The minimum advertised pricing (MAP) policy states the lowest price resellers can advertise products (not sell, that has to be said!). They can promote it at a higher price than you established, but never below. Some brands are hesitant to implement a MAP policy. Why is that? Because they are worried that the policy might decrease their sales. It is a valid point for them, but is that a reality? That is the question we are solving in this article.     

First, we are telling the reasons for brands and companies to implement a MAP policy. They do it to have consistent profit margins, maintain brand value, increase consumers’ confidence, and have control over products. So, does implementing a MAP policy hurt your sales? The answer is no, and these are the reasons.     

When you enforce a MAP policy, you will get rid of unauthorized sellers, which helps you protect your brand. The dealers that comply with your MAP policy will receive more of your products and sell more. And since they comply with your rules, you will increase your sales and profits in the long run because you will not sell below your minimum margins.  

Also, enforcing a MAP policy prevents price wars because retailers will not undercut each other, which can lead to a reduction in perceived value and ultimately hurt the brand's reputation and profit loss. A MAP policy encourages healthy competition in the market. It allows retailers to compete based on other factors such as customer service, product quality, unique offerings, and not pricing. 

With a MAP policy, you will have consistent prices everywhere. For consumers, that is perfect and what they like to hear. When they see that the product they want has the same price offline and online, clients feel more confident in the quality of the item they are planning to purchase. That increases your brand value and customer loyalty because customers will not feel cheated by the price.   

Brand building is another advantage and reason to implement a MAP policy. Your brand will have steady prices across all channels because you are enforcing your policy. Also, it is one of the steps to creating a luxury brand (if that is one of your goals). But this is a long-term project, and you will not see its benefits immediately. But it will help you increase the price of your products.   

Conclusion 

Applying a MAP policy does not hurt your sales. It is the opposite because it increases brand value, prevents price wars, protects profit margins, and encourages healthy competition in the market. MAP monitoring and enforcement are no longer as complicated and expensive as it once was. With PriceTweakers’ MAP monitoring software, you know what is happening to your products! You get notified every time there is a violation and contact resellers from our program to change the price. You can check the status of the infringement and more! Contact us for more information.       

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