Using language that represents your impact

As a media company, Quirk’s is familiar with the power of language. Be it in the magazine, blog or even on Twitter, we work to use words that best represent our company to the marketing research industry. So when Brooks Deaton, NASCAR, submitted an article sharing the reasons behind his choice to remove the word “vendor” from his vocabulary, we were all ears. Coincidentally, less than two weeks later, research supplier Isabelle Albanese submitted an article on why she believes the market research industry should stop using the term vendor and focus more on relationships.  

Knowing that the topic rings true on both sides of the table, we are publishing the articles side-by-side in the e-newsletter. After reading the client-side perspective below, check out the supplier-side article, “Be more than a vendor: Serve don’t sell.” 

Editor’s note: Brooks Deaton is senior director, consumer insights at NASCAR, Charlotte, N.C. 

I am a 15-year marketing research industry veteran. This number used to feel big when I started many moons ago but the years have flown by. I spent five years on the supplier side before moving to the client side, working for Aflac, Denny’s and finally NASCAR, where I am four years into my role as the senior director of consumer insights, driving insights on current and future fan opportunities for the sport. Each company has brought its unique challenges and has helped mold my approach on effectively impacting a business.  

Since entering the MR industry there have only been a few things that make me cringe. One word, more than any other, evokes pain in my soul. I have gone out of my way to eradicate the word from my vocabulary at work and have pressured my team and organization to do the same. What word can conjure up such angst? Vendor. 

Merriam-Webster seems to agree with me. The definitions of vendor are even simplistic in nature: “one that vends: seller; vending machine.”  

I know, I know … it is just one word and gets used often so it must be harmless, right? I disagree. As researchers, it is important for us to use language that accurately represents our impact. “Vendor” feels cheap. It reminds me of a baseball game where I’m buying a hot dog and, more than likely, a beer. It is a transaction that doesn’t require much thought and represents something generic in exchange for money.  

I first came to this line of thinking when I was on the supplier side. A former boss often suggested that the notion of a vendor represented a cheapened interaction, akin to what you would get with a vending machine. It stuck with me. I was determined to exclude the language from my vocabulary as I wanted those I worked with to feel the impact I had in making their lives easier. That helped me build relationships by setting the tone of my expectations, both of my partner and of myself.

Client-side researchers need insights partners, not vendors. I want to have a deeper relationship with those I choose to work with and I don’t want to feel like I, the client, should dictate everything that happens in the ultimate transaction for goods and services. 

Deeper connections 

Don’t we as an industry want to establish deeper connections with one another? Suppliers I work with are never referred to as vendors. My organization knows that the minds I bring to the table to share insights on our fans are strategic allies, partners, fan consultants, even research suppliers … anything but just another vendor. Here are some key differentiators I make to distinguish a supplier from a vendor: 

I don’t think it is easy to be on the supplier side, however I have seen too many examples of typos, outdated logos and sales efforts that show the company has done no research into understanding the basics of how our world operates. 

I value the work the companies I partner with bring to the table. And while not all research can be innovative on approach and methodology or visually stimulating, everything that I do is going to have some impact on the business. In addition, I want those that I work with to know as many of the ins and outs of my business as I can share. This is something you find in a partner, not a vendor. And for me it is ultimately selfish in nature. If I allow someone to understand my business better, the less time I am going to spend re-creating reports and deciphering the data. 

By focusing on words such as partner or ally, I am prompted to bring experts to the table. This in turn allows the executives at the companies I work for to hear a voice from outside our four walls. 

What you bring to the table

Sample size of one here but if you are on the supplier side in the MR industry and present yourself as a vendor, I won’t be comfortable with what you’re bringing to the relationship. It cheapens the work you put in day in and day out to create value for the clients you work with. And for the client-side audience, consider how the language you use impacts your business.