Getting the best out of suppliers

With Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall living off the fruits of his labour in ‘River Cottage’, participants of ‘Grand Designs’ and its ilk stripping, plumbing, tiling and painting solo, one might assume that self-sufficiency is the new outsourcing. Perish that thought marketer. Yes, there is a growing trend for sizzling the bacon of your own pig, but in marketing circles self-sufficiency is not expected and this is particularly true for SMEs where internal resources are already stretched to the limit.

A SME might typically employ on average five marketing suppliers – a printer, PR, creative agency, data provider and website designer, for example – and some may argue that the best approach is to outsource and ‘leave them to it’. This will free up the client’s time, the job will get done and everyone’s a winner – but are they? Few suppliers would admit it but the more they like the client, the better the relationship; and the better the relationship, the better the work.

Darren Ford, senior procurement specialist at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS), says, “Small businesses buying marketing services don’t always tap into the value-added extras. For example; they may get a branding solution free of charge, but this depends on the nature of the relationship.” And it’s not the contractual terms of the relationship he’s referring to – it’s simply whether both parties get on.

Achieving a good relationship will not cost financially but it will cost time. It will also stretch the client’s analytical and perceptive skills and at times it will test their patience – this is why large companies have a purchasing department, populated by professional buyers. Keith Hatter, CEO of K2 Performance, comments, “The challenge for SMEs are greater because there is a set of skills required when it comes to appointing and working with suppliers.”

Skills such as research, planning and managing will all come into play, but the ability to communicate effectively – from appointment to termination – will make or break the relationship.

There are two things to consider when appointing a supplier:

• Can they do the job?
• Can you get on with them?

Determining that they can do the job is straight-forward: do research, get referrals from professional peers, look at past work. But determining that they can’t do the job is perhaps a better, albeit more cynical, approach.

Ruth Williams, sales director for TV distribution company Extreme Entertainment, says, “You have to know the limitations of your supplier.” This can be uncovered with a little practical investigative work: visit their workplace – are the resources as fabulous as they claim? Present them with a brief and let them pitch a solution – the more specific and challenging it is, the more it will tell you of their ability. Hatter of K2 Performance advises asking them about the business they didn’t win as this will highlight their weaknesses.

He adds, “don’t bother talking to their clients because obviously they will refer you to the ones that will say nice things – you might as well call their aunties.” This kind of approach may make for some uncomfortable moments in the pitching process but it will separate the good supplier from the good pitcher.

Conducting a ‘chemistry meeting’ is marketing speak for ‘would I find these people insufferable?’ and it is crucial. Determining whether you will get on can be, perhaps should be, based on instinct. Chris Cuffe, MD of HelpIT, says, “I’ve met with creative agencies where the work is brilliant but I simply haven’t liked the people.” It may go against the logical grain but it is best to choose the supplier with whom you have a good rapport over the one with the outstanding credentials.

Hatter sums it up nicely: “When it comes to managing the relationship, the closer the fit, the less it needs to be managed. Difficulties occur when the differences between how the client and the supplier do business arise.” The more information the client can gather at the outset, the clearer the picture of the eventual scenario. If it looks good, then proceed to the planning stage.

You’re probably thinking ‘well of course we’ll make a plan with the supplier’, but how thorough will it be? If it’s merely an outline of targets, deadlines, resources and contacts, then expect to get into some difficulty. Sarah Sherman is associate director at Fuse PR. “Planning is so obvious but it can cause problems if it’s not refined clearly enough. For example, you appoint a PR agency and give them a target of writing one article a month but what are the expectations – 250 words or 5000 words? Really define what the deliverables are.” Be pedantic to the point of obsession and it will remove any room for error, misconstruction or fallacies.

Hatter advises ratifying everything at the planning stage: “Explain what you want and then ask them to talk it back to you. Otherwise you may walk out expecting one outcome and the supplier may be sitting there anticipating something completely different.”

Once the plan has been set, in all its minutiae detail, it’s advisable to establish rules of engagement. Sherman of Fuse PR says, “Ask ‘how do you want to work together?’ For instance it might be best to catch up on a Friday rather than a Monday when everyone’s in planning meetings.” This comes back to the communication issue because you can have the best plan in the world but if you don’t keep check it may turn into a case of ‘best laid plans…’

The topic of how to treat the supplier on an ongoing basis sparked an unheralded debate. Sherman of Fuse PR advocated treating them “as part of the team”; Williams of Extreme Entertainment recommended “behaving as you would towards a client” and Ford of the CIPS sat on the fence favouring the team approach for certain suppliers and client-like formalities for others.

Sherman contests that sharing information, delegating tasks clearly, giving constructive criticism and appraising work is key to a successful relationship. She sums up, “Be as professional with a supplier as you would with one of your own.”

But to this Williams counters, “With colleagues you can tread on toes, you can throw stress balls over the desk at them, but if you did that to a supplier they might not react so well.” She also points out that by treating them as a client, you respect the fact that they’re running their own business – that they have other clients.” Regardless of which approach you take it’s imperative to realise that the supplier has other commitments, is not a mind reader and is not an expert on your business.

At the risk of overstating the point, communication is critical here also – meeting, talking, explaining, brainstorming and sharing information. Ford of CIPS states that the client is central to the supplier’s delivery therefore the greater their input, the greater their return. Optimum conditions for this are lots of meeting – formal and informal – telephone conversations and emails.

Cuffe of HelpIT advises: “Have a set series of meetings every month or six weeks. It’s important to have that forum.” Email should act as a back-up to those face-to-face or telephone discussions, not as a replacement. Sherman of Fuse PR warns, “Email is a terrible way to build rapport and often leads to confusion. Talking generates good ideas, filters out bad ones and leads to solutions – quickly.” It also pays to be nice: Hatter of K2 Performance, says, “If the supplier gets barked at down the phone and their hearts sink when they hear your voice, you will not get the service.”

You may be wondering whether it’s all worth it – would it not be easier to do your own PR or take a course and design the DM? After all this will cut costs and hassle, but in the long-term business will suffer. Consider it, instead of creating new leads you will be trying to get some PR coverage or vice versa.

Once you’ve put the hard graft in, the relationship will pay dividends.

Williams of Extreme Entertainment is testament to that: “I had a problem last weekend where I had to get a marketing piece made up last minute and because we’ve been working with the supplier for a long time he just did it, and did it really well.”

Take the right approach and this is the calibre of client-supplier utopia you can aspire to.W

1. Get three different suppliers to pitch – the tendering process takes long enough without having a shortlist of 10.
2. Involve colleagues in the appointment stage, especially those who will work closely with the supplier.
3. Get a reference from people you trust.
4. Check if they are accredited by trade bodies; if not ask why?
5. Run a credit report on the company and ensure that it all looks sound.
6. Refresh plans every three months as circumstances can change rapidly.
7. Never go month-to-month without talking to the supplier – it focuses the mind.
8. If the quality of work starts to falter, discuss this with the supplier promptly.
9. Always try to end on good terms as you may need to use them again.
10. If it ends in dispute, try to resolve it quickly: you may have some intellectual property tied up which should be released.