I was sitting at a relatively small conference that featured several sponsors, one of which happened to be an office supply company, and had the joy of hearing the sponsor—very loudly, fairly angrily—dressing down the conference organizer. The reason? A rival’s notepads (with clearly printed logo at the very top) had been distributed to all of the attendees. The conference organizer was somewhat clueless: “I just ran out to get some paper for everyone, and this was the closest.” I’m betting that the sponsor kept its wallet a bit more closed the following year.
This enlightening experience is a reminder that law firms need to pay attention, too, to their buying habits. In an ideal world, of course, firms would simply focus on the most environmentally friendly products. But there’s more to buying than being environmentally correct. Firms have their clients to think about. Are you representing a coffee company but supplying your own coffee makers with the beans of a competitor? Is a manufacturer of copiers one of your biggest clients? Are you using its machines? Even on a smaller scale, firms can extend a courtesy to their clients. Is a restaurateur a client? Would it kill you to host a business lunch at her space?
Someone at a firm needs to pay attention to these niceties and guide deciders as they make their selections. A low-level law firm employee might be thinking he’s saving the firm money by buying the cheaper legal pads without realizing that he’s ticking off a client who very much is paying attention to what’s on the conference table at business meetings. Don’t buy on the fly. A firm should make well-coordinated decisions, based on far more than cost, when supplying its business.
—Lori Tripoli
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