After implementing a pricing program and really cracking down on enforcement manufacturers hope they can just coast for a while. But when they do, violations begin creeping up almost immediately and soon dealers are complaining and pointing fingers all over again. Trying to bring everyone back into line a second time around is harder than …
Author Archives: mapservice
Sorting through the Jargon
If you are new to the world of pricing policies things can be a little bit confusing. Like all industries, there is a certain amount of jargon that gets thrown around. But in the world of MAP it is even worse, because it is an industry that evolved without any central authority. In the aviation …
When MAP Isn’t MAP?
When is a MAP policy not actually a MAP policy? Although all pricing policies are often referred to as “MAP Policies,” there are two distinct types. The first is called a “Minimum Retail (or Resale) Price (MRP) Policy” and establishes a minimum price that applies to all advertising or other offers, as well as …
Common Pricing Policy Pitfalls
Have you ever pulled out your smartphone in a store to check online prices? I have. Dealers hate when customers walk into the corner of the shop and pull out their smartphone. The next question is always “Hey I can buy it for cheaper online, can you match this price?” Or worse they just walk …
Material Differences
For manufacturers, there are many benefits to having an authorized dealer program. It allows them to have a lot of control over who sells their products. The benefits of this are numerous. One huge advantage is an improvement in the consumer’s buying experience. This has been shown over and over to have a huge effect …
Mapping out a MAP policy
If you are just thinking about starting a MAP program it might seem overwhelming at first but it is actually pretty simple. At the end of this article I will link to some MAP policies you can read to get a better handle on it but here are the basics. Make sure it is legal. …
Wholesale Distributor Pricing Policies
We have many manufacturers ask us about enforcing a pricing policy with their wholesale distributors. While this is not something we can easily enforce, I wanted to give some advice on how it might be encouraged. First the problem: The WDs have a lot of discretion in the prices they give their clients. We here …
Moving your MAP policies overseas
We’ve been adding a lot of clients in Europe recently. And with this expansion, there has been a lot of learning! I thought it might be a good idea to share some of this knowledge in case your sales are expanding overseas. The first thing to know is that unless you are lost, you can …
