(Time to read this Blog is about 3 1/2 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:
   “Every aspect of doing business is changing faster than ever.  When it comes to ‘change’, there are 3 positions open and available.  You can be the creator of change, you can embrace the change created by others…or you can be the victim of change.  Choose wisely.”
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   Failure to get things done and failure to deal with non-performance are two of the biggest problems in business today. 
    
   The solution is simple.  Create a culture of clarity, commitment, urgency and accountability.  Every time you give someone a task or project, or when you speak with a team member about the need to improve in specific ways, ask this important 10-word question, “By when can we agree that this will be completed?”  Then, negotiate a reasonable commitment, document it in your Daily Calendar and diligently follow up.  The world is run by those who follow up.  Finally, reward success and deal quickly but fairly with non-performance.
    
   Note: I’ve developed a brilliant 60-minute Zoom webinar on ‘Improving Clarity, Commitment, Urgency & Accountability in Your Business.’  I’m offering this virtual program for just $800.  Contact me at donald@donaldcooper.com if you’d like to chat about this for your business or industry Association.
     
3. Best places to live and work overseas. InterNations, an expat community website with more than 5 million members, just released its latest rankings of best cities for those living and working abroad. 
    
   Málaga, Spain is the top-rated city worldwide with 2 more Spanish cities, Alicante and Valencia, coming in 2^nd and 3^rd.  
    
4. Lobbying in Washington. In 2023, US industries spent over $4.25 billion to lobby in Washington DC. These funds supported over 12,000 registered lobbyists whose sole purpose in life is to curry favour with politicians and other influencers to ensure the best legislative outcomes for their clients.
    
5. ‘Fun Fact’ about Mutual Funds. According to investment research firm, Morningstar, 50% of Mutual Fund managers have no money invested in the funds they manage.  And, there’s a good reason why many Fund managers don’t invest in their own funds.  Over a 20-year period, fewer than 10% of active U.S. Stock Mutual Funds beat their benchmark Indexes.

 Now, to this week’s important topic:

The simple truth about ‘Value’… and how to deliver more of it:

Ultimately, customer ownership is all about creating, delivering and communicating compelling value.   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 products and services that actually work for our target customers.
   • are open or available when they need us.
   • provide the information, coaching and encouragement they need to wisely choose and effectively use what we sell.
   • create policies & processes that make us easy, efficient and consistent to do business with.
   • do what we say we will…when we said we’d do it.
   • …that’s Functional Value!
2. Next is Emotional Value. Most business people struggle with this one.  They think it’s some airy-fairy thing that can’t be defined…and they’re dead wrong!
     
   Quite simply, we deliver Emotional Value when our customers feel better about themselves and the world every time they do business with us, and every time they use what they bought from us.  That’s it!  If we’re not delivering Emotional Value, we’re not really ‘connecting’ with our customers.  People will always remember how we 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.
    
   We deliver financial value when our customers believe that they paid a fair and competitive price for all of the functional and emotional value that they got from us.  If we don’t deliver functional and emotional value, there can be no Financial Value.
    
   So, the key question is, are we delivering the compelling combination of functional, emotional and financial value required to make us the clear and compelling ‘wise choice’ for our target customers?  If not, what needs fixing, doing or not doing to make that happen?  Specifically, what action will be taken, by whom, by when, at what cost, measured how and rewarded how to deliver more functional, emotional and financial value?
    
   Note:  Much of my Biz Coaching work is helping clients create, deliver and effectively communicate compelling value that clearly differentiates them from their competitors and grows their bottom line.  If you’d like to chat about ‘possibilities’, 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.