286. Why the Wrong Retail Partner Can Kill Your Brand

0:00Welcome to day 14. Identify your ideal retail partner including online. If there's one lesson that doesn't get talked about enough in this industry, it's this. Not every retailer is right for your brand, and chasing the wrong ones can quietly drain your runway and jeopardize your future. Just like every customer is unique, every store is unique. Every chain has its own priorities, its own shopper base, and its own definition of success. You are not supposed to be everywhere. You're supposed to be where your ideal customer shops and where the retailer actually values what you bring to the table.

0:34Today we're going to talk about how you identify your ideal retail partner, brick and mortar and online, so that you can stop chasing distribution for ego and start building distribution for impact, profitability and scale. Start with your dream shopper, not your dream logo. A lot of brands chase big name logos. I want to be in that natural chain. I want to be in that mass retailer. I want to be on that online platform. But here's the question that matters far more. Does your dream shopper actually shop there? and do you have the ability to support that business well? Your ideal customer doesn't settle for cheap ingredients, chooses quality over price, wants transparency, authenticity, and values alignment, is willing to pay a fair premium for products they know, like, and trust.

1:20That shopper is your most valuable asset. Your job is to meet them where they are, not where your ego wants to be. So instead of asking, how do I get into every retailer? Ask, where does my ideal shopper already shop? And where can my brand truly thrive? That's where you focus. What retailers really want and how you fit in. I keep coming back to this because it never stops being true. Retailers want three things. More foot traffic, a competitive advantage in the market, and a reasonable profit. That's it. When you show a retailer that your brand brings in high value, better for you shoppers, increases basket size, helps them differentiate from their competition, supports their shoppers lifestyle and values, and delivers fair margin consistently, you become incredibly valued to them.

2:10This is where your work from the earlier episode pays off because when you understand who your unique customer is, how they shop your store, what else they buy, how they affect the basket, then you can offer actionable insights retailers can't get from anyone else, not big solution providers, not syndicated data, not your competitors. That's how you stand out. That's how you earn the right to be selective about your retailers. Why you must own your strategy and not hand over your keys. One of my biggest frustrations with how this industry supports brands is this in this drumbeat, raise money, then raise more money, then raise more money, then hand your strategy to someone else.

2:51You're told to hire the master broker, hire the big agency, let them take you national and then in the process you're quietly encouraged to hand over the keys to your brand that's a massive mistake you are the person who knows your customer best you are the person who knows your why you're the person understands what problem you solve your brand was born because you were trying to solve a specific problem for yourself your family or someone you care about your idea shoppers basically you a few steps behind on their journey they're just starting their ascent. You're their Sherpa. This is why I'm adamant about you own your strategy in-house.

3:29Brokers, distributors, and agencies execute on your behalf. They're important partners. They can add tremendous value, but they should never own your strategy. The danger of a spray and pray distribution. Let me give you a real life example. I worked with a brand in California that had incredible product. A big distributor approached her at a trade show and promised her national distribution. It sounded like a dream, so she said yes. Here's what actually happened. She ended up in four random stores, one in Florida, two in Indiana, and one in Louisiana. Freight costs were ridiculous. She had no ability to support those stores, no one to merchandise, monitor out-of-stocks, or build relationships.

4:10Then the distributor demanded she pay for promotions in stores where she wasn't even on the shelf. Saying yes to those promotions would have bankrupted her. This is not an isolated story. I see this all the time. The problem wasn't her product. The problem was misaligned strategy. She needed retailers in her region, retailers with her idea shopper, retailers that she could support properly. Instead, she got scattered placement that looked impressive on coverage map, but delivered almost no value and a ton of risk. What I learned when Big CPG went from direct to broker. Back when I worked for Unilever and Kimberly-Clark, we had our own direct sales force.

