What is your Value Prop?

As I mature, I realize that there are many right ways to do things and many folks who have different approaches - and they can be right too! In an effort to continue learning, I’d like to share my experiences and would love to hear other’s perspectives on what makes up your Value Prop. 

Several years ago, when I worked for a private wholesaler whose mantra was to stay under the radar, to take care of our customers, and to sell, sell, sell – we did. We grew, and then we wanted to diversify into another therapeutic area. The trouble with being under the radar is that very few outside our core business even knew who we were. My task was to gain additional access to products in another therapeutic area. The one question I heard over and over again from pharmaceutical manufacturers: “What’s your Value Prop?” Some of my attempts to answer were:

• We want to work with the smaller, underserved practices – Pharma’s response? NOPE
• We want to focus on the larger, more economically oriented practices – NOPE
• We are building a state-of-the-art technology platform – NOPE (I think pharma knew that was a real stretch for us)
• We have unique coverage by our sales team – NOPE
• Our Distribution services are stellar – NOPE

Ok, you see the pattern. Pretty soon, questions about our Value Prop elicited a cringe from me. I began believing this phrase was code for: “Heck no, you can’t have access to our product – you are no different from the other wholesalers, and we have the market covered.” The deciding factor that eventually differentiated our company from others, and what finally drove pharmaceutical manufacturers to allow access for products in this therapeutic area, was our customer service. I believe that not all customer service is equal. Aside from staying under the radar, another tenent was to understand the needs of the customer. Sounds simple, right? It’s actually a lot of work. First, you may want to identify who the customer is: the manufacturer or the account that pays the bill? I believe it’s both, and the most successful situation is when all are aligned with similar incentives … which is another story.

Customer Service is understanding the customer and being an extension of their practice or their group. Understand what they are trying to accomplish. Understand their pressures, objectives, and dynamics. Understand how they are different from the last customer you spoke with and learn how their behaviors are similar to the last customer you visited. When you are asking the questions, be confident in what you do not know – this is when we truly learn. My good “knuckle dragging” friend, @John Crowley, does love to give me a hard time about my southern accent when I share with sales reps to “waller in the unknown.” While attorneys fear asking a question they don’t know the answer to, the rest of us can uniquely understand the needs of the customers as we acknowledge our own questions and uncertainties. When we understand the customer, we can differentiate ourselves and can absolutely deliver the best customer service.

That’s my take – I’m ready to waller in the unknown. Please share your Value Prop! 

………………. By the way, we did pretty well once we had access to the products. Our Value Prop? Customer Insights and Customer Service!