Most small business owners know that marketing is one of the crucial keys to success. Effective marketing campaigns can increase sales from existing customers, cement sales from prospects, and attract new consumers to your company.
Indeed, a survey released today by Walmart Business reveals that sales and marketing are the top priorities for small and mid-size (SMBs) and nonprofits to focus on this year. However—and this will not surprise many of you—it’s hard to find the time to do so since SMB leaders report spending almost 40% of their work on administrative tasks, such as:
- 79% managing cash flow
- 65% tracking inventory
- 51% handling payroll
This severely limits the time small business owners can spend creating marketing plans, developing growth and customer acquisition strategies, and planning for future growth.
SMBs are constantly battling the clock. To help them focus on business building, they need the proper time-saving, productivity-enhancing tools. But they also need to find quality products at competitive prices, whether to sell or use themselves. And to fill that need, business owners are increasingly turning to marketplaces.
In her blog addressing the Walmart Business survey, Ashley Hubka, senior vice president and general manager at Walmart Business, underscores these findings. She writes that the survey shows SMBs “need better tools to save time, cut costs, and operate more efficiently.” Four significant needs stand out among the businesses surveyed:
- Better inventory solutions: One-third of businesses rely on “out of stock” triggers to reorder rather than structured monitoring or automation.
- More online options: Most businesses plan to keep or increase (38%) purchasing through online marketplaces instead of managing multiple direct supplier relationships
- Cost efficiency is key: 75% actively look for rewards and discounts when making purchases
- Faster fulfillment matters: 72% want bulk order options, and 64% want same-day delivery for routine purchases such as tech, supplies, and workplace food needs
Walmart provides SMBs with various solutions through the Walmart Marketplace, Walmart Marketplace Seller Center (where you can access Search Engine Marketing tools), and Walmart Business. (Details can be found in the Q&A below.)
To learn more about what Walmart is offering SMBs, I talked to Ashley Hubka.
Rieva Lesonsky: Walmart is offering numerous solutions to small business owners. Are these solutions only available through Walmart Business?
Ashley Hubka: Walmart has served [business] buyers for years, but we saw an opportunity to create an offering just for them, ultimately providing more flexibility and choice around how and where they accomplish organizational purchasing.
By creating a dedicated e-commerce offering tailored to them with the option to purchase items in whatever way is easiest for them—online at Business.Walmart.com, on our app, or at one of our more than 4,600 stores nationwide, we provide a unique offering centered on Walmart’s promise of helping its customers save money.
Lesonsky: You’re encouraging small business owners to buy their goods at the Walmart Marketplace. What are the advantages of doing that?
Hubka: We have been steadily expanding our assortment with Walmart Marketplace sellers to provide SMBs and nonprofits more of what they want and need while also providing additional opportunities for third-party sellers to grow with Walmart. With access to Walmart Marketplace and Walmart-owned inventory, businesses and nonprofits can now shop tens of millions of items on business.walmart.com. Walmart Marketplace helps us offer an expanded product assortment geared towards B2B customers, including industry-specific items.
Walmart Marketplace also allows sellers to sell their products to millions of Walmart customers worldwide.
Lesonsky: You note that SBOs want “multi-user accounts and shared payments.” What specifically is your solution for these wants?
Hubka: For businesses with employees, the multi-user experience allows companies to spread the purchasing and inventory management among [their teams] while still having visibility into all purchases (both online, in-app, or in-store when using Walmart Pay).
The shared payment feature allows the account admin to securely cascade a payment form down to buyer roles (employees they have included on their account) to utilize.
Lesonsky: Can you tell us more about the spend analytics and management tools?
Hubka: We know SMBs are strapped for time. Our goal is to help them make every dollar go further while also providing an easy way to shop for their businesses so they can invest more into what matters most.
Customers with a Walmart Business+ membership have access to Spend Analytics, which allows them to view insightful data and spend patterns to help make budgeting and organization buying policies and decisions.
Lesonsky: What tools are you offering?
Hubka: Walmart Business offers an omnichannel experience dedicated to meeting the unique purchasing needs of B2B customers by helping them save time, money, and hassle so they can focus on their missions. Our tools and services make streamlining operations easier for business owners and decision-makers.
For example, our survey revealed that nearly 1-in-3 businesses rely on ‘out-of-stock triggers’ for regular administrative tasks. Walmart Business offers subscriptions so organizations can automate purchasing and shipping of essential items to help stay in stock.
We offer membership rewards, bulk-order options, and same-day delivery, which survey respondents noted as a priority when shopping.
We are also connecting SMBs to services that help them operate, such as our business printing service, which offers a fast and affordable solution to meet various printing needs. Companies can browse items with no-to-low minimum quantities, design, and place an order to be shipped directly to them. Additionally, a limited number of items can be printed and picked up from a nearby Walmart store as soon as the same day.
For Walmart Marketplace sellers, we provide access to powerful tools so they can manage their pricing, catalog management, shipping, returns, brand management, and more through our Seller Center, API solutions, and Solution Providers. We are building a marketplace ecosystem for sellers that helps them manage and grow their businesses.
Lesonsky: Is there a membership fee?
Hubka: Any organization can create a free Walmart Business account to shop from our vast selection of items across a wide range of categories, all at our everyday low prices. With this type of account, they can also take advantage of additional service offerings such as business printing and point-of-sale solutions.
We also offer a range of Walmart Business+ membership plans that provide additional benefits to meet specific organizational needs. For example, our Walmart Business+ Core membership is available for $98 per year plus tax. It includes perks such as spend analytics and management tools, free shipping with no minimums, and 2% rewards on orders of $250 or more, scan and go in stores, among other benefits.
Lesonsky: Are the products coming from a local Walmart? Or can SBOs without a store in their immediate vicinity also take advantage of the program?
Hubka: We leverage Walmart’s entire supply chain to deliver to our business customers. This includes shipping, delivery, and pickup options so customers can choose the fulfillment method that works best for them. Our customers benefit from the proximity of our more than 4,600 stores nationwide to fulfill and deliver digital orders for our customers across categories—general merchandise and grocery—in as fast as 3 hours.
We’re primed to combine our physical locations with our e-commerce business to offer a level of convenience and choice never before seen. We’re creating an experience that lets customers shop anytime, anywhere—delivering exactly what they want when they want it.
Lesonsky: Thanks Ashley. For busy business owners, purchasing from a one-stop shop can be a significant time saver. Plus, with all the features Ashley mentioned, your shopping can be more affordable, efficient, and accessible.
Photo by Shreyas Sagade on Unsplash
Rieva Lesonsky is President of Small Business Currents, LLC, a content company focusing on small businesses and entrepreneurship. You can still find her on Twitter @Rieva, and you can also reach her @Rieva.bsky.social and LinkedIn. Or email her at Rieva@SmallBusinessCurrents.com.