(Time to read this Blog is about 2.5 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:
   “High turnover of staff is their emotionally healthy response to your emotionally
   unhealthy business culture.”
   …Donald Cooper.
    

2. Fascinating rat research…adult rats discriminate. According to studies by Israeli researchers, adult rats will come to the aid of other rats stuck in a tube…but only if the distressed rat belongs to their own social group.  Adolescent rats, however, did not discriminate and helped all rats in distress.
    
3. Quick Biz Tip:  A ‘Business Plan’ is not enough!

This is the time of year when many businesses create or update their Business Plan. But there’s absolutely no point having a Business Plan without an Action Commitment and timely follow-up to measure performance.

For every commitment made and ‘action to be taken’ stated in your Business Plan, specifically…

1. 1. what will be done, by whom, by when, at what cost, with what result, measured how and rewarded how?
   2. will the team members charged with each responsibility be given the resources and the empowerment to ‘get it done’?
   3. who will follow up, when, to measure progress, encourage the team, remove roadblocks and intervene when necessary?

This is the process by which things actually get done.  Remember, businesses don’t die from a single shot to the head.  They die, slowly but surely, from a thousand uncompleted tasks.

4. Fascinating car fact. GM only has one entry in the top 15 best-selling cars in America.  Toyota and Honda dominate the list.

Now, to this week’s important topic:

Finally, the simple truth about ‘Value’: 

Whatever product or service you sell, your market is over-served and under-differentiated.  There are too many other businesses selling what you’re selling and most of you look alike, sound alike and charge about the same price. 

Ultimately, customer ‘ownership’ and business profitability is about creating, delivering and communicating compelling value that ‘grabs’ your target customers, clearly differentiates you from your competitors, makes you ‘famous’ and grows your bottom line.  Customers demand value and every business promises it…but there’s a huge lack of clarity about what ‘value’ really is.

Let’s keep it simple; there are only 3 kinds of Value…Functional, Emotional and Financial Value.  That’s it!

1. We deliver Functional Value when we…

• • • sell extraordinary products, services and experiences that actually work for our target customers.
    • are open or available when our target customers need us.
    • provide the information, coaching and encouragement that they need to wisely choose and effectively use what we sell. Be their ‘Caring Coach’.
    • create policies, systems and processes that make us easy, efficient and consistent to do business with.
       

2. Next is Emotional Value. Most businesses struggle with this one.  They think it’s some airy-fairy thing that can’t be defined…and they’re dead wrong! 

Quite simply, you deliver Emotional Value when your customers feel better about themselves and the world every time they do business with you and every time they use what they bought from you.  That’s it! If you’re not delivering Emotional Value, you’re not ‘connecting’ with your customers on an emotional level, which is where most buying decisions are actually made, or strongly influenced. 

How could you deliver more emotional value at every ‘touch-point’?  How could you make prospects and customers feel smart, valued, respected and safe?  How could you brighten their day with simple acts of kindness, joy and gratitude?  Whatever you sell, people come to you for that, plus joy!  Never underestimate the power of joy. It may sound corny, but it will make a huge difference in their day.  People will always remember how you made them feel.
 

3. Financial Value is #3. Most businesses put it as #1, but it has to be #3, because it’s a function of the previous two. If you’re getting beaten up on price, it’s a sure sign that you’ve failed to create and effectively communicate some other compelling value.

You deliver financial value when your customers believe that they paid a fair and competitive price for all the functional and emotional value they got from you.  If you don’t deliver extraordinary functional and emotional value, there’s no price low enough to be good enough.

So, the question is, are you delivering the compelling combination of functional, emotional and financial value that makes you the clear ‘wise choice’ for your target customers?  If not, what needs fixing in your business, who will fix it…and by when?

Then, when you’ve done the work, you need to effectively communicate your compelling value story in everything you do.  There’s no point being the best if you’re also the best kept secret. If you’d like a little help with this important process, I’m easy to find at donald@donaldcooper.com.  

That’s it for this week…

Stay safe…live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.