VALUE PERSPECTIVE - Missing success factor that can make all the difference - Part II
In Part I we established what value is and how a business benefits from making decisions based on value perspective. In this post we want to look at how a business can deliver value as a competitive advantage strategy, potentially winning more customer business and thus increasing its turnover over time.
The fact is that as a business, to compete only on price is not always the smartest strategy, especially in the long term because it can affect your margins significantly as you simply cannot continue to drive down prices below a certain point and still make the level of profit that will enable you to remain in business.
Thankfully it is almost always possible to find something that can be value-added to your products or services.
It is always better to build a business with the aim of delivering value because there is no end to what the business can do to improve on its delivery or offering. It is therefore important to focus on creating more value for your customers and clients. It is a better way to stay ahead by looking for ways of competing in the market place other than lowering price.
There is always something that is important to your clients and customers that you can offer other than cutting prices or offering them discounts. From simple things such as, how a product and/or service is packaged and presented to a customer, level of customer care, procedures for handling complaints, all of which add to or reduce the perceived value in the eyes of the customer. For instance it is not surprising to come across a business offering a $20 product as if it is a $200 product, and another one offering a $200 product as if it is a $10 product.
Here are a few more ways of adding value to your products and services:
- Focusing a lot of attention in your marketing campaign on listing several benefits your product or service deliver to customers. This communicates greater value, as it makes them appreciate you’re solving several problems with your solution, making it worth the price they are paying.
- Offering free and faster delivery can add significant value to your products in the eyes of the customer;
- Making your business much more accessible and more convenient to customers. You can increase the convenience of purchasing and using your product or service or taking advantage of technology to position yourself to be easily accessible via available channels. Examples include home delivery, and having an App for your business where customer can access your products and services;
- Bundling packages that add significant benefits to the products you are selling;
- Offering different service package levels (such as gold, platinum, silver packages) for your customers based on frequency of doing business with you, amount of purchase, etc.;
- Offering more valuable service, pricing, benefits and related items to customers based on the number of times they buy from you, such as, frequent flyer air miles offered by airlines;
- Reward systems based on recognizing customers for being outstanding customers over a period, usage of products or services, purchase of certain levels of orders;
- Assigning dedicated personnel to manage customers’ accounts personally and to provide support;
The fact is that with creativity, innovation and a desire to always stand out and be ahead of the competition, there are many things you can do to add value to your product and service delivery.
In summary, assessing the worth of your product or service on the basis of value proves to be much more wholesome than using the cost or price of the item. Not only that, it also offers more options to you in differentiating yourself from competitors and helps you to make better decisions when purchasing products and services for the business.
What other ways do you add value to your products and services? I would love to hear from you. Please don’t hesitate to share with your network.
For in depth discussion on “Value Perspective†please check out my book “BEYOND THE PASSION†available in both paperback and ebook formats on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, iBookstore, Smashwords and bookstores worldwide.
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