Customer Value Fortifies Growth

How can you maximize business growth, retain customers and sustain high levels of customer satisfaction in one fell swoop? The answer isn’t as complex as you might think, and almost counter intuitively it does not result from a singular focus on marketing or sales, despite what experts in those areas might suggest…

The most effective way to achieve these objectives is by understanding what your customers value. I’ll never forget a comment made by the CEO of a Marketing firm I was working with while we were exploring future opportunities for growing his company. “If our customers suddenly decide that they can attain the greatest value from dirty diapers, then we are going to start selling the best dirty diapers money can buy.” Possibly an odd statement, but it demonstrates his acuity to recognizing the distinct parallels between success for his business, and providing distinct and meaningful value to his customers.

Are you clear on what your customers, both internal and external, desire? Can you definitively describe what they value and how you are (or are going to) deliver that value?

Here are some questions to consider:

Assessing Customer Value:

• What do your customers appreciate about your products, services and people?
• Where would your customer like to see improvements (consider your people, products, and services)?
• What do your customers find provide little or no value relative to your products or services?
• What are your customers’ strategic objectives? How might you support achieving those objectives?
• What challenges are your customers going to face in the next 24 to 48 months? Which pose the greatest risk?
• Would your customers refer you to other companies? If so, why? If not, what would need to change in order for them to do so?

The outcomes to these types of questions not only form the basis for a very distinct value proposition and market focus, but they identify where you need to improve, invest and develop in order to provide significant, meaningful and continuous value to your customers or clients.

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Question: Is your department, division, or company built to provide value to it’s customers or clients? When was the last time you identified what it is that your customers truly value?

Resource: If you want to understand more about what your customers value, drop me a note by clicking here or send me an email at shawn@casemoreandco.com and I will send along a document that outlines all of the questions we ask during our customer value assessments.

© Shawn Casemore 2014. All rights reserved.