Motives, Facts and Perceptions

Three words with vastly different meanings, yet they all can be used when describing a brand’s commitment to their Price Policies. How can that be? Let’s take a look at these words as they relate to price policies and the common use in the many conversations, we have regarding them.

Motive   noun – a reason for doing something, especially one that is hidden or not obvious.

Most if not all brands we’ve spoken to are highly motivated to enforce their policy. Motivation is rarely missing; everyone wants sellers of their brand to play fair and abide by the rules so everyone can get their fair share of the pie. Clean sales channels are everyone’s nirvana. But just how motivated are you? Are you’re polices clearly written, distributed regularly, and monitored for compliance? Does your motivation lag when business happens, and your planned day is toast by 10 am? Chasing price violations is the last thing you want to do when things get busy. Sellers causing these issues know this and unless enforcement is immediate and consistent, they always will be a thorn in your side and taking your brand’s reputation to the cellar.

Fact    noun – a thing that is known or proved to be true.

Facts are what we all run our business on. True and accurate facts guide our decisions and allow us to plot a course that achieves our goals. Many hours and infinite amounts of money are spent every year to ensure the facts that guide our decisions are complete, accurate and contribute to the success of our businesses. We’re not telling anyone anything they don’t already know, so why is it that many brands feel their “trusted” customers are providing 100% of the facts when they “report” price violations? Let’s face it, we appreciate their help, but we all know they’re only telling you about the ones that have affected their business. For every violation, self-managed programs identify, there are likely many more you know nothing about, all of which are affecting your business and that’s a fact we can prove.

Perception   noun – a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression.

Perception, what is your perception of your current price policy process? If you’re self-managing your price polices and relying on internet and marketplace searches as time permits in addition to the occasional call from a customer, your perception of price policy enforcement likely falls into one of these statements. Feel free to let me know if I’m amiss.

1. We’re good, our customers take care of letting us know when they find a violation and we make the call from there. It’s been working well.
   We hear this frequently and the “perception” that this is a viable process comes with a generous time commitment and a huge set of risks not the least of which is non unilateral enforcement and the legal ramifications that come with it. We strongly suggest, legal counsel should you chose this route or at the least create a full-time position to be your price policy czar.
2. Monitoring and enforcement is takes a lot of time feels like compliance is an overwhelming and complicated process. You would be completely justified in your perception. Policy monitoring and enforcement is a fulltime job and typically not one that can be accomplished without a lengthy learning curve both operationally and to minimize legal exposure.

Perception of your brand happens at every level of distribution from your direct buying accounts all the way to the retail purchaser and every step between. Would you continue to manufacture a product whose success is dependent on your customers perception of its quality? Of course not. You’d ensure you produce the best product you possible can. Consistency in the perception of brand presentation, profitability and business practices is paramount to maintaining lasting relationships and building long term growth. Realizing that perceptions differ among individuals, what seems good enough to you, may not be perceived the same by others. Are you sure your current and future customer are going to view this in the same manner as they view your products or are they going to feel like you don’t take your own policies seriously?