Why Blue Chip Suppliers Make Bad Trade Association Partners
Why Blue Chip Suppliers Make Bad Trade Association Partners
Not surprisingly some of the biggest names in B2B supply see membership benefit schemes as an ideal route to market. A trade body or group of businesses is a quick and easy way to add volume to their annual figures, and is business that can be written at much greater margins of profit than chasing single corporate body with a similar collective spend.
It can be very enticing, if you are creating and managing the benefits for your members, to succumb to a "big" named supplier. After all your members will know who they are, and more than likely they will be happy to throw a bit of marketing budget at you! But is this the solution to your problems or are you creating a much bigger headache by encouraging member dissatisfaction.
Now I would like to make it clear at this point that not all large, well known, B2B suppliers are poor in delivery and customer service, but most are! After 12 years of dealing with the great and the good of UK suppliers I can assure you that when a supplier exceeds a certain size, the last thing on their mind is the well being of your members, the first thing being profit through volume.
So how big is too big a supplier? I would suggest if you are dealing with a sales person who in turn reports to an area or regional sales manager, who in turn reports to a national sales managerthey are too big. Your contact needs to understand how your association or network works, they need to understand your ethos, and the ethics that you work to. If that contact changes every 3 months then they just are not going to be able to provide a trustworthy and valuable benefit for your membership.
If you feel what is being offered to your organisation is too good to turn down, then it is down to you to make sure your due diligence is in place, so that should the garden not smell of roses as promised, you can show your members that you set up the deal in good faith and on the back of in depth research.
This may sound like overkill but what if the product or service received by your members fell well below acceptable standards, what if your member felt they had been ripped off, or wrapped into a long and expensive contract? The answer is that they would blame you and not the supplier in question! Unfair, but in these instances you will make the easier target.
So, if you want to get into bed with smooth talking, blue chip, "promise the earth", supplier what should you know?
1) Will your members get a better deal through you, as opposed to going to the supplier direct?
2) Does the supplier offer some form of price promise or guarantee to hold prices for a period of time?
3) If the product or service is contractual, will the supplier make the contract and termination transparent?
4) If the product or service is contractual, will the supplier offer anything preferential to your members on renewal?
5) Does the supplier operate a service level agreement (SLA)? If so does their SLA penalise them for poor performance?
6) Do they have a supplier agreement that ensures that you can terminate your agreement with them immediately if it is seen that they are having a detrimental effect on your membership?
In summary, big is not beautiful when it comes to getting the best for your membership. If you think "brand name benefits" are the way forward, tread carefully. Finally don't dismiss the smaller suppliers out of hand, they may not be able to pay the amount of money to your marketing budget as the big boys, but the medium and long term benefit for your membership could far outweigh a "blue chip" alliance. Spanish Lessons Online Gaining rewards by taking part in online research Simple and convenient buying for lady gaga concert tickets through online websites Web Hosting- An Online Advertisement Where Do You Purchase Your Pet Steps, Online Or In-Store? How to claim your online casino bonus Pro Trade CopyCat Review - My Review Of Pro Trade CopyCat Online Psychic Reading – Go For Authentic and Accurate Reading Online Casino Promotions and Bonus Structure Free Psychic Online Chat – Test the Ability of the Psychic Free Online Psychic Reading No Credit Card Required Free Online Psychic Chat – Find a Reliable Spiritual Advisor Made Online