is all about selling your products to potential customers. Repeated customers on other hand are only achieved by adopting the methods and ways of proper advertisement. Wholesale business is unlike retailers’ business; retailers are in market in front of customers while wholesalers are located in back alley areas of cities. So, it is really important for wholesalers to adopt wise and winning promotional activities that can bring customers to them.

Marketing theory distinguishes two main kinds of promotional activities – push strategy and pull strategy.

Push Strategy:

Push strategy uses company’s sales force to create customer demand for product. In it the manufacturer promotes the products to distributors, the distributors to wholesalers, the wholesalers to retailers and in last retailers to customers. This strategy requires less expenditure as no major advertisement is made. But still to adopt push strategy all supply chain members have to give special offers to the buyers, they have to give discounted offers and closeout deals, etc. This strategy is also very effective in wholesale business as the wholesalers have to sell products to retailers and until or unless they offer something special to retailers they will not buy from them. So adopting promotional activities is very important for wholesale suppliers.

Pull Strategy:

The other strategy is Pull strategy; it requires high spending on the account of wholesalers and manufacturers as they have to spend a lot on different advertising materials like print media, online media, etc. this strategy is used to build up consumer demand for a product. In this promotional strategy any particular product, brand or company is advertised and if successful then customers will ask their retailers for that particular product, then retailers will ask from wholesalers. Pull strategy is although expensive and time taking but it brings larger circle of customers as each and every individual is exposed to the advertisement.

The best way to start promotion of wholesale business is to start both the Push and Pull strategies together. These strategies in combination will bring ultimate results as the supply and demand will remain equal.