{"id":572,"date":"2016-05-26T07:29:48","date_gmt":"2016-05-26T12:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fundusphoto.com\/?p=572"},"modified":"2016-05-26T07:29:48","modified_gmt":"2016-05-26T12:29:48","slug":"be-a-better-buyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/?p=572","title":{"rendered":"BE A BETTER BUYER"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-573 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/better-buyer-4-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"better buyer 4\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Much is written today about better sales and marketing, but have you read much about how to be a better buyer?<\/p>\n<p>There is more to the transaction than just price, right?<\/p>\n<p>What else matters when making a purchase?<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an initial list for your consideration and please share your thoughts too.<\/p>\n<p>PRODUCT<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Performance \u2013 whatever the item is supposed to do; how well does it actually do it. On a scale of 1 to 10, how well does it work?<\/li>\n<li>Durability \u2013 how long will it last? How much of a load can it really handle? Is it tough or fragile?<\/li>\n<li>Ease of use \u2013 Is it easy to learn and teach others?<\/li>\n<li>Ease of installation \u2013 Does it require any special care or environment?<\/li>\n<li>Availability \u2013 How quickly can I have it?<\/li>\n<li>Mobility \u2013 Can it be easily transported?<\/li>\n<li>Safety \u2013 What are the risks in using the item?<\/li>\n<li>Physical appearance \u2013 Does it look good? Is it bigger or smaller than other options? How much space does it need?<\/li>\n<li>Sensational \u2013 Will it affect my senses \u2013 is it noisy, smelly, heat producing, visually annoying?<\/li>\n<li>Exhaust and by products \u2013 Does using it cause other things to occur?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>SERVICE<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maintenance \u2013 What do I have to do to keep it working well? Will you do it for me? How expensive might this be?<\/li>\n<li>Repairs \u2013 Can I fix it myself? Who can fix it? Does the supplier do so? \u2026 at what cost?<\/li>\n<li>Service agreement \u2013 Is this available? What does it cost? What does it include?<\/li>\n<li>Warranty \u2013 For how long? What\u2019s covered? Any testimonials about this?<\/li>\n<li>Replacement parts \u2013 Easy to find? At what prices? How often needed?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>TOTAL ACQUISITION COST<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Unit price \u2013 As compared to other options?<\/li>\n<li>Flexible terms of purchase \u2013 financing, leasing and so forth.<\/li>\n<li>Nickel and dime charges \u2013 over and above the price, what other costs or fees are charged?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>SUPPLIER<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reputation \u2013 Google reviews? Community concern?<\/li>\n<li>Culture \u2013 What kind of a supplier do you want to support? Does their social or environmental position matter? How do they treat their people?<\/li>\n<li>Expert advice \u2013 is the seller an expert? Are they looking out for my best interest or theirs?<\/li>\n<li>Help desk support \u2013 How is help provided?<\/li>\n<li>Size \u2013 Does a small business offer an advantage?<\/li>\n<li>Locality \u2013 Does a local business offer an advantage?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Every purchase is a unique event and a generic list like this includes some elements that will often times be not needed or considered.\u00a0But sometimes, when the acquisition is going to contribute significantly to our life and or business, then perhaps we should be more diligent in our shopping. And consider much more than just price.<\/p>\n<p><u><\/u>Be a better buyer. Be more discriminating. Demand more from your suppliers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">======================================================<\/p>\n<p>Steve Gatter is a copywriter and an advocate for small and local businesses who offer a full complement of value-added benefits to everything they do. Shop small.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Much is written today about better sales and marketing, but have you read much about how to be a better buyer? There is more to the transaction than just price, right? What else matters when making a purchase? Here\u2019s an initial list for your consideration and please share your thoughts too. PRODUCT Performance \u2013 whatever [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[31,32],"class_list":["post-572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-customer-service","tag-purchasing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.fundusphoto.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}