When you evaluate vendors to perform a task for you, you often look first to see the cost of their services, right? However, as we have covered in past blog posts, the price isn’t the most crucial factor when choosing a vendor.
Often, customers want to see what other perks they can get from their selected vendor. Is it a world-class service? Or can you build a relationship with them? Regardless, you want to go where you can stretch your soft dollars the furthest.
In this post, we will discuss how you can get the most out of your soft dollars when choosing a vendor.
Related: Build Story-based eLearning Content to Engage Your Learners
Hard versus Soft Dollars
Many of you have probably heard the terms “hard” and “soft” dollars. But what do each of these mean? In business, hard dollars are your costs, currency, assets, wealth, etc. It’s anything physical when it comes to money. Examples include how much a service costs or how you are going to pay for said service. While this is important to clients — and often top of mind — it won’t have as much impact as soft dollars.
For most, soft dollars are the reputation, value, and impact that a vendor can have on your business should you choose to go with them. Considerations like associating yourself with a well-known company in town for the service you are seeking out is frequently better than a no-name company. Additionally, it would help if you thought about how much return on investment (“ROI”) your chosen vendor will guarantee you. Will it be an increase in profit? An increase in customers? Or maybe your vendor works faster and more autonomously than anyone else, so you can focus on the rest of your business. Either way, the impact the vendor will have on your positive business outcomes is a crucial point that you need to consider.
For example, VP Legacies is a premiere eLearning and micro-learning content production firm whose clients have said perform work 7 times faster than any alternative. In addition, they work autonomously so you don’t have to waste your time micromanaging and they build strong relationships with all of their clients. These are all added benefits and soft dollars.
Related: eLearning vs. Micro-learning: What Are The differences?
Showcase ROI Potential
Now that we have an idea of what hard and soft dollars are, let’s apply them and share how, as a business, you can create soft dollar experiences for your potential clients. Let’s take our ROI example from above. If you want to showcase that your company can give clients a fantastic ROI, you need to showcase it. See if some of your past customers are willing to share a testimonial with you and give you quantitative results. These can include metrics such as “increased consumer spending by x amount” or “decreased time to market from x months to y months.” Sharing examples like this as part of the selling process or just having them available on the website is a great way to show potential customers that they care as much about the success of your business as you do.
Related: Create eLearning Content on a Budget and See ROI from the Start
Cultivate Reviews
Another great way to create soft dollar experiences is to accumulate and share reviews of your services and employees. When we search for a vendor, a natural start is an internet search engine. Once we search the name of the business or the employees, one of the first results is their Google My Business listing, including the number of stars the business receives based on Google reviews, click further. You’ll be able to read these reviews. Chances are in these reviews, past and current customers talk about their interactions with the business, the staff, and the quality of the product. Encourage your clients who have had success using your services to leave a Google or Yelp review for others to find. You never know how impactful it can be.
Create Value
Choosing a vendor is no easy task; you want to choose one where you can get the most bang for your buck. Ultimately, you want a vendor that gives you the most value for the amount that you’re paying. Not only do you want a vendor that is economically feasible, but one where they are transparent in communication can deliver your product on time, where employees go above and beyond for their clients, and where employees can foster a true client relationship. These characteristics go beyond just the traditional client-vendor relationship; it builds the foundation for a personal connection to take place. Ask yourself — do you want a vendor who treats every project the same, or one that takes the time to know you and what your needs are? How you answer these questions is key in determining how much value you want to receive from the vendor you choose.
Related: 7 Types of eLearning Methods for Corporate Training
The Final Evaluation
Now that you are taking everything into consideration — ROI impact, reputation, and value — how do you choose which vendor to go with? As mentioned above, many go with the least expensive but find they don’t get great ROI or value from their choice. If you want to maximize your soft dollar spending, go with one that is the best of both worlds — both economically feasible and will give you the value your company and your project deserve. There’s no easy answer to choosing a vendor, but choosing wisely will benefit you and your business.
And if you are specifically looking to choose a custom eLearning or micro-learning partner to work with, even if you don’t choose to work with VP Legacies, it is worth your time to give us a call. At the very least we can help you understand the range of vendors out there and what they specialize in.
If you are looking for a vendor that works autonomously so you don’t have to micromanage and one that is the fastest in the business without sacrificing quality, we may be the best fit for you. Give us a call or send us an email.