Imagine we want to buy a jacket. The first thing we do is grab our mobile phone or computer. Browse the web for the product that we are looking for. We open many tabs looking for the best deal on the jacket that we want. Remember that 78% of people like to compare prices from different stores before purchasing a product. We see that the jacket is at various marketplaces at different prices. As a customer, we make our choice based on the best price for us. We decide to buy the jacket from the retailer that sells it cheaper.   

But if we are a manufacturer, brand, or importing company, this story must concern us because we don’t want to see our products sold at a bargain price. If we have them at different marketplaces, you want them to have the same price in all those shops. And if this does not happen, that means that something is wrong. In the end, we are losing money on our products. Here is where the term minimum advertised price or MAP comes into our lives to save us money! 

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But what exactly is MAP? MAP is the lowest price a retailer can sell your products to customers. For example, if a clothing supplier sets a MAP of $50 on the same jacket we mentioned earlier, the online retailer must sell it at $50 or more, but never less than that value. The recommendation is to have this as a written agreement to prevent any violations of this. A study showed that 20% of the products violate the minimum advertised price (MAP), and that equals a loss of approximately US$2.5 billion! You don’t want your business to be part of this group.      

There are many factors to determine how good a MAP monitoring software is and which one is the best for you. If you pick the wrong one, violations may slip through undetected, or the system will fail to give you the information you need to know about who is breaking this agreement.

You should check the list of features below to know which MAP monitoring tool is the right one for you.

1- How many sites can the MAP monitoring software track?   

All the companies that offer MAP monitoring software say they scan across the internet. But like everything in this world, there is a limit. Some software monitor a handful of websites and marketplaces. Plus, some of them have a location restrain, and they don’t let you the possibility to analyze websites in other countries, just the ones in the region where you are.  

For that reason, we, as a company interested in using MAP monitoring, should at least check if the program can track the retailers that work with you. If they do so, then that is a good sign. Also, if our business keeps growing, you must guarantee that the software can keep up with your growth. That means having the software that can scan more marketplaces we are interested in tracking and having software that can monitor our products abroad if they are shipped internationally.      

2- Quality information   

We want software that can offer us the best information available. It is crucial because, with this data, we can catch and know which retailers violating the MAP. Besides, we don’t want to make mistakes by falsely accusing a shop of doing something wrong. Or, even worse, to not catch them if they are doing something wrong.

A view from PriceTweakers MAP monitoring software. 

One way to know if the software is good enough is to take advantage of the free trials that most companies offer. In these trials, you can see the software in action. See what it offers you and if it provides the exact information you need. Here you can check if they are good or not.

3- Easy to use   

Like anything in life, when you buy a product, you want to use it from the get-go and not spend time reading the instruction book. A poll by I-Programmer showed that 66.37% of the people prefer to learn about new systems by themselves and seek help when they feel like they need it. People don’t like reading manuals on how to use stuff.

That is why the MAP monitoring software we choose must be ready to use immediately or require no time to learn how to use it. But if it demands a lot of time training a staff member to learn how to use it, that is a red flag.

4- Notifications   

When hiring MAP monitoring software, nobody will stay all day in front of our computer waiting to see if something happens with our products. You want your employees to focus on other tasks while the software is doing its job and detects a MAP violation. The moment it perceives a violation, the software must have an instant notification system incorporated in the app, an email, or a text message.   

The faster you get the notification, the quicker we can answer any infringements caused by retailers and stop the bleeding on our products’ prices. In addition, if we are rapid in making the adjustments, our seller will know we are watching them and that you take the MAP agreement very seriously. This action will encourage them not to do it again, and now they know they are on a short leash.    

5- Analytics   

The MAP monitoring software collects tons and tons of data. Sitting at our desk reading all the written reports can be very tedious, hard to interpret, and take a lot of our time. That is why you should go with software that organizes all the information in a simple method and offers you many ways to present it to the company.   

The software must include graphs, diagrams, and charts that help us digest all the information more easily. Those graphs must be interactive. You should click on them, and they must display more exact information.   

6- Customer service   

This one goes in hand with number three. So you should always consider a company with great professionals with vast knowledge of the product. They are willing to assist you when you need it. A study by HubSpot Research proved that 93% of customers are likely to repeat purchases with companies that offer excellent customer service.  

Source: Designed by Freepik 

Check if the company has various channels to communicate with you. How fast can your inquiry be solved, and at which times will they be able to reach you? When they only have one channel, it is stressful for a customer because you don’t know how long will it take the company to answer. A study by Zendesk said that 28% of the people said that multiple communication options are part of good communication services. That is why they should have more than one channel to communicate.     

In a world where we are very impatient and have many ways to communicate, the company needs to answer as quickly as possible. Salesforce showed that 64% of the consumers expect companies to interact with them in real-time. The company has no time to waste and must solve all your doubts immediately.   

Like any important decision we take, first look at all the options in the market, and evaluate what benefits they can bring to your business. When the time comes to decide which software is the best for you, know that PriceTweakers is the best option. It allows you to monitor more retailers and offers you a friendly and easy-to-use interface and dashboards. On top of this, our MAP monitoring system informs you right away of any infringement made by your sellers. Follow us for more information. 

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