{"id":9590,"date":"2017-12-11T10:00:06","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T09:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/passodue.flywheelsites.com\/2017\/12\/11\/ethical-buying\/"},"modified":"2020-12-09T14:47:12","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T13:47:12","slug":"ethical-buying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diariodiunconsulente.it\/en\/2017\/12\/11\/ethical-buying\/","title":{"rendered":"When the customer makes the difference: ethical buying"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alice Alessandri<\/a> and Alberto Aleo<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

We often talk about ethical buying to refer to choosing items that are sustainable<\/strong> and produced without harming the environment<\/strong> and communities. Actually, a customer\u2019s choices can influence the market not only in terms of “sustainable production<\/strong>” but also in relationship styles<\/strong>, contributing to make negotiations more ethical. Many sellers argue that our ethics courses<\/a> should also address customers<\/strong> because, they believe, it is the poor behaviour<\/strong> of customers that forces salespeople to act incorrectly as a matter of self-defence. We dedicate this article to \u201ccustomers\u201d to encourage them to promote ethical buying,<\/strong> as this has a considerable impact on relationships.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"ethical<\/p>\n

Suppliers and Partners<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Poor customer behavior<\/strong> can be linked to the idea that purchasers have \u201cthe upper hand\u201d. Let’s face it, if you are the one paying you can try to exploit your purchasing power. But are we really sure that it\u2019s always worth pushing home this advantage?<\/span> Even the most ruthless buyers<\/strong>, in fact, must strive to preserve a good relationship with their suppliers<\/strong>, especially if these are true partners who are party to creating the differential value<\/strong> of an offer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

– – –<\/strong>
\nJust as companies rank customers<\/strong> not only on the basis of how much they buy, but also on the basis of their purchasing potential<\/strong>, so those buying should classify their suppliers<\/strong> according to the degree to which they participate in value-building<\/strong>.<\/span>
\n– – –<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

It may be useful to dedicate yourself to customer profiling<\/strong>, using specific purchasing indicators<\/strong>: the possibility and advisability of replacing the supplier<\/strong>, the level to which this supplier is an integral<\/strong> part of your production chain, their ability to express added value<\/strong> for you and for your customers, as well as the existence of possible purchasing alternatives<\/strong> and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marketing Mix of Purchases<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

We all know the Marketing Mix<\/strong><\/a>: product, price, place and promotion. To build an effective market strategy you need to look at all of these elements, but what should you consider to render your negotiations<\/strong> with suppliers<\/strong> more profitable? The ingredients of the Ethical Buying Mix<\/strong> can be extracted from the theory of Fisher, Ury <\/strong>and Patton<\/strong> (creators of the Harvard Negotiation Program<\/strong>): people<\/strong>,\u00a0interests<\/strong>,\u00a0options<\/strong>\u00a0and standards<\/strong> (objective\u00a0criteria). Let’s briefly analyze this:<\/span><\/p>\n