MAP violation occurs when a product is sold or advertised below the Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) specified by the manufacturer in their MAP Policy. It is crucial for manufacturers to actively monitor and address these MAP violations across various channels in the US and Canada.
Monitoring of such MAP violations can aid manufacturers in distinguishing between authorized and unauthorized sellers, allowing for the enforcement of Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) compliance. Upon identifying sellers who violate your brand’s minimum advertised pricing policies, you must contact the non-compliant sellers in the United States and Canada, providing them with evidence and urging them to adhere to the MAP policies.
Executing the MAP outreach and compliance process poses challenges in practice. Sending emails on a national holiday in the US or Canada, or the first day the office reopens when your contact’s inbox is likely inundated with new messages, carries the risk of displeasing your resellers. Using aggressive language with your primary reseller due to a slight deviation in their pricing may lead to irritation, potentially prompting them to promote your competitor’s products over yours.
It may not be worthwhile to threaten legal action over a minor, one-time mistake made by your resellers. The authorized reseller may have a good rapport with your company. Sending an automated warning might not always be a good option. Wouldn’t it be more prudent to send them a gentle notice and follow up with a phone call to inform them that their prices are below the MAP? Your reseller counterpart may fully grasp your concern and collaborate with their pricing team to address the issue.
Read More: Police MAP Violators and Incentivize Sellers That Comply With MAP Rules
Crafting effective MAP violation email messages is an art that involves blending best practices in email marketing with an understanding of human psychology.
Below we share a sample of the MAP violation alert email template, you should incorporate the following information in your MAP violation email:
As you review the email example, we suggest you customize them per your business and your reseller relationships to maximize impact. You may decide to let the system automatically send the standard MAP violation notice as the first email, and customize the subsequent ones to get the right rhythm.
First MAP Violation Notice Example
Subject: Map Policy Violation Notice – Urgent Action Required
Your company is in violation of our Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) Policy. Our MAP Policy states that all resellers must advertise our products at a price that is equal to or greater than the MAP price.
We have found that you are advertising the following products below the MAP price on [Platform]:
| SKU | Item Name | MAP | Advertised Price | Difference | Report |
| 300710 | Product Name 1 | $23.16 | $18.99 | $4.17 | Screenshot |
| 900912 | Product Name 2 | $27.96 | $26.36 | $1.60 | Screenshot |
Attached is a list of these products that violate our MAP policy. To address this matter, we kindly request your immediate attention and compliance with our MAP policy.
Failure to comply with our MAP policy within the stipulated timeframe may result in further actions.
As you begin to activate this, you should consider multiple factors in what, when, and how you send the MAP violation letter. You want to send these at a time when you will get attention. For example, you may not want to send these on a holiday when your reseller’s contacts may not check their email. You don’t want to send it the first day after the holiday or the first thing in the morning when your inbox is flooded. Timing the emails at the right time with the right tone is key. You would want to give them time to correct the MAP-violated price before sending out a second notification. Coupling this with phone or other outreach – especially to our top sellers – ensures that you don’t burn bridges with your top sellers. Likewise, having the right threshold for sending emails is also key. For example, you may not want to send a threatening email to a seller that is a few pennies off on an expensive product.