What do you think matters most to your customers?
I’m sure if I had the opportunity to ask you this question in person, especially with a group of your peers, that there would be a few different but common answers we’d hear from the crowd.
Of course, this is something that I do regularly at the Cardone Ventures events that my team and I host all over the country.
One of the answers that I hear most — and one that is usually incorrect, in my opinion — is that price is what matters most to customers. Cheap services. Cheap products. Just offer it at the lowest possible price and everyone will be happy.
Don’t get stuck in a race to the bottom
Here’s the thing, though: There’s always (and I do mean always) going to be someone who can do cheaper. They can source cheaper parts, hire cheaper labor, or take a smaller margin in order to undercut the competition.
And if being the cheapest in the market is your angle, then what choice do you have other than to compete with them on that level? Then you’re stuck in a race to the bottom, and the quality of everything that your brand is doing will suffer.
I’ve seen it happen across an abundance of industries, and it will continue to happen as long as people continue to completely misunderstand what it is that people really want out of the products and services they invest in.
What do your customers really want? Value!
Here’s the thing: At the end of the day, the people who can afford to pay whatever they want, whether it be for HVAC services or an out of pocket medical procedure or a new car — whatever that thing might be — these people expect a certain level of service, professionalism, attention, and care, and these are precisely the areas where you can differentiate yourself in the marketplace by giving your customers a sense of value that they can’t get anywhere else.
Here’s the other thing: You don’t really have to charge that much more for them to get it, but what they’ll get in return will mean so much more, both to them and their experience as your customers, but also to you in terms of your revenue, your new customer opportunities, and the brand equity you’re building by setting yourself apart from your price-obsessed competitors.
Don’t believe me? Just ask yourself what it is that you personally want out of the purchases you make? Do you really want something that’s the cheapest if it means that you’re going to have to replace it right away? Do you want to deal with hard to get a hold of customer service representatives, or the hassle of getting a refund for something you’re unsatisfied with?
Of course not! Most of us are willing to invest a little more if it means that we’re going to get something reliable in return. Transactions are about trust. Without customers, you don’t really have a business.
These people are putting their trust in you, and you can either take their money and run (which I really, really don’t recommend), or you can create the ultimate customer experience for them.
Want to show you customers value? Then you need systems!
Now, I believe that any business should be putting their all into serving their customers at the highest possible level, but this isn’t just something that you say, it’s something that you have to put into practice, and it requires immense attention to detail.
Your team must have its operations, marketing, sales — any and all systems — documented, communicated, trained on, and constantly refined in order to make your business an exceptional one. There’s no two ways about it. Creating exceptional experiences for your customers means you have to have exceptional internal communication and operations.
At Cardone Venture, we have mandatory training time every single day. It’s built into our operations. Every single person in our organization is trained to answer the phone, speak to our clients, and get them the support they need.
We’re able to accomplish this because we have a very clear mission that we follow, and that’s to help our clients achieve their personal, professional, and financial goals through their businesses.
We not only have a clear mission behind why we do what we do, but we also have a very clear vision of where we want to take our business over the next decade. This helps our team understand how they can move the business forward through their respective roles.
We also have a set of business values that we abide by, guiding principles that help us with every decision we make with and for our clients. It sounds simple, but it takes extreme focus and a deep sense of responsibility and accountability in order to make this happen.
But I promise you that if you’re able to commit your business in the same way to the ideals that matter most to you and your customers, that you’ll have something that no one else in your market can compete with, because you’re giving your clients an undeniable feeling of value.
Interested in learning more about how we help businesses 10X their organizations their lives? Then you need to join us at our next Cardone Ventures event! You’ll be in attendance with like-minded peers, the CV team, and me, and I can guarantee you that this will be the most impactful experience you can have for your business. Seats fill up quickly, so register now!
Recent Comments