How Can You Tell if a Technology Vendor is Right for Your Business?

It can make a big difference for your business to partner with the right technology vendor. How can you know if you’re working with a vendor that’s looking out for your company’s best interests, or one that wants to rip you off? You can know for sure if you’re working with the right vendor if you have your trusted IT provider choose them for you.

This is the benefit to SMART Services’s vendor management service. Unfortunately for some businesses, they tend to need a product or service offered by a particular technology vendor and jump at the chance to get it without reading the fine print, or taking the time to get to know how reliable the vendor may or may not be. Before jumping into bed with a vendor, first be sure to investigate their credentials by asking questions like these:

How Knowledgeable are They?
Does the vendor know what they’re talking about? Some vendors spout off about their services without knowing the finer details about them. In order to separate the good from the bad, you need to understand which vendors know what they’re talking about and which ones are pseudo-scamming you. It may be difficult to catch on to this if you’re not knowledgeable yourself about the service you need. If you’ve got the time, you can always take a crash YouTube course about technology, but few business owners are able to do this, which is why it’s good to consult with a trusted IT expert like ourselves.

What is the Quality of Their Product or Service?
This is a no-brainer. A vendor must provide quality solutions if they want to receive any business. Of course, not all vendors think that way. Some provide low-quality solutions for a high price due to the demand being high in Detroit. You need to make sure that you get what you’re paying for. To find this out, you can talk to customers that they’ve worked with, or have us check on the quality of their work for you.

Are They Taking Advantage of the Latest Solutions?
Is the vendor going to find ways to equip your business with cutting-edge technology? The best way to stay ahead of your competition is by utilizing new solutions which help you target an untapped market and improve operations. A technology vendor that’s not thinking about your future isn’t worth partnering with.

Will They Work with Your Staff?
Are they willing to work with your current IT department in order to find the best solution for your needs? In order to thrust your business into a new era of productivity and success, your vendors have to be willing to work with your staff and work around your company’s schedule. Without this spirit of collaboration, it can be difficult to establish a mutually fruitful relationship.

Can You Easily Communicate Your Needs to Them?
How easy are they to contact? You want to make sure that your vendors are reliable and easy to get ahold of. If you have trouble communicating with vendors, nothing gets done, and your schedule gets thrown off. If you hire a vendor for a service, then you deserve to have quick replies to your questions and clear explanations about what they’re planning on doing.

To all of these vendor questions, you’ve already found satisfactory answers in SMART Services. With our vendor management service, we’re able to use our knowledge of your business and find trusted technology vendors that are the right fit. Additionally, we go one step further and even manage these vendors for you so that you can have a single point of contact for all of your technology needs. To take advantage of our network of trusted technology vendors, call us at 586 258-0650 .