A Map Monitoring Software is an essential tool for any eCommerce brand that is looking to maintain its image. This tool makes sure that the brand’s retail partners are complying with the brand’s MAP pricing strategy.
It’s tough to be a brand! It is especially tough once you wholesale your products to retailers. This is because once your products are with retailers, you essentially have no control over what price your products will be sold at.
As a brand, you would want to maintain the brand image that you have worked so hard to achieve. Furthermore, if your retail partners sell your products at extremely low values, this can affect your brand’s integrity in the eyes of consumers. Moreover, this is something that you must avoid.
To make sure your retailers and resellers are not violating your MAP policies you will need to use a MAP monitoring software that can analyze the MAP of your retailers across hundreds of online stores and marketplaces.
In this article, we will look at some of the top MAP monitoring tools that you can use to ensure MAP compliance from your retailers and resellers.
No doubt you may already know how important MAP monitoring is. Therefore, let’s find out how you can monitor the MAP of all your retail partners.
One simple way to monitor the MAP is by having a list of :
By having a list with the above points, you will be able to monitor, to some extent, if your retail partners are complying with your MAP policies. However, this method is only possible if you have a few (around 4 to 5) retail partners. To whom you supply 1 or 2 products. As the number of retail partners and products you supply increases, it will become extremely difficult to track MAP violations across all your retail partners, and for each product you supply to them.
A more efficient way to monitor MAP is by using MAP monitoring software.
A typical MAP monitoring software is designed to regularly scan, in real-time, various platforms or marketplaces that are selling your products. If the software detects a MAP violation, you will be notified of this violation via a MAP report that shows all the retailers who have violated your MAP policy.
By analyzing the MAP violation report you will be able to take action against the retailers who did not comply with your MAP agreements.
Here are some MAP monitoring software that you can use.
The first MAP monitoring software we will look at is made by Wiser.
The MAP monitoring software by Wiser is a useful tool that brands can use to track MAP violations. MAP violations are detected by monitoring retailers, products, source websites, etc.
All you have to do is provide what you want to be monitored such as your:
Once these details are provided, Wiser will scan websites to see how your products are being advertised. Once the scan is done you will be able to view the results of the scan on Wiser’s MAP dashboard. Furthermore, the results can give you insight into the following information:
Using this information, brands can monitor at what price their products are being advertised. Moreover, brands can take appropriate action against retailers who are violating MAP policies.
The second Map monitoring software we will look at is the E-commerce Scrapper API by Oxylab.
E-commerce Scrapper API is not a dedicated MAP monitoring software. Rather, It is a data mining application that has MAP monitoring capabilities.
What E-commerce Scrapper API does is collect accurate product data from various e-commerce websites and marketplaces. The data the E-commerce Scrapper API collects includes:
Once a user of E-commerce Scarpper API provides some input parameters, the software collects product data. Once the data is collected, the results are presented in a report. Furthermore, users or brands can use his report to determine which retailers are complying with their MAP policies. Moreover, a brand can use the information provided by E-commerce Scrapper API to take action against retailers who are selling below the MAP price.
E-commerce Scrapper API comes in 8 different price points ranging from $49 per month to $10000 per month.
Another Useful minimum advertised price monitoring software is the “Minimum Advertised Price Monitoring Software” by Prisync.
This MAP monitoring software allows users to track MAP violators across various channels. All you have to do is set some parameters and Prisync will take care of the tracking.
Once the tracking is done, you will be given the results via an Excel report or email (depending on what pricing plan you pick).
Prisync is available in 9 different pricing plans that range from $99 per month to $799 per month. So be sure to select the plan that suits your business model.
Prisync can be tried for free for 14 days, and no credit card information needs to be provided.
MAP monitoring software helps brands maintain the reputation that they worked so hard to build. Besides brand reputation, brands need to increase their brand awareness as well. Brand awareness ensures that more people can become potential customers for the brand.
An excellent way for brands to increase their awareness, and at the same time increase sales is by using a product and store locator widget on their website.
A product and store locator widget is a useful tool brands can use to gain the following benefits:
All the above benefits can be gained by using a store and product locator software, such as WP Maps, to quickly and easily install a store and product locator widget on their websites. A quick note, WP Maps is the perfect Stockist alternative for brands that use or are planning to use the Stockist Store Locator. Click on the link to find out how.
Lastly, all the benefits provided by product and store locator widgets work towards increasing the overall sales of a brand. This is done by making products visible to potential customers, and by guiding customers with purchase intent to a brand’s physical location to make in-store purchases.
Setting minimum prices for retailers is crucial for maintaining fairness in brand pricing and ensuring market competitiveness while supporting retailers.
A clear MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) policy should outline the minimum prices retailers can use for advertising your products online. This establishes boundaries, indicating that retailers can only price your brand and products up to a specified level.
By defining the minimum prices, your MAP policy communicates the consequences retailers may face if they deviate from these set prices while conducting business with your brand.
Once you have a clearly defined MAP policy and a MAP monitoring software in place, you’ll be in a good position to monitor the prices of your products across various online stores and marketplaces.
Now you just need to do the following, to make sure retailers are abiding by your MAP policy:
Let’s now talk about what actions you must take if a MAP violation is detected by your MAP monitoring software.
Crafting a MAP warning letter serves as an official means to communicate your firm stance on enforcing your MAP policy regarding pricing compliance.
This letter, typically a cease-and-desist notice, notifies non-compliant sellers of the need to restore the correct pricing as per your policy. It also conveys the potential consequences or penalties they may incur if corrective action is not taken promptly.
If sellers contest your request to return to the agreed-upon MAP pricing or respond negatively to it, you may escalate the situation by involving an antitrust lawyer to assess the situation and advise on further actions.
It is imperative to impose penalties on sellers who defy your MAP policy terms. Consistently enforcing these consequences demonstrates your commitment to your brand, products, and overall business seriousness. This action communicates a clear message to non-compliant sellers and serves as a deterrent to potential future violations of your MAP policy.
Taking decisive action against retailers who persist in violating your MAP policy pricing is crucial, and this may involve ending partnerships with them. While it can be challenging for brands, severing ties is necessary even if it means losing some partner sellers.
Another essential step in enforcing your MAP policy is closing the back door to unauthorized sellers. These sellers, who engage in price erosion and may operate on the gray market, do not contribute positively to the brand’s goals.
Denying them access to your products is a strategic move to maintain pricing integrity and protect your brand’s reputation.
It is the process brands use to make sure that retailers and resellers are not advertising the brand’s product below the stipulated minimum advertised price.
A MAP monitoring tool or software tracks a brand’s product across several online stores and marketplaces, monitors the price of the brand’s product, and informs the brand if a violation is detected.
MAP pricing policies are essential for brands to maintain their reputation and ensure fair competition among retailers. Furthermore, MAP monitoring is one of the best ways a brand can ensure that its retail partners are complying with the brand’s MAP policies. See this article for a complete guide on MAP monitoring.
By using MAP monitoring tools to track MAP violations, brands can easily ensure that their reputation and integrity are not tarnished by the low advertising prices of their products.
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As a blogger with a personal interest in ranking e-commerce businesses, Ahmed brings a unique perspective to his SEO approach. His understanding of the nuances of e-commerce platforms and consumer behavior enables him to develop targeted strategies that drive sales and conversions. With 3 years of experience in the field of SEO, Ahmed is a seasoned professional known for his expertise in optimizing websites across various industries. Having worked with SaaS, e-commerce, local businesses, and service-based enterprises, Ahmed possesses a diverse skill set that allows him to tailor strategies to meet specific business objectives.
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