What Value Are You Offering Your Customers?
If you know the importance of selling on value, then you might already be actively engaged in creating that “best value” for your product or service, in the hopes of winning over some new clientele. Now, this can work when you’re the big fish in the proverbial pond, or if you’ve struck ground on some new idea that your competitors have yet to match you on, but for most small businesses, this just isn’t the case and isn’t the best way to be focusing your efforts.
If you’re like most businesses, however, you aren’t the biggest, you aren’t the first, and you shouldn’t be taking a risk by banking it all on a “best value” proposition. Instead, a more likely (and ultimately, more effective) strategy will be to incrementally offer added value to customers, and this quick guide will give you some tips on how to rethink your approach.
If you’ve ever heard the term “value-added selling” before, you might have an inkling of where this advice is headed, but if not, let’s take a moment to explain what we’re talking about. In a nutshell, value-added selling is a methodology by which you seek out ways to entice potential customers by showing them the value your product or service can create for them.
In order to be effective with this approach, you’ll need to find ways to enhance or augment the inherent value of a product or service that you’re offering to customers, and that’s where, as a smaller business, you should really be focusing your efforts. Now, what are some straightforward ways to start adding value your customers will notice? Here are a few…
Get faster about what you do: Everyone enjoys speedy service. If you can find a way to get your products to customers quicker, or implement your services in a reduced timeframe, you’ll not only be impressing your current customers—you’ll be making your product/service enticing for potential customers who didn’t even realize they wanted what you have to offer.
Improve your quality: Just as a faster product/service is perceived as more valuable than a slower option, you can also improve how potential customers view the worth of your product/service by improving its quality. The cool thing about this approach is that quality, in the eyes of your customers, is whatever they deem to be important. All you have to do is find out what facets of your offerings your customers want to see improved, and improve them.
Make it easier to access: Most people are willing to pay a premium for convenience. Because of this, if you’re able to make it easier for your customers to gain access to and purchase your product, you’re adding value. In reducing the customer’s burdens, they’re more apt to purchase from you, and more likely to recommend you to other potential customers.
Be friendlier: There’s something to be said about service with a smile. If you can ensure that your customer service representatives are putting their best feet forward and treating potential clients with warmth and cheerfulness, you’ll starting bringing in more clients (who they can continue to treat with warmth and cheerfulness).