4:49Our reps represented only our brands. We were trained together. We were incentive on the same priorities. They had dedicated time in every store. If you were the rep, you only had roughly two hours per store to manage just our portfolio, just our brands. Then overnight, we went to a broker model. That two-hour window didn't just belong to us. The broker had to represent dozens, sometimes hundreds of brands, working down a long checklist, splitting attention across competing priorities. Nothing against brokers. They can be fantastic partners, but from the retailer's perspective, our brand became one of many.

5:25Our influence dropped, our executions suffered, our shares declined. This is what brands don't fully appreciate when they go national with a broker or distributor. You're now on every crowded roster with limited of time and attention. You must be realistic about what they can actually do. Give them crystal clear direction. Support your own execution wherever possible. Choose retailers where you can generally show up. This is exactly why I created the Effective Broker Management course and the Simple Solutions to Maximize Broker Distributor Effectiveness Guide. Because brands everywhere were asking the same question.

6:00How do I get the most from our brokers? How do we hold them accountable. How do we focus their time? How do we leverage their retail relationships without losing control? You're not a loneless. Every brand wrestles with it. In fact, the effective broker management course is actually the same framework I used when brands hired me to work with their senior management teams in person. Why velocity alone is a dangerous North Star. Another myth you've been sold is that velocity is all that matters. It's not. Big brands with deep pockets can buy velocity, deep discounts, forward buys, loss leader pricing.

6:35All of those pull profit out of the category and out of the retailer's pocket. It doesn't build loyalty and it doesn't build a healthy business. Your strength is different. Your customers will pay a fair premium for quality, buys across the store, has a higher basket value, cares about alignment and impact. This is far more valuable to a retailer than a temporary spike in units during a promotion. So instead of obsessing over velocity alone, focus on contribution. Contribution to the category of profit. Contribution to basket size. Contribution to shopper loyalty. Contribution to retailers competitive position.

7:14Retailers who understand this are your ideal partner. Retailers only see you as an ATM for fees are not. A Cautionary Tale, Bubba's Fine Foods in Episode 132. Jeff from Bubba's Fine Foods share what happened when he followed the expert advice and hired a master broker. The master broker did exactly what he promised. He got Jeff's brand into a lot of stores across the country, generated impressive distribution on paper, but here's what Jeff didn't have. The ability to support those stores, the budget for the slotting and the promotion fees, the manpower to manage resets out of stocks and execution.

7:50The regional focus needed to build depth before expanding. He felt like an ATM machine. He was bleeding cash. The brand was at risk. In the end, he had to fire the master broker, walk away from a bunch of stores he paid to get into, refocus on backyard retailers he could support well. It was painful, but it saved his brand. This is why choosing the right retail partner is so critical. How to identify your ID retail partners, including online. Here's how to apply all this in a practical way. Number one, start with your ideal shopper. Where do they actually shop? Natural independence? Regional natural chains?

8:28Conventional retailers with strong natural sets? Online marketplaces like Amazon or Thrive? Your own online store? List the top three to five places they are most likely to shop regularly. Number two, evaluate retailer fit against the big three. For each potential retailer, ask, can my brand help drive more foot traffic or clicks? Can I help them gain a competitive advantage? Can I help them earn a reasonable profit? If the answer is yes, and you can prove it with insights and data, that retailer is a strong candidate. Number three, assess your ability is support. Could you visit key stores, train staff, and even eventually?

9:10Support promotions, monitor execution, respond to issues quickly. If you can't support it, you probably shouldn't pursue it yet. Number four, prioritize contribution over coverage. Instead of how many doors can I get into, ask how much contribution can I deliver in the right doors? Depth before breath, impact before ego. Number five, apply the same discipline online. Online is not free shelf space. It has its own costs and expectations. Ask, can shoppers find me quickly? Am I on the right platform for my idea customer? Do I have the right resources to drive awareness and reviews? Does this channel help me deepen my relationship with my tribe?

