A vendor gets a great opportunity from a great brand.
Earlier this year Jay received an email from a brand manager from a major multinational who was interested in his company’s marketing services. (Let’s call the brand manager Paul.)
Jay responded immediately. For one, this offered him an opportunity to work with one of the world’s great brands. Moreover, he had been a loyal customer all his life. And through the tone of the email, Paul seemed like a decent guy and quite eager to get down to business. In fact, after Jay’s response, Paul immediately sent him a preliminary creative brief.
Shortly thereafter Jay received an email from Paul’s assistant, setting up a conference call later that week.
But the brand manager doesn’t show up to his own meeting.
When Jay got on the conference call at the scheduled time, Paul didn’t’ show up. After about 10 minutes of waiting, Jay sent him and his assistant an email, letting them know he was on the call.
Paul emailed back a few minutes later saying that he was on another call and asking Jay could reschedule for later in the day. Jay said sure and asked what time would work.
Paul never responded. Over the following weeks, Jay emailed Paul and his assistant, and even called to see if he could reschedule.
He never heard from either of them ever again.
He forgot that his vendors are also his customers.
As you might imagine, Jay was pretty upset. Not only for the loss of a business opportunity, but on a more human level, because his time had been wasted and he had been insulted in the process.
“Now, I understand that people are busy,” Jay recalls.
“I get that that marketing and brand directors can choose to work, or not work, with whatever vendors they like. But what is unacceptable is the complete lack of respect or professional courtesy shown to a potential business partner like myself. And even more remarkable is that Paul—who himself is a marketing professional– doesn’t seem to grasp that I am not only a vendor, but also a customer. “
Jay claims that he and his family have now sworn off the company’s products, even after a lifetime of use and enjoyment. “I know the company couldn’t care less, but as a matter of personal dignity, I can no longer give them my business.”
This bad behavior reflects a broader trend.
Jay’s story is not unique. I’ve heard many variants of it over the last few years. And, to be frank, in one form or another it’s also happened to me.
Such bad behavior by managers of all sorts appears to be increasingly common throughout corporate America: emails are not responded to; promises are repeatedly broken; contracts ignored; advances not paid.
This indicates a growing disregard, if not contempt, among corporations towards their business partners and their customers.
It may even reflect a broader trend throughout America society, in which relationships of all sorts are becoming coarsened and devalued.
That, of course, is a much bigger discussion that I’ll put off for for another article.
For now I’ll just conclude with a little advice to brand managers around the world: if you want to build good relationships with your customers, maybe you should start with your vendors.