What separates good companies from great ones?
Truly exceptional companies understand that customer value is the sum total of everything they do, not just the product they sell.
What’s the sum total of what your company does? This could include anything from the level of support you offer to the terms and conditions of your contract. Here are some examples:
As you can see, many factors contribute to the total value of your offering. And some of these items are outside the realm of what individual sellers and marketers are responsible for on a day-to-day basis. However, the answer to each of these questions could have a direct impact on the sum total of the value you provide to a customer, and thereby affect your ability to find, create, and keep customers.
This is where many sellers and marketers fall into a trap, because they assume that customers buy from them because they have such a fantastic product. That may be true – but that’s not necessarily the main reason they buy from you. It could be, for example, they buy from you rather than a competitor because you have such a simple implementation process. If, however, your competitor improved its implementation process, you could start to lose market share and be left wondering why.
So you have to make sure that you think about all the other elements that go into the customer’s experience – from shopping, to purchasing, to ongoing maintenance, to upgrades, and beyond. If you want to cultivate long and prosperous relationships with customers, learn to think about value in the broadest sense possible. Remember, everything you do contributes to total customer value.