When you are building up your tea business, it is essential to choose the right supplier that can help you to take your brand – and success – as far as possible. But all too often, fledgling businesses aren’t sure which criteria to consider when working out who to partner with, or they make a knee-jerk decision without having a structured approach that considers all angles.
These are five of the most important angles to consider when weighing up your choice of tea supplier:
1. Track record
If your tea supplier has an excellent track record, then this suggests that they will be well placed to offer you the targeted services and support that you need. Look for a range of services that will offer value to your business at every stage – from brand development to tea blending and filling and logistics solutions. This will mean that you can select the services that you most need and get a trusted provider to help your business to grow. It also means that you will have flexibility when it comes to deciding how you deliver your own business operation, and which services you prefer to outsource to a trusted supplier with years of experience in the field and the right contacts, rather than try to deliver yourself in-house.
2. Quality
For premium prices you need to sell premium products, so always choose tea suppliers with a real passion for quality products. This quality brand value should be obvious across their entire business model so that it reflects your own. Customers are looking for top-quality and they will pay for niche, high-end tea.
3. Responsiveness
A great tea supplier will naturally be responsive towards your business and ready to react to changing conditions in the marketplace. This will give you confidence in choosing a partner that can offer a changing, relevant and insightful service that is responding to evolving customer needs and market conditions.
4. Attitude towards customer service
Naturally, the best tea suppliers have a real commitment to great customer service. Ask yourself what the contact experience is like when you get in touch and test it across different touchpoints. Does the supplier respond quickly and fully? Are they keen to help? This will give you a real sense of what their attitude will be like if you commission their services.
5. Value of tea suppliers
This is vital because the notion of value goes far beyond the basic price. Pay low prices and you’ll get the bottom-end service to match. Remember, you really do get what you pay for. If you are trying to build a quality brand, then look for suppliers that offer the best possible value for the budget you can afford to pay. See the arrangement as an investment in your own business and proceed accordingly.
Remember, the right tea supplier will make all the difference to the way that your tea business grows and is successful. At Blue Ocean Tea we believe our expertise and services will ensure that your own niche tea brand is a business success story.