Avoid the 3 Most Common Reasons Retailers Leave Brands

How good you are at maintaining strong relationships with retailers is one of the most important factors that will determine the success of your brand. 

When you’ve gone through the hard work of building relationships with your retailers, the last thing you want to do is fracture that relationship for an avoidable reason. 

While we’re not going to be able to cover everything that can hurt a brand’s relationship with their retailer, we can highlight three of the biggest. 

If you’re able to understand these issues and proactively address them, then you’ll be in good shape to maintain a healthy relationship with your retailers. 

Avoid Late Shipments

Your deliveries need to reach your retailers on the shipment dates you tell them. 

When brands fail to ship products on schedule, retailers are left with empty shelves, leading to lost sales and a lot less trust in your brand. 

And what do we think will happen when they can’t stock their shelves with your product? The retailers are going to fill their empty shelves with products from competitors who do deliver on time.  

Do this enough and you’ll start seeing fewer orders, or even worse, no more orders from that retailer. 

Consistent on-time delivery not only meets retailers' expectations but also builds trust, which is a critical component of retailer loyalty.

Avoid Inaccurate Orders

Your retailers will get increasingly frustrated with you if your brand consistently sends the wrong products. Whether you’re sending the wrong style, size, or quantity, repeated mistakes like this will start to hurt your brand/retailer relationship.  

These types of errors will lead to cumbersome return processes, wasted time, and potential lost sales. 

So, whether it’s dedicating more of your staff’s time to making sure orders are correct or adding software to your operations to help, you need to invest resources to ensure orders are going out correctly.

You’ll see that your efforts will be rewarded by improved on-time and accurate deliveries that will improve your revenue, overall customer satisfaction, and give you that much more of a competitive advantage. 

Avoid Being Difficult to Work With

Brands that are challenging to work with risk alienating their retailers. 

What does “challenging to work with” look like? 

If your brand has poor customer support, rigid return policies, or reps that are unresponsive or aren’t fully knowledgeable on your products, then retailers might see you as difficult to work with. 

It’s a pretty straightforward piece of information, but retailers value partnerships that are straightforward and supportive. 

If a brand is perceived as difficult, retailers may seek other suppliers who offer more cooperative and flexible relationships. 

A Few More Tips to Help You Build Strong Relationships with Retailers

• Keep Prices Competitive: Retailers are sensitive to pricing strategies. Brands need to make sure their products are competitively priced to remain attractive to retailers and consumers alike.​
  
  
• Maintain Your Quality Standards: Consistent product quality is vital. Any decline can lead retailers to reconsider their partnerships.​
  
  
• Provide Helpful Resources: Brands that provide marketing materials, training, and promotional support empower retailers to sell products more effectively, strengthening the partnership.

How RepSpark Addresses These Issues

We’ve been helping brands build and maintain their relationships with retailers for over 17 years. 

Every feature and tool we add into RepSpark, we’ve done so because our experience with brands have shown us these capabilities are needed. And, we’ve also just simply listened to what our brands need. 

Here are a few tools built into RepSpark that will help brands maintain their relationships with retailers. 

Real-Time Inventory Management & Online Order Entry

One of the biggest pain points retailers face is the uncertainty of inventory availability. RepSpark addresses this directly with its real-time inventory management tools. Retailers (and sales reps) can see live inventory numbers, future availability, and quickly place orders anytime, anywhere. This transparency ensures retailers never lose sales due to inventory confusion or uncertainty​.

Accurate and Streamlined Ordering Tools

Like we mentioned above, incorrect order shipments frustrate retailers and create costly returns. RepSpark eliminates these errors through digital catalogs and customized line sheets that accurately reflect available products, their details, pricing, and real-time availability. This clarity greatly reduces the likelihood of incorrect orders​.

Automated Order Status and Invoice Tracking

Retailers expect clear communication about their orders. With RepSpark’s built-in Order Status and Invoice & Package Tracking features, retailers can effortlessly track their orders and shipments without constantly calling your support team. This reduces frustration, saves valuable time, and keeps relationships smooth​.

Customer Communication Hub

RepSpark’s Customer Communication Hub allows easy, centralized communication between your sales reps, customer service teams, and retailers. The communication hub logs interactions, creates tasks, and automates follow-ups, ensuring that retailer inquiries never fall through the cracks. This transparency builds trust and ensures smooth interactions, making your brand easy to work with​.

Flexible Payment and Returns Solutions (RepSpark Pay & A/R Hub)

Nothing simplifies the retail experience more than straightforward financial transactions. With RepSpark Pay, retailers can quickly pay invoices directly on the platform, streamlining cash flow. The A/R Hub additionally simplifies invoice management and collections, further reducing the burden on retailers and your internal team​.

Build Relationships That Last

Retailers have many brand choices, and they gravitate towards those that consistently meet their needs: timely delivery, accurate orders, and an easy-to-manage partnership. 

By understanding these needs and addressing them before they become a consistent issue, your brand can position itself as an invaluable partner.

The goal is simple: become the brand retailers love working with by being reliable, accurate, and easy to manage. 

With the right tools and practices, your brand will not only secure valuable shelf space but continue growing with satisfied retail partners.

We think RepSpark can give you the tools you need to maintain long-lasting relationships, and we made it simple to see if you agree. Check out our full features guide to learn how we’d help you.