Brands are always looking for ways to increase their value and awareness in the brick-and-mortar and online spheres. Having steady prices across all channels is one way to increase brand awareness. However, some resellers undersell these products, decreasing brand value and reducing profit margins.   

One way to prevent this is by implementing a minimum advertised pricing (MAP) policy. MAP is the lowest price resellers can advertise products (not sell). They can promote it at a higher price than you established, but never below. It is a must if you want to sell online, and we are telling you the motives for online brands to enforce a MAP policy for their business. 

1- Consistent profit margins 

One of the main reasons brands use a MAP policy is to have consistent profit margins. For example, what is the point of selling printers online at $80 and then seeing them advertised at lower prices on resellers’ pages? Similar stuff happens with a physical store.   

With an active MAP policy, all the printers that you sell online (resellers) and in your physical store will have consistent prices. That allows you to have the minimum/expected profit margins. You will never sell below your minimum margins and never hurt your margins.   

2- Maintain the brand value 

Price plays a central role in branding. When customers see that one of your products has different prices across different channels, it impacts them negatively, and you hurt your brand value. Marq discovered that brand consistency increases revenue by 10-20%. Clients like it when businesses and brands have consistent messages, values, and prices across all channels.     

A MAP policy helps you keep your prices steady, prevents dealers from underselling your products, and prevents a race to the bottom. If you have a luxury brand, having different prices on different platforms hurts your company even more. 

3- Consumer confidence 

We mentioned that when consumers see that the product they want has different prices in many places, they feel unsure about buying an item. That makes them look for other alternatives and choose one of your competitors. The solution brands look for is to apply a MAP policy.   

With a MAP policy, you will increase your consumers’ confidence. All your products will have consistent prices in all your selling channels. Clients will see this and will trust your products even more. That inclines them to make a purchase.    

4- Control their products 

One of the biggest challenges for you as a manufacturer is knowing what is happening to your products, and one of them is the price customers pay. Sometimes, you lose sight of this, or you do not know, which leads to profit loss in your company. By establishing a MAP policy, you will learn and track what is happening to your products.   

5- Improves relationship with retailers 

Implementing a MAP policy can help to strengthen relationships with retailers. By setting clear guidelines for pricing, brands can ensure that their products are sold consistently across all channels. That can help you build trust and strengthen relationships with retailers, which ultimately benefit both parties. 

Conclusion 

These are the reasons many brands look to implement a MAP policy. But manually drafting and monitoring it takes too long. PriceTweakers is the best solution for your company regarding MAP solutions. With our program, you can create a MAP policy, know every time a reseller infringes, and with the best reporting system. Furthermore, directly from our software, you can contact dealers to let them know they are committing a breach and change the price to the one you agreed to.   

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