For distribution in South Africa · one business per area
The buyer searching for your product will find whoever shows up.
Retailers, contractors and procurement teams search online before they pick up the phone. BTR Consult runs all nine channels for one distributor per product category per area, and shows you the numbers every month.
Free, no card needed. See what a customer sees when they search for you.
Where buyers slip away
Here is where a distributor loses the order.
Found by name, not by product
Existing customers know your name and find you. New buyers searching for the product category find your competitor, or an import listing.
The website from five years ago
Your product range grew but the website did not. A buyer looking for a specific product does not find it on your site and moves on.
The enquiry that sat in a mailbox
A procurement manager sends a product enquiry on a Tuesday. It sits in info@ until Thursday. By then she has a quote from someone else.
What we run
What does BTR Consult run for a distribution business?
The same nine channels as every Growth Engine, set up for how a distribution business is found and chosen. INBOUND runs all nine. Where INBOUND+ adds more, the table says so.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Channel | What we do | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|
 Google Search | One page for each product category you carry, built around the words buyers actually type. | Your product range and the categories you supply. |
 Google Maps and Business Profile | Correct categories, hours, photos and product information, kept current every month. | Manager access. You stay the owner. |
 AI answers | Structured facts about your business and product range that ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude can read. INBOUND+ adds earned mentions on the sites they quote. | The questions buyers ask before they order. |
 Your website | A clear path from finding a product to sending an enquiry or opening an account, with your range and delivery areas visible. | Access to your website. |
 Reviews | Replies in your voice to Google and Facebook reviews within 24 hours. INBOUND+ adds one WhatsApp review request per customer after a completed order. | Approval of replies to negative reviews. |
 Social profiles | Facebook and Instagram profiles kept accurate and current. We do not post content. | Partner access to Meta Business. |
 Directories | Your name, address, hours and product categories correct everywhere they appear. | A listings address on your own domain. |
 WhatsApp | An assistant that answers in your business's name. | Testing and approving it before it goes live. |
 Competitor tracking | What the distributors and suppliers near you changed, reported every month. | Who you lose orders to, if you know. |
The WhatsApp assistant
What will the assistant say to my buyers, and what will it never say?
It answers the questions your sales team or front desk answers all day, in your business's name, on your own WhatsApp number: product availability, delivery areas, minimum orders, how to open a trade account and where to collect. It never quotes custom pricing that depends on volume or account terms. You test it before any customer sees it, and it goes live only when you approve it.
It will
- Answer business and product information you have given us
- Take the details for an enquiry and hand over to your sales team
It will never
- Quote custom pricing that depends on volume or account terms
- Confirm stock levels in real time unless connected to your system
- Call your business "the best" or "the cheapest"
- Promise delivery dates you have not confirmed
Reviews
How do you handle reviews without breaking Google's rules?
Google does not allow review gating: asking only happy customers for a review, or filtering who gets the link. Every Google and Facebook review your business gets receives a reply in your voice within 24 hours, and replies to negative reviews go live only once you approve them. On INBOUND+, every customer who has agreed to hear from you gets the same single WhatsApp review request after a completed order, with no screening, no reminders and no incentives.
Advertising rules
Which advertising rules does a distribution business work under?
We set up your pages, profile and assistant around these rules. You stay responsible for your business's compliance, and we flag anything we see that looks off.
South Africa
-
Advertising must not be misleading, and may not claim a standard, quality or approval your services or goods do not have.
Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, sections 29 and 41(3)
-
Marketing messages by email, SMS or WhatsApp need consent, unless the person is an existing customer, you are offering similar services, and every message lets them opt out.
POPIA, section 69
This is a summary to show how we work, not legal advice. Your regulator's current published rules always apply.
The monthly report
What does the monthly report show a distribution business?
- New reviews, and how fast each one got a reply
- Enquiries received and how fast they were answered
- Where you appear on the map for your main product category searches
- Whether AI answers name your business
- What the distributors near you changed
Named metrics and named actions. When a number moves the wrong way, the report says what we are changing. The first report arrives 30 days after go-live, then by the 5th of each month.
Where the Growth Engine runs today
The Growth Engine already runs inside the businesses we work with, including a distributor in Gauteng. BTR Consult runs on the same engine. The system is the same. The set-up for your business is what changes: your product range, your buyers and how they search.
Who this is not for
Distributors with their own in-house digital marketing team. Businesses that mainly want e-commerce storefronts or marketplace listings managed for them: neither is part of our plans. Distributors that are not ready to give account access, or to act on the report when it is their turn. And any distributor in a product category and area where a competitor already works with us.
What it costs
Two costs, and one business per area.
A once-off Foundation Fee covers building what does not exist yet. A fixed monthly fee covers running and improving it, with up to 500 WhatsApp chats a month included.
Once-off
Foundation Fee
R15,000 to R45,000
Your Foundation Fee covers 2-4 weeks of build work, depending on what needs building. Quoted after your BTR Signal Score.
Fixed monthly
INBOUND or INBOUND+
R12,500/mo or R17,500/mo
3-month minimum from go-live, then 30 days written notice. If after 3 months you're not seeing the progress, you can end the agreement and keep everything we built.
Questions business owners ask
Before you start.
Can you build us an online store?
An e-commerce storefront is not part of our plans. We make your business visible across nine channels so buyers find you and send an enquiry. If you need a full online ordering system, that is separate work.
Will the WhatsApp assistant quote prices?
It shares published list prices if you provide them. Custom pricing that depends on volume or account terms goes to your sales team with the conversation so far.
Do you run paid ads or manage marketplace listings?
Not as part of a plan. We run the nine channels, including your Facebook and Instagram profiles, but paid campaigns and marketplace management are not included. If you want either, we quote it separately.
Who owns the reviews, the profile and the WhatsApp number?
You do. Google, Meta, WhatsApp, your website, your content and your data. On exit, full handover within 14 days.
How long until it is up and running?
Foundation Fee build: 2-4 weeks. First report: 30 days after go-live, then by the 5th of each month. If after 3 months you're not seeing the progress, you can end the agreement on 30 days notice and keep everything we built.
Do I pay WhatsApp messaging fees?
Your monthly fee includes up to 500 customer chats a month and the WhatsApp messaging fees for them. If a busy month goes over, we add blocks of 100 chats at R349 and tell you on WhatsApp first, at 80% and at 100%.
Also read how the Growth Engine works, step by step, or see our pages for dental practices, aesthetic clinics and home services.
See how your business shows up before a buyer searches.
The full BTR Signal Score report shows how your business gets found, chosen and contacted, and sets it next to the three businesses customers see first.
Free, no card needed. The full report with a 30-day plan is R799.
Or check if your area is openRigor. Predictability. Results.