How much does a vendor's reputation matter in the selection process?

Hi Elizabeth,

Yes, I'd say that reputation matters a great deal. However, reputation is built in a variety of ways and it doesn't mean you need a worldwide reputation like IBM or Cisco to sway preference. What reputation relies upon is how your prospects have developed their interpretation of your reputation.

Go Google your company and see what comes up in the first few pages of search results.
What kind of things may your prospects have heard about you from their peers and colleagues?
What impressions will they have of any conversations, communications and content they've engaged with (or been exposed to) from your company?
What's the sentiment about your company expressed through social media channels?
What kind of relationship will they expect to have with your company based on all of the above?

Every interaction we have with our prospects builds their perception of our reputation with them. In today's world, I'd say that reputation can be more important than price. The other things you mention - employee retention and stability, etc. - are all factors that contribute to reputation that affects the buying decision.

Sure is an open question. Reputation is huge - nobody will dispute that, but gauging this takes some work. Of course, customer or supplier/partner references go a long way to establishing that, but you can also be more clever if you need to get beyond that. Social media tools can be great, either for tracking casual chat, or seeking out people who give you the rest of the story. Ideally, you should look for both sides - happy references, but also unhappy ones - ex-employees, ex-customers, etc.

Aside from reputation, I'd say stability is another must-have, esp in today's economy. Established vendors can be just as vulnerable as startups - same problems, but on a bigger scale. Private companies are harder to gauge, but you really need to find a way to ensure the they're viable and strong enough financially to be your partner. There are lots of ways to do that, and with a bit of creative legwork, the answers can be found.

Elizabeth,

As Jon mentioned, some of these things are going to be harder to determine than others.

Vendor reputation *does* matter. But in what context?

It depends on the nature of the product or service being sought. If you are purchasing physical product, then the aspect of the reputation that you care about will likely pertain to engineering prowess, support practices, quality assurance, etc.

If you are purchasing a service, the reputation for customer service, billing practices, and willingness to work with customers will be key.

Turnover within a company is not always easy to gauge, and might not impact you. I'm pretty sure that most people would be more concerned about (and notice the impact more readily) if there was rapid staffing turnover in the customer support or engineering ranks, vs marketing, as an example.

Stability is a key metric, as is commitment to the product or service being offered. After all, there is no fundamental difference to you between a company that financially falters, vs an otherwise stable organization that disbands the division that was providing your product or service, or simply removes that product line from its offerings.

Depending on the criticality to your business of the solution you are seeking, you will need to put some good time and effort into choosing the right partner for your business, to *minimize* the chance of hooking up your cart to the wrong horse.

-ASB: http://xeesm.com/AndrewBaker

I believe a customers confidence in the representatives of and the references of the company they choose to do business with really matters. Most customers can see BS a mile away. Be sincere, deliver AND be priced right.