9:55Day 14 action item, build your idea retail partner map. Today I want you to list your top three idea retail profiles. Write down where each one shops, physical and online. Circle the top five retailers and platforms where you have the best fit and the ability to support. Put a star next to the one or two that you focus on first. Everything else is later, not never, but later. This will help you protect your runway, sharpen your focus and set you up for a win where it matters most. In closing, choose retail partners who value what you bring. Your brand is not just a product. Your brand is a solution.

10:34Your brand is a relationship. Your brand is a magnet for high value shoppers. The right retailers will see this. The wrong retailers will just see fees. Your job is to know the difference and to choose widely. This builds a repeatable retail execution system so that brokers, distributors, and internal sales teams can deliver your standards flawlessly in every store. Tomorrow in episode 287, we'll talk about how to build a simple strategic retail expansion plan so you can grow on your terms in the right place at the right pace. Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss it. Share this episode with a founder who's chasing distribution for the wrong reasons.

11:12Download the free series guide to go deeper into these strategies. And remember, when you focus on the right shopper, in the right stores, with the right strategy. You don't just survive, you thrive. For additional inspiration, listen to the following podcast episodes. Episode 132, The Wrong Expert Jeopardizes Your Brand's Success with Jeff with Bubba's Fine Foods. Listen to Jeff share in his own words and detailed specifics from the story I just shared with you. Avoid the pitfalls of hiring the wrong expert jeopardizes your brand. I understand the risk to profitability. Bulbas Fine Foods started as a grain-free, snack-free brand.

11:50The company faced challenges in grocery distribution, but prioritized customer value and strategic partnerships to grow. And then listen to episode 189, How to Get Your Brand Discovered by Retailers Easily, with Sarah, Joe, and Brandon with ECRM and RangeMe. Learn how to get your brand discovered by retailers and successfully get on their shelves with expert strategies and insights. ECRM facilitates connections between retailers and suppliers throughout the country with specific programs, both in-person and virtual. RangeMe, an online product sourcing platform, enables retailers to discover new products and suppliers who submit their offerings.

12:28This is a great episode because it gives you a framework on how you can introduce your brand to more stores. And of course, the way you get your brand onto more store shelves. And then listen to episode 175. with creative strategies for brands at retail equal incremental opportunities with Brandon with RangeMe. Uncover creative strategies for brands amid retail by making your product discoverable for target shoppers effectively. RangeMe facilitates online connection between brands and retailers, becoming increasingly important for brands of all sizes to gain visibility and to compete in the market.

13:04This is one of my most popular episodes because in this episode, Brandon shows you a strategy where you can leverage the RangeMe platform, which by the way is a free component, so you can get your brand discovered by more retailers. Tip of the day, just like every customer is unique, so is every store. Use what you've learned so far to find and identify your dream shopper and focus all your efforts there. Thank you for listening. This episode is a company video with illustrations and additional information I can't share in an audio podcast. You can watch it at retailsolve.com slash 30-day challenge.

13:40You can get the show notes for this episode by going to retailsolve.com slash session 286. Tomorrow's episode is how to become a trusted and respected retail partner today, a category leader. This episode will build on today's conversation. Want more sales? How to profitably scale a food business today, tomorrow, and beyond. Here's this week's free downloadable guide. The 30-Day to Prosperity Workbook is a companion to the 30-day challenge. This Retail Solve Blueprint will teach you what you need to know to confidently grow and scale your brand, build a connected community of loyal evangelists, and multiply your brand's impact, sales, and profits.

14:16Every slight improvement means more runway for sales growth, higher brand evaluations, better terms when negotiating with investors, fuel for more innovation, greater support for mission-based causes, and much more. Thanks for joining us today. Please reach out and share your most pressing questions, and I'll do my best to get you the answers that you need on future episodes, including expert advice from CEOs and industry thought leaders. Comment, leave your questions, and get this week's free downloadable guide and the show notes at retailsolve.com session 286.