5 Steps to Building a MAP Policy

In the competitive landscape of the automotive aftermarket industry, maintaining control over how your products are priced in the market is crucial. One effective way to do this is through a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy. This article will guide you through the five steps to building a MAP policy, its importance, and how to enforce it effectively.

Understanding MAP Policies

A Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy is a vendor’s agreement that sets the lowest price a retailer can advertise a product for sale. However, it’s important to note that a MAP policy does not dictate the price at which the products can be sold, only how they can be advertised.

MAP policies are particularly relevant in the age of e-commerce, where price comparisons are just a click away. They help prevent price wars that can devalue a product or brand, ensuring that all retailers, whether large or small, can compete on a level playing field.

The Importance of MAP Policies

In the competitive landscape of the automotive aftermarket industry, MAP policies serve as a vital tool for maintaining brand value and preventing price wars. They create a level playing field for all retailers, ensuring that no single retailer can undercut others by advertising products at significantly lower prices. This helps to maintain the perceived value of the products and the brand’s reputation in the market.

MAP policies offer numerous benefits for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. For manufacturers, they help preserve the premium nature of their brand and identify and eliminate unauthorized sellers. They also provide consistent pricing across all sellers, eliminating perceived commoditization and promoting increased stocking of their products due to the protected margins.

For retailers, MAP policies protect their margins, allowing them to properly advertise and support the products. They also eliminate unauthorized sellers, enabling legitimate retailers to sell more. Furthermore, they provide assurance to retailers that they can compete on service rather than just price, encouraging them to stock more products.

Consumers also benefit from MAP policies. They enable buyers to find genuine, non-counterfeit products easily and purchase from an authorized seller who provides warranty and ‘after sale’ support. This builds trust and drives loyalty to a brand.

Real-world examples of successful MAP policy implementation abound. For instance, many consumer electronics brands have successfully implemented MAP policies, resulting in an average violation percentage of only 20.5%. Similarly, housewares brands have seen a violation percentage of 20% with the implementation of MAP policies. In the outdoor industry, brands with MAP policies have an average of 210 sellers per brand, demonstrating the effectiveness of these policies in maintaining a wide and competitive distribution network.

5 Steps to Building a MAP Policy

Building a robust and effective MAP policy is not a task to be taken lightly. It requires careful planning, clear communication, and consistent enforcement. Here are the five crucial steps to building a MAP policy:

Step 1: Identifying the Need for a MAP Policy and Defining Its Objectives Before you can build a MAP policy, you need to identify the need for one. Are your products being advertised at prices that devalue your brand? Are price wars among retailers affecting your brand’s reputation? Once you’ve identified the need, define the objectives of your MAP policy. This could include maintaining brand value, preventing price wars, and ensuring fair competition among retailers.

Step 2: Collaborating with Legal Experts MAP policies must comply with antitrust laws, which prohibit practices that restrict free trading and competition between businesses. To ensure your MAP policy is compliant, it’s essential to collaborate with legal experts. They can help you draft a policy that protects your brand without violating any laws.

Step 3: Defining What Constitutes a MAP Violation and Outlining Penalties A MAP policy is only as effective as its enforcement. To ensure compliance, your policy should clearly define what constitutes a MAP violation. This could include advertising a product below the MAP, failing to display the MAP on product listings, or using “add to cart” tactics to reveal lower prices. Once you’ve defined violations, outline the penalties for non-compliance. This could range from warnings to termination of the retailer’s account.

Step 4: Establishing a Monitoring System Monitoring is a crucial part of MAP policy enforcement. With the vast number of online retailers and marketplaces, manually monitoring for MAP violations can be a daunting task. That’s where MAP monitoring software comes in. These tools can automatically monitor your products across various platforms and alert you to any potential violations. One such tool is Bridge Below, a company that offers MAP monitoring services specifically for the automotive aftermarket. Their software is designed to detect and address MAP violations promptly, ensuring your policy is consistently enforced across all retailers.

Step 5: Communicating the MAP Policy to All Stakeholders Once your MAP policy is in place, it’s important to communicate it to all stakeholders. This includes manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Clear communication ensures everyone understands the policy and their responsibilities in upholding it. It also helps to prevent misunderstandings that could lead to unintentional violations.

MAP Policy Enforcement

Enforcing a MAP policy is as important as creating one. MAP monitoring software plays a crucial role in this process, helping detect and address violations effectively. Bridge Below, for instance, offers a specialized service for the automotive aftermarket, making it a valuable tool for businesses in this industry.

Defining the consequences of MAP violations is also crucial. Your MAP policy should clearly outline the repercussions of non-compliance, which could range from warnings to termination of the retailer’s account. It’s important to ensure that the penalties are proportionate to the violation and are enforced consistently to maintain fairness and credibility.

When a violation occurs, it’s important to have a process in place for handling it. This could involve contacting the retailer to inform them of the violation, giving them a chance to correct it, and then taking further action if the violation continues. It’s also important to have a process for handling appeals from retailers who believe they have been wrongly penalized.

Consistent enforcement is key to the success of your MAP policy. If retailers see that the policy is not being enforced consistently, they may be tempted to violate it, thinking they can get away with it. Consistent enforcement sends a clear message that all retailers are expected to adhere to the policy and that violations will not be tolerated.

Adapting and Evolving Your MAP Policy

A MAP policy is not a one-time effort. It requires regular review and updates to stay effective. Special circumstances like holiday promotions may require temporary adjustments to the policy. Feedback from stakeholders can also provide valuable insights for improving the MAP policy.

Staying informed about market trends and changes in antitrust laws is also crucial. As your business grows and you have more retailers selling your products, manually monitoring for MAP violations can become increasingly difficult. MAP monitoring software can help you keep track of your products across various platforms and quickly identify any violations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, MAP policies are an essential tool for automotive aftermarket part manufacturers to protect their brand and maintain healthy relationships with retailers. By following the “5 steps to building a MAP policy” outlined in this article, manufacturers can ensure the successful implementation and enforcement of their MAP policies.

A well-crafted and well-enforced MAP policy can be a game-changer for manufacturers in the automotive aftermarket industry. It’s an investment in your brand’s future that can yield significant returns in the form of protected brand value, healthy business relationships, and a fair and competitive market. So, if you haven’t already, now is the time to implement or improve your MAP policy. And if you need help monitoring compliance, consider using a service like Bridge Below.