The process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers

Why is your product or service worth X amount of dollars? How would that answer differ if you asked current or prospective customers?

There are an infinite number of choices out there. No matter how narrow your niche or specialized your offerings are, there’s a pretty good chance you are competing for the attention spans of your target audience along with countless other competitors. All the time. 

Why should customers buy from you?

It all comes down to value and your ability to articulate that value to consumers. I’m not talking about deep discounts or everyday low pricing—in fact far from it. There’s a reason why people are willing to spend $100,000+ on an S-Class Mercedes when they can choose between hundreds of other less expensive cars or pay a premium to buy their groceries at Whole Foods.  

Brand Value Transcends Price

Whether you spent 2 minutes, 2 hours, or 2 years bringing an idea to life, you can’t automatically assume that customers are going to appreciate the true value of what you have to offer. That’s one of the things the world's most valuable brands—brands like Apple, Disney, and Amazon really have figured out—they are able to align the things their customers value the most with the value of their offerings.

I’m talking about capturing the essence of what makes their products and service truly unique and communicating that essence consistently with their messaging, positioning, and their brands.

Brand Value Transcends Products

Don’t get me wrong, you have to have a great product.  If not, it’s going to be very hard to convince customers to give up their hard earned cash to buy whatever it is you’re selling. And even if they do, there is a pretty good chance they’re going to be very price conscious since they won’t have ways to differentiate your products or services from other like businesses.

But beyond the product, it’s really about the customer experience—packaging, product design, features, and the ability to address their need better than all of the other options they might be considering.

Articulating Value to Your Customers

1. Be objective. You’ve got to have a thorough understanding of how your products or services are different from those of your competitors. Is it your design? Your attention to detail? Quality standards? Customer service?
2. Get specific. Trying to communicate value by saying you offer a “quality” product probably won’t be enough. In most cases, that’s assumed. You have to take it further. Dig until you find those 2-3 core things that make your offerings unique.
3. Once you , think about how you can educate current and prospective customers with your messaging. What would you like them to know? What is going to be most important to them? Why should they get really excited about your latest product offering? How will it help them fulfill and make something better in their lives?

The higher the price for your products and services, the greater the need for alignment between the values of your customers and the value you’re bringing to the table.

Back to the Mercedes example, customers expect impeccable design, world-class performance, and incredible craftsmanship.

That’s what’s important to them. That’s what they value. And that’s what they’re paying for.

[Image: Flickr user col_adamson]

Thanks, Chad. I'm really glad you enjoyed the post.

Nice works... this gives some great insight!

Thanks, Ronnell. I'm so glad to hear you liked the post. It's definitely a topic I talk a lot about with clients and thought it warranted some attention.

Glad you wrote this, dude. This topic has gotten off a lot of folks' radar of late. That should not be the case.

RS

Thanks, Ronnell. You make a great point. You can't just throw content at consumers and expect them to automatically make a purchase. They need to get more excited about your product or service than any other option out there. That might take weeks or months or happen in just a few seconds. You can't assume customers will "get" why your products and services are worth "x" amount of dollars--you need to show them throughout their entire journey with your brand.

Shawn,

Shut this stuff up, man. Don't be talking about value. We need more...information, CONTENT, etc.

I laugh every day at how we all get caught up in the information we share regarding our brand. We think it's content and funnels that lead us down the path to success.

Errrrggggggh... Wrong. Very wrong.

No amount of content or information leads me down the path to making a purchase unless I first have an assigned value in my head regarding the item. Many marketers miss this. What astounds me even more is that many, many companies miss this as well.

I love that you used an automotive as your example. They are far and away the best at understanding this, especially the luxury brands.

What are your processes for communicating with customers?

What is communicating customer value?

What is it called when a company communicates the value of the product through media?

What methods or processes can be used to promote services and communicate value to consumers?