The cheapest supplier can cost success… in unexpected ways!

Suppliers for services are more often than not chosen based on price for the service that they provide. However, this cheapness is often achieved through cost savings that are not immediately apparent, and more importantly, neither are some negative consequences.

It is understandable that suppliers want to reduce costs. It is also understandable that companies doing marketing events don’t want to pay too much.

Where this can be a real problem is when the large investment of an event is put at risk by having a dependency on a component that is a very weak link.

How suppliers work can be frustrating!

Consider the situation of shipping and transportation. Choosing a mainstream shipping agent with international flights, transport and logistics around the world seems great. The structure and ability to serve at a reasonable price is without doubt enticing.

After all, the sending of items from one place to another is best left to those with the infrastructure to implement it with the least risk of failure. However, if the interface to the company is so modernised and automated, we can encounter downsides. Often such modern companies only allow for communication through a digital on-line form or a telephone operator whose competency is limited and their ability to do anything is restricted by a system.

The problems this may cause may seem unlikely to occur or even unimportant, but consider the significance if the brochures, giveaways, competition prize, audio-visual equipment or signage is lost in transit. The stand is barren, the prize draw can’t happen, the sales people can’t show the demo or the speaker at the mini theatre can’t be heard. Now we have a serious problem!

Shipping is just an example. There can be hidden disadvantages with selecting the cheapest printing services, transportation, audio-visual equipment and all the other services that need to come together for a successful event.

Getting things at low cost means corners have been cut! The question we must always ask is where?

Choosing an event marketing agency is also choosing the suppliers that they use.

Like any other supplier choosing a marketing agency on cost alone is dangerous, yet so many companies use the measurable cost as their exclusive basis for selection.

Considering marketing events are a significant basis on which end customers and prospects use to judge the company, it is important to find suppliers and marketing agencies that don’t increase their profit at the risk of their client’s reputation. Choosing an event marketing agency is also choosing the suppliers that they use.

In effect, we need to be cautious with how a company is able to provide a service cheaper than the competition. We also need to be acutely aware of the significance of a service in terms of the impact of failure and the opportunities to rectify failures should they occur.

Events are unforgiving, they can’t be rescheduled and the mistakes are seen by the very people we are trying to impress, the audience!