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by Surefront on Oct 1, 2024 9:00:00 AM
Home > Blog > Communicate in Context
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Cut to the Chase
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Efficiency Because of the product-centric nature of the messaging design, there’s no need to explain which specific product you’re talking about, and the detail in question. |
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Efficacy By including all negotiation history, buyers can draw insight into their vendor’s negotiation practice in order to get the upper hand. |
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Feelings Vendors feel more confident that their communication will receive a response, and buyers feel less bombarded by overzealous vendors. |
Buyers and Vendors get to tube point faster when they communicate directly about a product or offer.
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Before |
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After |
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Not able to audit communication |
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All product conversations logged and organized by product |
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Describe product, then ask a question |
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Context is clear, so cut right to the chase |
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Overloaded email inboxes with intra- and inter-company communication |
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All communications with vendors in one |
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Buyers’ personal notes are jotted down in notebooks and post-its |
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Personal notes are attached directly to the product for future reference |
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“Sometimes I will attach a sticky note to a piece of jewelry, then put it inside a Ziploc bag and send it to the manufacturer.” -Vendor Sales Representative |
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“I would use this tool to message things like ‘Here is a screenshot of something similar at a lower price,’ and ‘Hey can you switch this wicker from black to brown?” -Buyer, 10 years |
Storyboarding: Let's Talk about Communication
In our low-fidelity exploration phase, we wanted to test new concepts quickly, with low overhead. We created storyboards to test new concept ideas, gauging both buyers' and vendors' comfort and interest. Below is a summary and review of two such storyboards.
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Buyers ask for lower and better...
Buyers can play with numbers within the tool to calculate their designed margins, or profits. Then they can collaborate with their vendors to negotiate prices and customize products.
1) I make personal notes. I can make notes that aren’t visible to my vendor to help my current decision-making or make sure to remember next time I order.
2) I negotiate price per product. I can input a particular price bid, and reference my price negotiation history at the same time to see whether we are converging.
3) I make personal calculations. I’m supported in my negotiation process by inputting a retail price and viewing the resulting margin for a particular price bid.
4) I view aggregate calculations. While I'm working through the offer, any changes I make are summarized in the bottom panel.
5) I can ask questions about products. I can reach out directly to my vendor about a particular product by making a product inquiry.
...and vendors make it happen.
Vendors can respond to incoming price bids and field inquiries about both products and entire offers from their buyers.
1) I can answer offer inquiries. I can field negotiations about the entire offer, such as requests to adjust the shipping date or sourcing.
2) I can respond to price negotiations. I can adjust pricing to reflect a Buyer’s bid, or suggest my own.
3) I can answer product inquiries. I can view and respond to new messages about a particular product, whether it be a question or customization request.
4) I can edit product information in response. If the customization process progresses, I can easily update the product information to reflect our new agreement.
5) I can send and receive file attachments. I can preview images and other files within the messaging stream, and send pictures of designs-in-progress.
You don’t want your data to be siloed. Your company’s CRM, PIM and PLM solutions shouldn’t operate in a vacuum, either. Surefront is a unified product collaboration platform to power growth and ROI. Our patented PIM, CRM, and PLM solutions streamline the omni channel sales, merchandising and product development processes. By combining these essential functionalities, Surefront creates a single source of truth throughout your product lifecycle, sales and listing processes.
The results? Up to 150% more revenue per employee and a 40% shorter product development cycle is just the beginning. Try our 10x ROI calculator to see your company’s potential profits. Or, skip the noise and book a custom demo with one of our unified product collaboration management experts today. The retail industry evolves quickly and has a lot of moving parts. We do all of the research, so you don’t have to. Stay ahead of market fluctuations, trends and new features by subscribing to our Unified Product Collaboration Management Blog.
Further Reading
The Essential Guide to Product Development and Merchandising
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