Store research behind every email

Why we learn about each store

A good rep walks into a shop, looks around for a minute, and opens with something about the shop itself. Store research is how we do that at scale. It is part of finding stores, and it feeds straight into the personalised emails we write.

Owners get supplier emails every week. The ones they answer show that the sender knows what kind of place they run. That knowledge, together with understanding your product, is why our clients average a 10-15% reply rate.

What we learn

For each store we gather what is public about the business when we find it:

• What it is. A specialty grocer, a neighbourhood café, a hotel bar, a gym with a fridge by the door.
• What it sells. The range, the style and what it tends to stock beside a product like yours.
• Where it is. The suburb or town, which says something about its customers.
• How it presents itself. Premium or everyday, local and organic or mainstream.
• Who decides. The role of the person we found, from buyer contacts.

How it shapes the email

We already understand your product: what it is, who it is for, the margin a store makes and what makes it different. Store research lets us connect the two. The email says why your product suits this store in particular, in a sentence or two, and then asks one easy question.

A deli that stocks small-batch condiments hears that your sauce sits well beside them. A café near a gym hears about a protein snack that sells at the counter. A cocktail bar hears how your mixer saves the bartender a step. The same product, three different reasons to reply.

What we do not do

We do not invent detail. If we cannot learn much about a store, its email says less about the store and more about your product, rather than making something up. We also do not flatter. "I love your shop" is easy to spot and easy to ignore.

We keep the research to what is useful in a short email. The owner does not need to read a report about their own business. One relevant line is enough.

Research that also filters

The same research takes poor fits out of your list. A vegan store does not get a dairy product. A wine shop that only stocks natural wine does not get a mass-market bottle. Fewer, better stores mean fewer wasted samples and a higher reply rate. See store search for how fit is judged.

Selling drinks? Our beverage brands guide goes through what to say to each kind of venue.

An example

Say you make a small-batch hot sauce. One store on your list is a deli that stocks local cheese and charcuterie. Another is a burger bar near a university. A third is a specialty grocer with a shelf of imported condiments.

The deli hears that your sauce pairs with the cheese they already sell and makes a good counter add-on. The burger bar hears that it is a table sauce people ask about, and that it can be sold by the bottle at the till. The grocer hears where your sauce sits on price beside the imports, and what margin they would make. Three emails, one product, each with a reason that only makes sense for that store.

None of this needs a long email. One sentence about the store and one about why it fits is plenty.