Ensuring your authorized resellers remain compliant with your Minimum Advertised Pricing Policy is crucial for maintaining the integrity and perceived value of your products. Not to mention, it’ll make sure your resellers are profitable.
One of the best ways to achieve this is to build strong relationships with those resellers. After all, there’s no better way to successfully enforce a policy than to build a strong foundation of mutual respect and understanding among all of the involved parties. Below, we’ll detail some best practices for maintaining those ties with your resellers.
1. Communicate openly and frequently
Open communication is the foundation of any strong relationship. Make a point to engage in regular conversations with your resellers about your brand's goals, policies, and expectations. Keep them informed about upcoming product launches, promotions, updates to your MAP policy or other significant changes within your company. By maintaining an ongoing dialogue, you will build trust and remain top-of-mind in their ongoing plans.
2. Offer training and support
Support your resellers by offering them comprehensive training and resources. This includes information about your products, marketing materials, and guidance on how to effectively sell and advertise your offerings. Empower them with the tools they need to succeed, which will, in turn, help them to sell more of your products.
3. Be responsive to their needs
In any relationship, it's important to listen and respond to the other party's needs. Make yourself available to promptly address your resellers' questions, concerns, or feedback. Showing that you care about their needs will strengthen your relationship and encourage their loyalty.
5. Offer incentives and recognition
You’ll always catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Offer incentives to encourage your authorized resellers to remain MAP compliant and grow their business with your brand. This can include frequent re-ordering discounts, early access to new products, listing them on your website or personalized marketing efforts.
6. Establish clear guidelines and expectations
Set clear guidelines for your authorized resellers to follow, including your MAP policy and any other requirements related to online sales, use of your brand’s IP, advertising, promotions, or discounts. Make sure they understand the consequences of non-compliance and emphasize the importance of adhering to these guidelines in maintaining your brand's integrity and value.
7. Monitor and enforce your MAP policy
Authorized sellers are eager to follow your MAP policy, but they want to know you’re holding others to the same standard. So it’s important to have a system in place for monitoring and enforcing your MAP policy. By leveraging a MAP monitoring and enforcement solution like MAPP Trap, you can efficiently track and address MAP violations, which will make them feel that you’re supporting their margins.
Building strong relationships with your authorized resellers is a critical component of maintaining healthy profit margins with MAP compliance and unlocking the many benefits that stem from open communication and collaboration. By following these tips and leveraging a robust MAP monitoring and enforcement solution like MAPP Trap, you can ensure that your brand remains strong and competitive in the marketplace while fostering lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships with your authorized resellers.