Why should I give you my hard-earned money?
Why should I give you my hard-earned money? That is the question that every customer is asking every store owner, restaurant owner, dry cleaner, auto mechanic, florist, consultant, fitness trainer – the list goes on and on.
Each time a potential customer comes in your door or looks at your website, you must know that they are asking this question. And it is important that you have a great answer for them. Not a lame, me-too answer, but one that gets them to excitedly get out their credit card or write you a check!
So let me ask you – How would you answer this question if a customer was bold enough to ask you directly when they came to your office? More importantly, how would your team members answer this question if they are asked directly by a customer who is about to buy your product or service?
Would everyone in your business give the same answer – or would each person have their own answer, some of them giving answers that might make you a bit uncomfortable or even down-right mad? I would wager that in most businesses, the answers would be all over the board – not consistent – and many would make the business owner (you) furious!
How can that be? I believe it is because you have not spent time thinking through what your true Value Proposition is to your customer.
Your Value Proposition is the reason that someone would exchange their currency for your product or service. Your Value Proposition is NOT your product. It is NOT your service. It is most often described as a FEELING or FEELINGS that your customer has when they do business with you.
So what FEELINGS are you delivering to your customers when they do business with you? Are you absolutely clear on what you want your customers to feel as they drive away from making a purchase from you?
You may be saying to yourself, look, I am NOT a “touchy-feely” person. But that really doesn’t matter. Customers do business with certain businesses and avoid other certain businesses mainly because of the way they are treated, how they are greeted, how their requests are handled, whether or not they feel they are being listened to, or whether or not their “experience” was bad, ok, good or great!
And, experiences are best defined as invoking “feelings” within people. Think about how you feel when your team wins the game as compared to when your team loses on the final play of the game. Think of how you feel at a dentist or when you visit your local gym. As consumers, we go through each day making choices based on the feelings we hope to get from those we do business with.
As a business owner, you MUST be crystal clear on the feelings you want your customers to have as they experience your products or services. Everyone in your business must know what you expect so they can deliver it to your customers each and every time they visit – no matter whether it is early on a Monday morning or just before closing time on Friday afternoon.
Take time this week to think deeply about your Value Proposition – your unique “feelings” that you want your customers to have. Once you have them in mind, write them down, share them with your team, make sure everyone both understands and “gets” it. Find ways to measure whether it is happening or not. Ask your customers how they are feeling. See if their answers align with what you had in mind.
This is a critical issue for any business. If you’re not experiencing the growth you think you should be, then you need to re-visit your Value Proposition and determine if you are delivering the right feelings to your customers so they will exchange more of their dollars for your products and services.
Why should I give you my heard-earned money? Make sure you and everyone on your team know EXACTLY why and can share it with enthusiasm. If you do, your customers will certainly give you more and more of it!
If you need help with this, just ask – I’ll be glad to share some specific ideas to get your juices flowing.
Ride Hard!
Rich
