When you run a small business, your reputation is everything. Without a sterling reputation, how can you expect your clientele to choose your brand over your competitors in a crowded and competitive market? How can you hope to build value into each and every transaction for your customers? How can you hope to flourish and grow sustainably? Of course, there are many contributing factors which make up your business’ reputation. Of course, your employees play a huge part. It’s their daily interactions with your customers that build and solidify your reputation like bricks coming together to build a strong wall. Likewise the technology and processes that facilitate your operations must be efficient and fit for purpose to ensure your reputation remains intact. Tech disasters can mean a big black eye for your brand. Then of course there’s the products that you provide your customers, whether you make them yourself or source them externally.
Your vendors play a key part in all of these factors. Without the materials that they provide your entire business grinds to a halt. A mutually beneficial relationship with a great vendor can pave the way for lasting success in business. However, relationships with vendors can go bad, especially when they undergo changes in personnel and management. In an ever-changing business environment you should consider changing your vendors if…
They can’t get the materials you need on time
If there’s one thing that all businesses should be able to demand from their vendors it’s reliable delivery. Without it they cannot meet their obligations to their customers and this in turn can have a negative impact upon your cash flow. You can’t rock up for work on a construction site if your workers don’t have quick access to PPE workwear and you can’t face a busy day in a coffee shop without enough soy milk to get you through the day.
If you find yourself needing to turn customers or work away because you don’t have the equipment or raw materials you need, something needs to change.
There’s a rise in costs but a drop in quality
Quality is invariably worth paying for if you wish to preserve your reputation… But there are limits. You should expect your vendors’ costs to climb a little year on year in accordance with inflation. At the same time, that doesn’t mean you should be taken for a mug! If your vendor continues to hike their prices yet quality stagnates or even lessens, it may be time to take your business elsewhere before your cash flow and profit margins suffer.
You detect signs of unstable infrastructure
It’s inevitable that a business should expect some employee turnover. However, frequent changes in personnel, especially management, can point to an unstable infrastructure. If you speak to a different person every time you contact your vendor, this can be a sign that something is rotten in Denmark.
Although changing vendors can be a disruptive and potentially costly affair, it’s invariably worth ending your relationship with a vendor who is no longer pulling their weight. The longer you stay with them, the greater damage they can do to your reputation.
