- Time To Get Your Team Onboard
- Team Work To Get Results With Enforcing
- Complete Guide Below
How to enforce MAP Policy effectively in Your Company? Why don’t you get your team to help out? MAP policy enforcement is not handled by a single individual at your firm, contrary to popular belief. It is, in fact, a company-wide obligation. Here are some pointers on how to get everyone in your firm to pitch in.
Here’s the thing..
If your policy is essential enough to your brand’s value, you may choose to hire a full-time MAP enforcer. However, it’s crucial to remember that this is a shared, company-wide obligation. Everyone in your company has a responsibility to play in ensuring that your MAP policy is followed.
Your entire staff should be aware of the policy’s existence, location, and particular price levels for each product or SKU (as well as when those prices change), as well as what to do if a reseller requests an exemption to your MAP policy and the risks of enabling policy infractions. This necessitates a company-wide education and training program.
To get you started, here’s a quick rundown of the particular ways that different teams or departments within your company can contribute to the enforcement of your brand’s MAP policy.
Implementing a MAP Policy: Best Practices
It’s also known that many pet product manufacturers implemented new or strengthened existing minimum advertised price (MAP) or minimum retail price (MRP) rules in an effort to counteract some online retailers’ significant discounts and predatory pricing practices.
But that’s not the only justification for enacting and enforcing a robust, all-encompassing MAP policy. We’ll look at why your firm needs a MAP policy and what best practices you should follow when developing, adopting, and enforcing one.
What Is a MAP Policy and What It Isn't
Minimum advertised price policies are unilateral initiatives that allow manufacturers to prohibit retailers from displaying products at prices below a certain threshold. MAP rules, unlike RPM agreements, do not impose severe limitations on product pricing. RPM policies or agreements are used by manufacturers to prevent retailers from selling products below a set price.
Antitrust laws in the United States make MAP programs fully legal. (Such policies have been in place since 1919, over a century!) A MAP policy isn’t regarded vertical price fixing as long as the manufacturer or supplier works independently from its distributors. Because MAP policies only limit the advertised price of a product, not the final sale price, this is the case. In most cases, MAP policies do not allow for the restriction of in-store advertising. Retailers can still sell a product for less than the minimum stated price; they just can’t advertise it as such.
How Can The Team Assist With MAP Policy Sales?
Sales Department
In many cases, the sales department is the driving force for the adoption of MAP in the first place. This is frequently due to the sales team’s inability to sell items to distributors or wholesalers without such a policy in place.
However, the entire sales team must be trained on the value of adopting and adhering to a MAP pricing policy (see Map pricing policy template guide). This training should include instruction on how to respond to a retailer’s request to temporarily suspend the MAP-price floor in order to help the business accomplish its own sales goals.
You should also explain to your sales team the long-term damage that allowing some shops, even your most significant partners, to breach your MAP can do to the firm and their department in particular. For example, if a sales representative chooses to turn a blind eye while a large shop violates its MAP policy, it may drive away other retailers and prevent new businesses from joining the resale network. Of course, this will lower the sales team’s numbers in the long run.
E-Commerce In-House Team
If your firm has an in-house eCommerce team that sells directly to customers, that team is likely to compete with your salespeople who are seeking to sell your goods to wholesalers, distributors, and retailers.
These eCommerce representatives should behave in the same way that your organiation expects from any retail partner, including adhering to your MAP pricing standards. For example, to reach a quarterly or monthly sales target, advertised prices should not go below certain MAP levels, even temporarily.
You must teach your eCommerce team members that increasing market reach is in the company’s long-term strategic interest, which they can help achieve by not undercutting your retail partners.
Not to Forget The Marketing Team
The marketing team may assist in both communicating and monitoring some of the MAP enforcement levers, such as adding repeat violators to the Do Not Sell list and withholding promotional revenue from those reseller partners.
Your marketing team can also help create the alerts and warnings (in collaboration with your legal team) to let MAP offenders know that your firm is aware of their actions and that if they don’t remove their violating product listings or adverts, you will take action.
To construct this crucial library of communications to MAP violators, your marketing team will need to collaborate closely with your legal or brand protection teams to ensure that no messages are sent that could place your firm in legal jeopardy. This is why your marketing team should be educated on the legal ramifications of the MAP policy’s implementation.
Offering Support
When a reseller contacts and requests for incentives, special offers, or a temporary suspension of your MAP pricing floor, your customer service team will need to know what they can and can’t say.
These front-line staff will frequently be the ones that answer calls from resellers.
That means you’ll need a set of rules in place for these employees to follow in order to prevent your company from making a mistake due to inexperience and, worse, placing you in legal hot water with antitrust regulators.
The Product Team Can Help Enforce
The product team frequently assists in determining which goods or SKUs should be included and which should not be in a reseller price policy.
By providing your product team with real-time market data on how your goods’ prices effect sales statistics as well as how your competitors are currently pricing similar products, you can assist them make informed decisions about how to set MAP prices and when to adjust them.
After all, learning how to establish prices correctly to enable your resale partners sell your items successfully against those of your competitors should be one of the first stages in enforcing your MAP pricing. The product team can assist you in determining the sweet spots for MAP price levels for each of your products, as well as informing you when those sweet spots have shifted and it’s time to update your MAP prices.
Thank you for reading our post, “How to enforce MAP Policy effectively in Your Company.” We hope you found it helpful.
Let us Take Care of Your MAP Policy
Unlock the full potential of your brand with our expert guidance on how to enforce MAP policy effectively in your company. At Brand Alignment, we understand that successful MAP enforcement requires collaboration across all departments. Our dedicated team of brand protection experts offers tailored strategies and top-tier software solutions to ensure compliance, protect your pricing integrity, and enhance your overall profitability. Partner with us to implement a robust MAP policy that empowers every team member and drives your brand’s success. Contact us today to get started!
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