DDi - February/March 2012 - (Page 16)

16 | Visual Perspectives Significant others humbing through the last DDI Buyers’ Guide (November/December 2011) reminds me of just how many vendors are out there—and certainly even more than listed in this handy industry reference tool exist. As far as the world of visual goes, we need these vendors. More often than not, we depend on these vendors to help us bring our projects, programs, ideas and our vision to life—on time and on budget, while also working to impress our supervisors by being able to pull it all out of our, ahem…hat! To stereotype a bit—there are basically two types of vendors: One is what I will call the “Order Taker.” They show you their catalog or send you to a website. They say they can do it all. They want to know what you are working on to see if they can get into the bid process. They ask what your budget is before they have taken time to understand your business or your needs. The order is their reason for being. I understand the need, from the vendor’s perspective, to get the sale. Hence, many vendors hire those that have experience, well, selling. Unfortunately, some of these Order Takers don’t have a background in the world of visual or retail, so they don’t really have a perspective on what they are even trying to “sell” you. Personally, I find this type of vendor and/or their selling staff off-putting and largely unhelpful, often wasting my limited and very valuable time. You dread their calls and appointments, but try to be polite. They wine and dine you and then expect something more (sounds like a bad date). One would probably have better luck on Match.com. In the event you do give them an order—do you think you can get them to call you back? Again, much like a bad date, you give them what they want, and then they stop calling. Then there is the vendor that I will endearingly refer to as the “Significant Other.” These vendors understand what it is to provide service to their clients. They are knowledgeable and aware of what is going on in the industry. They are savvy in regards to what is tried and true, as well as what is new and on the forefront. They work to understand your needs and help to find the right solutions. These vendors employ and/or leverage knowledgeable people from the industry. They are eager to help educate, as well as to partner with you on creative exploration. They engage with you. Understanding your brand and your business needs, as well as your limitations—these are key traits of the Significant Other. Basically, they care about you and your business, and they want to help you to be successful—sometimes with or without an “order.” You actually look forward to their call and find spending time with them refreshing and sometimes even exciting. T In these days of reduced teams, limited staff and tighter budgets, we need to be able to count on vendors to provide more than a product. We need vendors to be our partners. We need them to provide services and tools to help us get our jobs done. Creating relationships with a Significant Other can help visual leaders expand the bandwidth of their teams, and deliver more effective results. We don’t have time to shop around, as much as our counterparts from the procurement world might prefer. All things are not created equal when it comes to relationships and service, and that needs to be strongly considered in vendor selection. Recently, I was asked by a client to find the best widget for a project. After reviewing several options, it was down to the final two vendors. At that point, we had specified the design, and the pricing was neck and neck. My client asked for my recommendation on which vendor to select. “Easy choice,” I said. “Vendor ‘A’ was most helpful through the process, responded to me in a timely manner and provided me with service far greater than the competition.” That Significant Other was awarded the business. And if I ever need that type of widget again, I know exactly who I’ll call or recommend. You might think this comparison is overly black and white, and I am certain there is a range of service that varies across vendors. But, I will say that I have had the opportunity to explore both types of vendor relationships. The partnerships that stuck were with vendors I grew to trust, who helped deliver results year over year. They are truly partners—if something failed, they were right there with you helping to get it figured out or providing resolutions, sometimes at their own expense. When successful, they shared in celebrating the collective win. They became my Significant Others. Perhaps you have picked up on the not-so-subtle dating references throughout this entry. The truth of the matter is a vendor relationship is exactly that—a relationship. You don’t have to settle just because they come calling or offer a quick thrill. And vendors, have you looked in the mirror lately? What does your service model look like? What do you have to offer? Are you solid relationship material, or just another shiny face with pencil and order form in hand? —Ann Fine Patterson, principal of Ann Fine Patterson LLC, is a 20-plus-year career professional in visual merchandising. She shares her insights in this bi-issue column. E-mail her at ann@annfinepatterson.com. | February/March 2012 www.ddionline.com http://www.Match.com http://www.ddionline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - February/March 2012

DDi - February/March 2012