WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION MARKETING: GROW ACCOUNTS, ORDERS, AND MARGIN

Group accounts by recency, frequency, category mix, margin, and territory. Look for formerly active buyers, one-category customers who could use adjacent products, and accounts with stalled quotes. Ask sales whether supply, pricing, or service issues explain the gaps before launching a campaign.

Prioritize account potential over list size. Ten high-value customers with a clear expansion need can justify more personal outreach than a broad automated blast.

Create useful category and application pages, specifications, comparison content, and simple reorder paths. Use search to capture product demand, then support account-based email, direct mail, sales calls, partner programs, and paid media where account value warrants it.

Connect messages to available inventory and commercial terms. A campaign promising a product that is hard to source can damage the relationship you are trying to expand.

Track qualified new accounts, quote-to-order conversion, reorders, category penetration, account revenue, and contribution margin. Keep campaign source attached to the account and order when possible, but recognize that sales reps and offline relationships influence the result.

Review cohorts monthly with sales. The best next move may be a replenishment reminder, a quote rescue, a category education piece, or a service fix. Marketing should help the team choose among them.