Product Placement

In addition to your website, consider showcasing your product in physical stores and online retailers for a larger organic reach. You can easily set up shop on Amazon, Etsy, eBay, or Jet to help more of your customers discover you.

You can also reach out to local brick-and-mortar stores. The key to this process is to help retailers reach their goals. To do so, think out of the box and consider niche stores (online and brick-and-mortar). Depending on your product, think beyond grocery stores and retail stores. For example, if you sell candles, you could sell coffee-scented candles at a local coffee shop, fruit-scented candles at a natural goods store, and exotic-scented candles at a posh clothing store.

Tip: Even if you’re selling products across the country online, if you only have a small product line, start selling in local shops. Then, expand your physical footprint as your business grows. This way, you can more easily monitor the ebb and flow in your local economy as it relates to your product. Plus, pitching a large product line is more appealing to big retailers, but small businesses may not be able to accommodate placing a large product line on their limited shelf space.

Depending on what type of stores you are looking to partner with will determine the process you take. Partnering with small businesses may take a short presentation over coffee while partnering with a large department chain will require in-depth preparation.

However you approach product placement, create a solid presentation to pitch your partnership idea and research the fees associated with the product placement, especially in a physical store. Confirm exact shelf placement (shoppers are more likely to purchase items at eye level) and, before you sign any documents, make sure that you can make a sustainable profit. You will likely need to give the store a discount when they purchase your product in bulk, so consider that when you do the math; be sure the partnership will be lucrative and mutually beneficial.