Provide Exceptional Value - Grow Your Business

The primary objective of a business is to get and keep customers. Growing a profitable business requires providing exemplary customer service and products or services of exceptional value.

In the classic book, The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace D. Wattles writes that it is essential to provide customers with more in use value than you receive from them in cash value. Exactly what does that mean?

Imagine purchasing a training course contained on a set of CDs, and that its price is $1,200. Some would consider this rather expensive, especially if they are working with a small budget. The costs of copying a few CDs, and the packaging and shipping costs would not nearly be worth $1,200!

However, suppose you used the knowledge and resources contained in the course to generate several million dollars of income during your lifetime. In this case, you have obtained far more in use value than you paid in cash value. In fact, you might consider your purchase of $1,200 to be a real bargain.

The seller was not responsible for whether or not you would use the material. Nevertheless, he or she provided a product of extraordinary value.

This principle is easy to understand. It is also one of the most essential business practices in today's volatile economy. Just like you and me, our customers and clients are particular about how they spend their money. They deserve the most value possible for each dollar they spend.

Here is a little exercise that is fun to do, and provides some valuable insight. Think about all the companies you've done business with over the past year. Pretend you are holding a personal "Company of the Year Contest." Who would win, and why?

It would probably be the company whose product or service gave you far more in use value than you paid in cash value. It would be one whose product satisfied important wants or needs-one you enthusiastically told your friends about.

Consider also that both you and your winning company benefited when you made the purchase. By using this simple value principle, you and your customers will benefit beyond expectations.

You'll grow a profitable business because you'll get and keep more customers over time. They'll keep coming back and keep giving you referrals because they know you'll give them truly exceptional value!

© Copyright 2005 by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve is a professional life success coach, motivational author, and the editor of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular mini-zine bringing great stories, motivational nuggets, and inspiring thoughts to help you achieve more in your career and personal life. Get the next issue by visiting http://www.AchieveEzine.com

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Customer Service Information:

Related Articles

Have You Hugged a Customer Today?
It all started a couple of weeks ago when a friend asked me if I could scan and print some of her slides. No problem, I said.
8 Critical Steps to Establish a Customer Service Culture
"Every company's greatest assets are its customers, because without customers there is no company,"--Erwin FrandDuring our recent weakened economy, many businesses have seen declining revenues and declining budgets. Declining budgets often lead to reduced staff levels and diminished services.
What Every Manager Should Know About How to Win the Loyalty of Customers
Dr. Michael LeBoeuf, in his cassette album entitled, Win Customers and Keep Them for Life presents twelve principles that will transform the workplace into a customer-driven, highly motivational team.
Making the Connection: Customer Relationships That Build Your Business
Have you ever wondered why you often find a coupon tucked inside your cereal box, or get invited to a customer preview sale at your favorite department store? Those companies know that their existing customers are the best - and most profitable - customers they'll ever have. So it's not surprising that they'll do whatever they can to keep these customers happy and coming back again and again.
Wholesale Buyers Versus Retail Customers
Are wholesale buyers and retail customers really different? Frankly, there are two answers to this question: yes and no. Yes, because they are different from the buyers and those selling to buyers' point of view and no, because the principles that apply are the same for both types of buying.
4 Customer Service Mistakes Companies Should Avoid Making
1) Being placed on hold endlessly. Don't you just love it when you call a company and they place you on hold, leaving you to listen to their latest on-hold, recorded sales pitch, over and over again.
How To Boost Your Bottom Line With Two Little Words
I hate to sound like one of those cheesy get-rich-quick commercials, but this week I am going to let you in on a little secret that is so powerful that it will immediately change the way you do business.In fact, this little secret is so powerful that you will be amazed at its immediate effect on you, your employees, and your bottom line.
Customer Satisfaction Is Your Business
Regardless of what business you are in - you are really in the business of satisfying customers. The degree of customer satisfaction you deliver determines the level of long-term success you will achieve in business.
Establishing Yourself as an Expert in the Eyes of Your Customers
The most important aspect of a successful business is developing the correct mindset toward your customers. And this is not the over used phrase The customer is always right.
Proofs of Delivery and Logistics: Speeding Throughput and Avoiding Pitfalls
It should be a straightforward business scenario: making sure that the delivery documentation from the supplier or haulier matches up with the documentation at the target destination.However life is rarely straightforward, and if problems do arise, order completion times and cash flow will inevitably suffer as a result.
Saying Thank You to Your Clients
"Thanking your customers" - Why you should do it and how..
Automating Your Help Desk Workflow
Do you know you can open, answer, close and report help desk information without human intervention?Automation is a powerful feature provided by most enterprise level help desk products; however, most organizations rarely take advantage of these features. Based on a survey conducted by RightStar Systems, only 5% of the help desk managers interviewed were using automation to its fullest capacity.
Customer Neglect
What have you done for your existing customers lately? Probably not much, if you are like most businesses.I know that hunting new business is more of an adrenaline rush than working the business you already have, but it is not as crucial to your long-term success.
RETAIL GREETERS: Sales Builders or Customer Turnoff?
Do you need greeters or should you avoid them? That is the perplexing question many retail organizations are struggling with today. Often touted in the press as the perennial example of the benefits to employing greeters,Walmart has hung on to its practice faithfully.
We Sell For Less and Our Stores Are a Mess!
What kind of image do you present when marketing your products? Are you professional and well organized or does your store/site/whatever scream, "sloppy!," to those who matter the most: your customers? Let's see how one leading retailer is winning the sales war, but losing an important battle: store organization.WalMart is dominant in so many categories with the various products that they sell.
Writing The Book On Great Customer Service
Q: One of the big chain bookstores recently opened up near my small book store. Already I can see my business starting to decline.
Treating the Customer Dissatisfaction Epidemic: How to Go Beyond Simply Masking the Symptoms
Corporations in every sector are spending more than ever before in an attempt to improve their customer service levels. Every year they pour hundreds of millions of dollars into new systems and training programs that promise them the ability to win customer loyalty.
Making Customer Satisfaction Surveys Work
Why bother? Good customer service is the life blood of any business. Although new customers are important good customer service will help generate customer loyalty and repeat business.
Aint We Wonderful!
It may come as a surprise to you to discover that customers don't buy your products or services because they feel that you have a right to make a profit. In other words, their motive for doing business with you is not to help you buy the latest Jaguar or put your children through college.
Customer Service, the Internets Primary Neglected Business Concern
Customer service is everything to a business. Just look at big, successful retail chains: They let you return perfectly good merchandise just because you changed your mind.