Building a strong diversity supplier program is a win-win.
Building a strong diversity supplier program is a win-win. It expands your vendor pool, fosters a more inclusive business environment, and leads to fresh perspectives and innovative solutions for your company. However, procurement, marketing, and corporate initiatives may sometimes feel at odds with each other.
Here's how you can win and find marketing vendors that meet everyone's needs:
1. Walk a Mile in Their Shoes: Understand Marketing's Goals
Marketing lives and breathes by results. Their success hinges on achieving specific goals and is often tied to driving revenue. When recommending diverse vendors, take the time to understand marketing's current initiatives and plans. What are they trying to achieve? What are their key performance indicators (KPIs)? At a minimum, uncover the 3 most important needs that have from a vendor. By aligning their goals with yours, you demonstrate a genuine interest in their success and have the best opportunity for a positive outcome.
2. Uncover the Hidden Gems: Identify Marketing's Challenges
Marketing today is more dynamic than ever. What they need today may differ from what they need next quarter or year. Customer buying habits are changing at an incredible pace, along with marketing technologies. They are constantly looking at their team’s capabilities to meet those changes and challenges head-on. If vendor capabilities aren’t assessed regularly and vendor lists don’t include the latest needs, your marketing team will fall behind in delivering on their initiatives effectively and efficiently. To ensure they keep diverse suppliers top-of-mind, it will be up to you to uncover these pain points and start securing a slate of diverse vendors based on where they’re going, not just where they are.
3. Results Rule: Focus on Value, Not Just Cost
Marketing decisions are data-driven. While cost is important, it's often secondary to demonstrably positive results. You’re looking for the nexus of quality outputs, value-add engagements, and the flexibility to work within marketing’s budget and timeline. Focus on presenting diverse vendors with a strong track record of achieving results similar to marketing's goals. Highlight case studies and testimonials that showcase the vendor’s effectiveness.
4. Capabilities are Key: Aligning Needs
Don't just look for diverse vendors who know how to partner with you and your marketers to fill in the gaps in your marketing strategy, planning, or delivery system. Find vendors who have the capabilities you need today and have their pulse on where marketing is going.
5. Tailored for Use: Flexible Solutions for Optimal Results
Cookie cutter solutions are good for, well, cookies. Instead, look for diverse vendors who are flexible and willing to tailor their services to your marketing team’s needs. This allows you to be more effective operationally and meet budget targets.
Procurement and diversity teams can bridge the gap with marketing, ensuring a successful and inclusive vendor selection process. Communication is key - by fostering open dialogue and understanding marketing's needs and priorities, you can unlock a world of talented diverse vendors who can elevate your marketing efforts and contribute to the overall success.
