Vendor Reps: How We Serve Your Brand and Do It Well

You have an amazing product. Your brand vision is clear. You’re ready for the big leagues. But successfully getting that product onto retailers’ shelves and online can be challenging. Since you have enough to do to bring your brand to life, vendor rep companies play a unique role in bridging the gap between vendor (that’s you!) and retailer.

As a brand, you work extremely hard on a product line that you love and believe in and dream of getting that into the hands of consumers so that they, too, can begin loving and believing in it as well. So how do you effectively and quickly make that connection? Ensuring your consumers can touch, see, play with, or truly experience the magic you’ve poured your heart and soul into?

Retail. 

Of course, e-commerce is also a viable option, and working on your own e-commerce strategy can bring great gains. But we’re talking big leagues here… and what better place to reach those consumers you desire to connect with than on the shelves of one of the largest retailers in the US?

We talk Target. And we’ve built our entire business strategy on bringing products just like yours to the Expect More, Pay Less assortment for years. Why Target? As the 8th largest retailer in the U.S. with 75% of U.S residents a mere 10 miles from Target, you’re able to access impressive reach and tap into already established brand loyalty. Gaining placement in Target can fast-track your brand and product to success. 

But how do you go about getting your product into Target? As a brand, you are an EXPERT at the products you create. But what about all the other details? Securing a meeting with a Target buyer, making a strong pitch, outlining scalability… most of us aren’t experts at ALL the things ALL the time. Enter Target vendor reps.  At a high level, vendor rep companies, also called brand reps, manufacturer rep firms, retail reps, or brokers, are strategic partners that help represent your brand to retailers. Target vendor rep companies are experienced in working with Target. They usually have direct relationships already established at the retailer. So leveraging a vendor rep group can open doors for you and your company that otherwise would be a challenge to open. A vendor rep group knows how to secure and maintain the placement of products and has knowledge of what is needed to do business at retail. 

Now that we have covered the basics of what a vendor rep IS, let’s switch gears to what a vendor rep company DOES. Buckle up, we’re about to talk about how we can make Target magic happen for you! 

First of all, we know that working with a vendor rep group can feel a little daunting… it can always feel a little scary and overwhelming to let someone else come into your business. So above all things, we work hard to become your trusted ally. This is so important for us because we are very careful when it comes to selecting our brands. We want to ensure that our values are in sync and we are the right fit for representing you. With that alignment, the first thing we do is have a kickoff call to set goals and align priorities. This ensures we understand  where you are starting, where you want to go, and what specifically we need to focus on to help get you on those glorious brick and mortar shelves and online assortments.

So how can Juniper Partners WOW as your vendor rep? We provide target strategy, operations support, and digital marketing to propel our clients to the next level at Target. Our diverse perspectives and backgrounds allow us to bring innovation to established brands and provide foundational building blocks to emerging brands. Let’s look further into each aspect of what we do. 

Target Strategy 

Target strategy is essentially the business plan we establish. Think of it as everything you need for retail success. There are many facets to this target strategy, and as we mentioned above, Juniper Partners will customize and tailor this to your company. It is our roadmap for how we accomplish success for your brand at Target. Target strategy consists of omnichannel sales and account management, assortment development, pricing and promotional strategy, and more. As your vendor rep, we analyze how you are going to win across multiple channels. How do we position your product online vs in-store? What pricing strategy do we pitch to Target? How does it tie to guest demand? 

All of these pieces are critical to determine as we build out your strategy. Target strategy also includes relationship building and long term brand growth and planning. Our team already has well-established relationships with Target. As your vendor rep, we lean on those relationships to gain and maintain product placement. Our Target roots run deep and are extremely beneficial for understanding long term growth opportunities for your brand within Target. 

Operations Support

As your vendor rep group, we will ensure you SHINE. How? Our operations support sets you up to win by freeing up time for you to focus on your product. Gaining placement in a major retailer comes with lots of logistical work. How much inventory would you need to launch a full display in all Target stores? How many units a week do you expect to sell of each item? And how does that impact your replenishment planning? All of these questions, the corresponding analytics, and planning is part of our operations support.

Almost all of our team members have worked FOR Target at some point in their careers in many business functions. With experienced inventory analysts, we understand order management, collaborative forecasting, and inventory. We will map out launch quantities based on store inventory requirements and utilize our knowledge of the Target category and similar products to establish baseline point-of-sale estimates. With experience in planogramming and merchandising, our team ensures all item setup and maintenance is properly executed once placement is gained. We also support your business with weekly reporting and data insights. 

Digital Marketing

Lastly, Juniper Partners elevates your brand through our digital marketing support. The work doesn’t stop once we secure placement and physically get products into stores or online. Marketing your product and reaching guests is an important part of the process. And as your vendor rep, we have the experience and skill set to ensure you succeed. We provide digital marketing strategy and execution partnering with Roundel and Cost-Per-Click (CPC) advertising through Citrus Ad and Criteo. This will ensure that all marketing that ends up in Target stores, online, on socials, etc is cohesive, strategic, and impactful. We also optimize your product detail pages to maximize the impact on Target guests. The copy used in digital advertising will be SEO optimized so that your brand will show and convert. 

But the overall thing we do as your vendor rep group? We allow you to take your brand to the next level. Let’s GO! Click here to get started.