The Value Of Free. How We Gave It Away And Got It Back Tenfold

For the record, our consultancy offers a free service.?

Shameless Plug : For organizations that include Eloqua as part of their martech stack, we?offer a free technology assessment,?spending up to 10 hours reviewing how optimal the setup and make recommendations on improving their Eloqua instance as it relates to the goals and priorities of the business.

We do it to demonstrate our breadth of product knowledge and shine a light on how customers can make better use of the best-in-class marketing automation platform. Does it lead to a paid engagement. Sometimes but not always.?But that's ok with us.?We do it with no strings attached.?It's the Canadian in us, but we really don't push too hard.?If it brings incremental value to their business, we have met our goal.

Value of Free.

If our goal is to bring value to each of our customers, does the idea of a free service seem counterintuitive because, if you believe "you get what you pay for", there is zero value in the expertise and insight we put forward.?

I think people can buy into the fact that more "value" is placed on things they pay for or things that cost them something. We can choose to get into the economics of scarcity of goods that has a direct correlation to value etc., but the intuition is that people do rank value based on the cost equation. The more it costs, the more value is perceived.

For instance, if the dollars were the only variable that determines value, we would place far more "value" on a Rolls Royce than a Toyota Corolla (no disrespect intended towards Rolls or Corolla owners!)?But if we consider value across other dimensions, I would suggest the same Corolla would have significant value to a single father who needs it to get to and from work each day, to provide food for his family.?Whereas, the Rolls may be the fifth car in the fleet of cars owned by a billionaire. The value of the car, to the wealthy individual, is likely low or at the very least, lower than for the single dad.

When we think about the success we have realized through our technology assessment, there are a few common themes that have surfaced.

1. Its Not About Free. The value is in the insight, not in the cost. Once the customer commits to the offer, move on from what it is costing them; it is no longer worth emphasizing.
2. Relevant Insights Build Trust. Customers MUST receive relevant insight for there to be a transfer of value.
3. Invest YOUR Time. Go all in to make sure every engagement -- paid or otherwise -- reflects your abilities / capabilities. There is a negative cost to doing half ass work
4. Value Your IP. As a consultancy, the most valuable asset is our IP; Be open to share but be sure you understand it's true value.

We have had the good fortune to establish great partnerships that have started this way and so whether it is a Rolls or Corolla, we see the true value.

How much value do you place on the relationship you form with your customers??And at what cost?

(if you are an Eloqua customer, reach out and let's talk)

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