Why Map Monitoring Tools Don’t Have to Be Expensive

The present day selling ecosystem has become more complex as shopping enthusiasts compares pricing of the selection made online as well as offline. This is done to ensure how, where and for how much they will ultimately make their purchase. One issue faced by retail business owners here is the practice of Minimum advertised Price or MAP. Business owners who specialize in selling brand goods must adhere to manufacturer MAPs or they might be under the risk of losing the prospective customer.

Minimum Advertised Price

MAP pricing is defined as an agreement between the manufacturer and reseller about the lowest price the reseller can advertise in order to sell the product. This means the consumers will see the same price across all retailers whether online or offline for any product. Although the retailers are bound not to advertise the price below the MAP, yet they can sell the product for as much price as they want.

However, the key point is the reseller cannot advertise the price lower than what the manufacturer has decided. eCommerce sites have suggested that customers add the item to their shopping carts to know the final price they will have to pay. This is where the need for software that keep track of your products’ prices arises. This also helps you preserve your overall brand image.

Price monitoring tools enables you to:

• List who is selling your products on all available channels
• Show the prices that your products are being sold at
• Indicate which prices are violating your pre-established MAP policy

The aforementioned three feature helps you to accomplish much more than simply identifying MAP violators.

Why Businesses Need MAP Software

The answer why businesses need MAP software is because the current state of retail business requires you to do so.

In the present time, third party marketplaces exist online. As a manufacturer, your products are likely to be sold across a wide variety of channels – not all will be authorized or reputable. It’s easier than ever before for unknown parties to buy your products and resell them online. They can charge whatever they want, as they are not part of a formal distribution channel.

• It helps brand and manufacturers which regularly monitor their online retailers to be in a much better position to protect their reputations and margins.
• It provides you valuable information such as each of your product’s prices, who is selling that product, and where that product is being sold.
• MAP monitoring software allows you to track how effective your distribution partners are at maintaining your brand, and your brand’s price perception is everything.

Why MAP Monitoring Tools Don’t Have To Be Expensive

It Ensures Healthy Competition Between Resellers – Every manufacturer understands that being a reseller you would want to generate as much profit as possible. At the same time, if you are one amongst many resellers, it would be good if you succeed in dominating the market and selling your products for as much low price as possible. But this wont be fair on part of competitor and manufacturers.

The MAP monitoring tools promote healthy relationships between all resellers. In the same way, you might monitor your competitors’ pricing using a competitor price tracking tool, your manufacturers might also employ a similar tool to check that all of their resellers are compliant.

It Assures The Cost Is Worth The Value Of The Product – Likewise, it costs you to sell your products online, in the same way it costs manufacturers to produce the products. Manufacturers want every retailer to make profit from the products they sell. They don’t have any set preference as to who should make the most profit, all they want is to create a level playing field.

This helps even the newcomers in the eCommerce world to come in and start selling, knowing that they’re not going to be priced out of the market by eCommerce stores with more revenue to take the loss. The MAP monitoring tool assures you that the cost is worth the value of the product across all the retailer store – both online and offline.

It doesn’t let your eCommerce site violate MAP terms – It is the moral responsibility of the retailer to ensure that their eCommerce site doesn’t violate the MAP terms. If so, they should start using the tool without giving a second thought. Usually, the MAP terms are violated on the part of unauthorized sellers. These are those sellers who haven’t signed or agreed of terms and conditions laid down by the manufacturers to sell the products at the prices as decided mutually.

In such instances because they are already engaged in unauthorized sales, there is left no scope of even little incentive for them to actually remain above the brand’s chosen price point. However, this then has a negative effect on authorized sellers who need to compete with unauthorized parties undercutting the market.

Above all, MAP Monitoring Tools are easy to implement as well as easy to use. They are being widely used by the resellers for it provides clear concise, and actionable information. Every tool in the software have a focused and designated role. Also, the price monitoring tool should not mingle with the search keywords. Often the businesses in the online marketplace, steal each other keywords. But that’s not your price monitoring tool’s responsibility.

The intuitive and automated MAP Monitoring Tools allows you to

• Keep track of the reseller pricing
• Identify MAP violations in near real-time
• Uncover unauthorized seller information
• Acquire the intelligence needed to take corrective action
• Replace manual monitoring and spreadsheets

Final Words

It doesn’t have to be juggling eight different features to attempt to secure your brand. Generic keywords are not intellectual property for anyone, they’re open to be bid on by whoever has the cash. Price is the easiest way to monitor your brand value in a sea of retailers. Therefore keep check over your prices with Minimum Advertised Price Tools to retain your place and reputation in the online marketplace as well as amongst the manufacturer. It also helps you earn profits more than on what has been invested.