Here’s Why Maintaining A Good Vendor Relationship Is Important - By ROCKNUNIVERSITY
Do you know who creates the foundation of your business? Surprisingly, the suppliers. Most people choose to ignore maintaining a good relationship with their vendors. And in this industry, these vendors are your best friends. Okay, that might sound a bit exaggerated but it's true, and upholding a good relationship with them can bring you fruitful benefits. Our sister company, ROCKNUNIVERSITY has gathered some of the reasons, through experience, about why maintaining a good relationship with your vendors is extremely crucial for your company.
Why Do You Need Your Suppliers?
Your vendors are the foundation of a business that will only grow over the next few years. No matter how underrated or highly recommended they may be, they're still the most knowledgeable in their fields. A florist can give a better insight on which flowers to be strewn together with a certain backdrop than a caterer, and vice versa.
Not only are they extremely perceptive about their work, but they can give you a heads-up on how to tackle your competition by using more innovative methods. Their timeliness can help you earn your client's trust as well. So, if you underestimate the power of these vendors, it's your own funeral.
So, what should you do?
Involve them:
Let's say you hire a florist who has been in the industry for an indefinite amount of time, has considerable experience to make your events look like the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and happens to have really good connections with some talented group of people within the circle. Now, hypothetically, you got in touch with the florist and managed to form a contract between you two. But you don't like the fact that she's trying to give you constructive criticism on your new flower-hats idea because you like to keep things as "professional" as possible. Also, because you don't like people meddling with your original ideas.
But that's not going to work if you're hell-bent on surviving with that kind of mentality. This is because certain information and knowledge that they have to offer are extremely unique and you should treat their input on your ideas as such. You should be willing to listen to them, and let them give you their intake even when you think you've got every base covered. You are certainly not the first events company they've encountered, so they might be more helpful to you by giving you the perfect advice. This in turn will form a strong bond as your vendor now knows that you trust their judgment, which brings us to our second point.
2. You can't clap with one hand alone— Communicate:
One-sided relationships are the worst kind there is. While one side is willing to talk and share their thoughts, the other side is drowning them out with their demanding needs. As a result, it falls apart. The same is true for your relationship with vendors. Take some time to listen to what they have to say and compromise.
If you have something bigger planned for your company, which you know that a certain vendor will have trouble supplying you with, let them know.
If you think that you may need some supplies later in the season, let them know.
If you feel unsure about something, reach out for their feedback.
Invest in the effort of communicating with them. This way you'll be able to avoid messy situations in the future. But what happens if I just let them go? Read on.
3. Consider the future:
If you're someone who is highly interested in forming a contractual relationship with your vendors for a limited period of time (that is, just until the event is over), you're bound to lose an important ally. Why? Because you don't know how influential they might be or how much benefit they may bring to your company. So, whenever you hire a vendor, consider all the future prospects and contributions that they have to offer. Even though short-term relationships give you a certain high, it's much riskier.
At the end of the day, it's your company. And your business partners have the ability to make your journey to success even more epic. Doing this by yourself can be extremely overwhelming. Following these three tips can help create a powerful and positive impact on your business growth, so keep this in mind: maintaining relationships in a healthy way will always make you grow. In this case, it'll be your company.
Need more tricks like these? RNU offers webinars held by professionals who have handled it all. The webinars provide awesome tips and tricks related to weddings, special events, and everything event-related! Take a sneak-peek at our calendar here and claim a spot!
