The Oregon Business Coach

Does everyone in your organization know what customers value about your product?  Do you?

How does your product or service deliver value to your customer? Everyone in your business needs to know the answer! If your least capable employee can't give the answer then how can they deliver value to your business, by working together as a team to deliver the value of your business to your customer?

Everyone looks for a bargain!

When I took my marketing classes, they said something that stuck in my mind because it was so obvious—Customers buy when they think the cost of the purchase is a bargain. Duh!

But the cost adds up in some ways that are easy to miss. First of all, every customer is seeking to solve various problems and needs. Sometimes, the needs are recognized and consciously acknowledged. Sometimes, they are not. Regardless, unsatisfied needs create tension. (The point of some advertising is to create a new need and the resulting tension where it did not exist before!)

What does the bargain look like from the customer's point fo view?

Unmet needs also have a cost. The cost may be financial, but it may also be emotional, social, political, or moral. It can also be a combination of these and other factors. By doing nothing, the customer continues to pay this cost until it is resolved.

• What is the unmet need of your customer, and what is the cost incurred by leaving the need unmet?
• Is this a one time cost, or does the total cost accrue over time?
• What are the costs to you, to meet these needs of your customer?

The Coach