Did that headline scratch a special place in your brain? In the competitive world of wholesale hair and beauty, many brands allocate significant resources to acquiring new stockists. Titles being hired such as New Business Development Manager or Outbound Sales Specialist are popping up more frequently now more than ever. While expanding your network of stockists is undoubtedly important, focusing on retention offers long-term benefits that can significantly impact your bottom line - probably more than you realise.
Nurturing your existing stockists could be the key to sustained growth, stronger brand loyalty, and a thriving reputation within the industry.
Acquiring new stockists can be expensive. The cost of outreach, marketing campaigns, onboarding, and promotional materials quickly adds up - not to mention time spent on the road or on pitch calls, only to be ghosted by your once warm lead. By contrast, retaining current stockists requires fewer resources while providing higher returns. According to research, a study by Bain & Company found that acquiring a new customer can cost five to 25 times more than retaining an existing one.
For wholesale hair and beauty brands, this could mean reallocating a portion of your acquisition budgets towards personalised account management, customer love programmes, or exclusive rewards for loyal stockists - areas that foster long-term loyalty and repeat purchases.
Long-term relationships with stockists lead to higher lifetime value (LTV). Stockists who feel supported and valued are more likely to:
- Increase their order volume and cadance,
- Adopt new products in the same line or additional brands you enter into the market, and
- Recommend your brand to peers within the industry via natural advocacy.
When stockists thrive they become advocates for your brand A strong partnership benefits both parties and sets the foundation for mutual growth
In the hair and beauty industry, recommendations carry significant weight. Happy stockists don’t just reorder; they share their positive experiences with other salon owners, spa managers, and industry colleagues - I'm sure you've seen this on your nightly Facebook community scroll. Stockist who feel supported by the brands the stock, are their biggest cheerleaders. Put a foot out of line by placing a new stockist next to your most loyal and long serving stockist, and suddenly your brand is on blast for the whole industry to see.
Word-of-mouth marketing is invaluable in B2B settings, where trust and reliability are key decision-making factors. Retention-focused strategies such as offering Ambassador or KOL (key opinion leader) programs, ongoing education allowances, premium one:one support, or marketing co-op funds, help turn your stockists into vocal advocates for your brand.
The hair and beauty wholesale market is crowded with brands vying for salon owners attention. Retaining stockists means going beyond transactional relationships to build meaningful connections. Brands that prioritise loyalty initiatives - like exclusive rewards for consistent spend amounts, VIP event support (think gift bags, samples or gifting items), or co-branded marketing opportunities stand out from competitors offering similar products.
This personalised approach strengthens stockists' commitment to your brand and reduces the likelihood of them switching to a competitor.
Not only that, but a stable base of loyal stockists provides consistent, predictable revenue streams. This stability is critical for planning inventory, forecasting, and scaling your business. By focusing on retention, brands can minimise churn and the associated financial risks while building a more reliable foundation for growth.
So, if you haven't already, you're probably about to ask, how can we shift towards stockist retention? If you’re ready to prioritise retention, here are a few strategies to get started:
- Give Give Get Mentality: Provide your stockists with items or resource that will support their selling (which in turn, will support them buying more from you!).
- Introduce a Customer Love Budget: Recognise and reward loyalty with surprise and delight moments. Celebrate business or personal milestones (like the birth of babies or business birthdays) and watch the love return - and explode on social media as a side benefit
- Build an Ambassador Program: Recognise your natural brand advocates and turn them into Ambassadors. Create an agreement of mutual gives and gets for your brand and them as a brand representative, and start testing the waters to see what works.
While acquisition will always play a role in growth, the smart move for wholesale hair and beauty brands is to invest heavily in stockist retention. By deepening relationships, maximising lifetime value, and leveraging the power of advocacy, brands can secure sustainable growth while standing out in a crowded market.
In the end, retention isn’t just about keeping stockists - it’s about building partnerships that drive success for everyone involved.
Is your brand doing enough to retain its stockists? We would love to help you create a strategy to ensure your brand becomes indispensable to your stockists. Reach out to discuss how we can help!
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