TIME TO INNOVATE – HOW TO BUILD ON PARTNER RELATIONSHIPS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS.
The importance of having a good relationship with a good supplier
Many people and companies do not realize the importance of having a good supplier and either they choose their suppliers with little to no knowledge about their expertise or they choose a supplier which doesn’t fulfil their needs. Many people seem to neglect the fact that your company or brand is only as good as the product or service you provide to your players, which is actually 99% dependent on the product or service your platform supplier provides.
How come you are so dependent on suppliers?
The most obvious way that a supplier can impact your business is through the Quality of the service they provide. If they fail to provide the right quality service or product to your customers, it is your brand that is damaged far more than it is theirs and your brand will suffer far greater consequences from your ruined image. High service quality leads to satisfied customers leads to returning and loyal customers and good word of mouth marketing leading to more money and higher growth!
The importance of Punctuality can’t be stressed enough! In this modern day and age, it is the time that is valued the most. Customers have a short attention span and if they can’t reach to what it is they are after in a short period while still keeping interest, you are easily replaceable. If you want to be perceived as reliable you have to be able to minimize the customer’s road to what they want. The recommendation engine BtoBet uses in its software has a sole purpose to anticipate and deliver your customers what they want when they want it keeping their time with you short and sweet.
Being competitive now as well as in the future is one of the most important ways your supplier can impact your business. While being competitive now in terms of pricing, quality, reliability, knowledge of industry trends is of the utmost importance, many companies don’t look too far ahead into the future, and many companies get ruined by this shortsightedness. Just take a look at Nokia, once the greatest cellphone manufacturer. They had the leading position in the market in terms of quality and market share, however, they got crushed by their lack of vision, inability to adapt to change and their lack of innovations! This is why having an innovative supplier can make a difference between having a bright presence and having a bright future as well. A company like BtoBet, a leader in the field when it comes to innovation, that won the best Sports Betting Innovation for the year award at the CEEGC awards in Budapest 2017 is a company that can provide you with a future while outperforming in the present as well!
These are some of the reasons why when you find a supplier that treats you with respect and provides a great service or product, you need to treat them equally respectful in order to keep the service or product to the desired level. It’s a partnership relation, not a just supplier-operator relationship. In the end, it is all comes down to satisfying your end customers and that is the only important aspect that will make or break your business.
Don’t be a pushover, but don’t be a bully either
You should always be firm when it comes to your needs and not be a pushover or a patsy, however in doing so, be fair and not the spoiled and difficult customer that’s overly demanding. It is important to clearly state your most important quality and timeframe demands and make sure your suppliers stay true to their word. If a time comes that your supplier does not perform in accordance to your needs or you have outgrown their capabilities, they either need to adapt to the changing tides or be replaced. Your suppliers should know this fact which will keep them more alert and more on edge, trying to satisfy you even more since they know they could be replaced.
It’s a mutual relationship. How to keep your suppliers satisfied?
You should always strive towards being a valued client, as you, having your own customers as well, know how you treat desired and undesired customers.
Keeping your suppliers in the loop is very important, as they are pretty much the ones who are going to have to make changes when you want them. This will encourage a sense of collaboration between the two of you, implying that you see them as one of your own, strengthening your relationship. This will also provide them valuable intel so they can think of solutions for you and new and better ways to better their services to fit your needs more perfectly. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t make last minute changes or demands, it just means that you should not make a habit out of it since it will usually mean making the life of your suppliers difficult and you will lose value in their eyes.
Try to make things fairly personal, it is one of the ways to make sure your suppliers will actually care about you and your business. Office visits, face-to-face meetings, company and team building events are all good ways to be at the forefront of the minds of your suppliers leading to greater investment on their part.
At the end of the day, building a good relationship with your suppliers is far from a complicated process. You should never treat them the way you would not want to be treated and you are good to go. Good timely communication, a firm but fair treatment, being loyal and not overly demanding and having a timely payment politics will open doors to a far better service your supplier will provide willingly. It is the only way they will invest themselves enough to try and make both of you more money!