Now, more than ever before, if a supplier is not yet 'e'-enabled or 'e'-ready, they must be absolutely sure that their relationship with the buyer is at a peak. Traditional sales methods and marketing strategies like CRM are probably more important now than ever before and in fact, e-business releases you from time-consuming administrative processes to focus more on your relationships with your customers. Lizette McIntosh gives suppliers the essential pointers to making their e-business initiative work.
Suppliers should take a proactive approach to e-commerce, and engage with new initiatives early on. There are number of things that suppliers can do to ready themselves for the e-commerce revolution, most importantly to start focusing on their customers' requirements. This includes a greater focus on CRM tools and techniques
1. Make them feel special: Consider the little things that make the customer feel special - personalised letters, quotes, thank you notes, birthdays, knowing their hotspots can add a lot of value to your interaction with them.
2. Stock availability: If the supplier is one of the few that the buyer has sourced, then stock issues also become far more critical than in the past. Whereas the buying organisation would have simply sourced from another supplier in the past if the preferred supplier did not have stock, the system will now in most cases prevent such ad hoc purchasing. This means the supplier is under greater pressure to deliver and normally these expectations are contained in the agreement between buyer and supplier.
3. Price changes: Whereas buyers may have tolerated price changes more easily previously, the built in tolerances in the system will not accept orders at different pricing. There is greater responsibility for the supplier to make sure the buyer is advised well in advance of impending price changes, and simultaneously that his electronic catalogue is updated timeously. Communication remains at the order of the day
4. Stay close: The distance which the e-procurement system puts between the buyer and supplier, makes it more important that the supplier constantly measures his efficiency in the process. This means that he has to carefully monitor the volume he is billing and remain in close contact with the buyer to spot any change in need, requirement or policy.
5. Faster and more profitable: The e-procurement initiative is primarily for the buyer to streamline the efficiencies in the purchasing process, thereby resulting in savings for the company. Prompt delivery from the supplier becomes critical, but at the same time has a spin off for the supplier himself, as the system also expedites the payment process. Since the system is not able to measure the warmth and emotion of a personal relationship, the supplier can rely on the measurement of factual data like delivery dates to strengthen the relationship.
6. Delight your customers: It is also important for any supplier company to understand that his employees are an extension of the business and needs to ensure that the customer experience is delightful at every touch point. Courtesy, professionalism and respect is demanded from everyone - the delivery person, the accounts department, every telephonic contact, representatives, management - the customer is special, remains special, and will then remain your customer.
7. Insight: Customers enjoy relating to somebody that understands his specific industry. It is important for the supplier company to know the competitor product and pricing strategies - he must stay abreast and inform the buying organisation without degrading opposition product or companies. Staying abreast ensures that pricing quibbles are handled professionally and prices are justified.
8. Honesty is the best policy: In an ever growing competing market, customers enjoy honesty. Negotiation becomes a powerful tool and an open book policy can ensure that the buyer agrees to purchase at a fair price that yields fair margin for the supplier. Buyers always want to know that they are getting the best price in conjunction with best product and best delivery, and one method of ensuring loyalty, is to employ open book policy.
9. Monitor trends: Greater pro-activity from the supplier company can assist in maintaining the relationship. By monitoring the purchaser's buying trend, it is possible to pre-empt stock outs on buyer's side. Knowing what the buyer buys, how regularly, the supplier can keep a virtual stock trail and prompt the buyer for his next purchase. It also assists in depleting stock in case of product obsolescence and preparing the buyer for a replacement product.
10. Prompt payment incentives: Buyers love to cut costs and produce savings for their organisations. Suppliers can build this into the business relationship by offering prompt payment discounts. Many contract buyers do not want special offers as they occur during the period of the contract, however suppliers can offer those discounts back to the buyer at the end of the period as a rebate.
11. Understand e-procurement: As more and more large corporate organisations employ e-procurement systems, it is critical for suppliers to understand technology and become "E" ready themselves. It is more attractive for a buyer to purchase from a supplier that already understands the e-procurement strategy and is ready for adoption.
12. New marketing strategy: As important it is to prepare the supplier company for e-commerce, that important it is to ensure this ability is included in the marketing strategy. Suppliers must market their own "E" ability to make themselves attractive to 'e'-buyers.
13. CRM tools: Larger suppliers should consider employing customer relationship management tools for auto responses, activity and sales tracking to better understand their customer and service them better through deeper knowledge of their customers.
14. Forge a solid relationship: Most importantly it is critical to delight the customer in every interaction, whether personal or through the system. The system simply offers the supplier an extra tool with which to forge a more solid relationship.
15. Increase your IQ: Business intelligence or CRM provides the supplier with important information about his customer. It enables the supplier to know his customer's business and needs. Through the personal relationship it is important to know about the customer's future developments, to understand his customer's vision and mission and find opportunity to supply wherever possible.
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