Who is the trade?
- Distributors and stockists: they buy in bulk from the maker and supply shops.
- Wholesalers: they sell to many small shops.
- Retailers: kirana stores, hardware shops and large chain stores. Large chains are often called modern trade. Small neighbourhood shops are called general trade.
- Dealers: sellers of tiles, paint, electricals, vehicles and similar goods.
What trade marketing does
- Trade schemes: discounts or free goods for buying more.
- Display and visibility: shelf space, racks, posters and shop boards. See POSM (point of sale material) and planogram.
- Training: teaching shop staff and dealers about the product.
- Dealer meets and rewards: events and gifts that keep dealers loyal.
- Shelf checks: field visits to see if the product is in stock, priced right and placed well.
A made-up example in rupees
Say a biscuit maker wants more shops to stock a new pack. This is a made-up example.
- Distributor scheme: buy 100 cartons at ₹600 each, which is ₹60,000, and get 5 cartons free.
- Value of the free cartons: 5 × ₹600 = ₹3,000. That is 5 per cent of ₹60,000.
- Shop display: a small counter rack worth ₹800, given free to 50 shops that order 10 cartons or more. That is ₹40,000 of racks.
- A field team visits 200 shops a month and notes whether the rack is in use.
If 10 distributors each use the scheme once, the free cartons cost ₹30,000. With the racks, the push costs ₹70,000. The maker then checks how many extra cartons sold, and whether shops reordered.
How it works for an Indian business
In India, many products reach buyers through small shops and local dealers, not only big chains. So trade marketing often means field work: visits, shop boards, trade offers and dealer meets. Track what the field team sees. Is the product in stock, at the right price, on a good shelf, and are shops reordering?
Common mistakes
- Big schemes but no display help, so stock sits unsold.
- Pushing stock into the trade with no buyer demand, so it comes back.
- Schemes too hard for a small shop to understand.
- Paying scheme benefits late, which hurts trust.
- No field checks, so nobody knows what happens after the sale to the dealer.
Trade and consumer marketing work well together. Read about channel marketing to see how partners fit in.
Related terms
- Channel marketing: marketing done with the partners who sell your product, such as distributors and resellers.
- POSM: displays, posters and signs placed where the buyer chooses.
- Planogram: a plan that shows where each product sits on a shelf.
- Dealer loyalty program: rewards that keep dealers buying from you.
- Visual merchandising: arranging a store so that products catch the eye.
To plan shop-level work, see our trade and channel marketing service.
