Archive for September, 2010

How we affect others and what that says about us

September 28th, 2010

What others reflext back

Although this may seem a little off topic, not centered on management, marketing or business concepts it does centre on the most important aspect of nearly all my posts and that is the importance of people.

How often do we go around unaware of those in our close vicinity? Are we oblivious to how we affect others and how they affect us?

Just another day in the office or was it?

I work in an office building with another 300-400 people, more or less. In the entrance to our installations there is a security / reception area where guests must check-in etc. In the hall there are several company merchandising items, such as over-sized home user security products box.

The other day the security guard, who is some time working the post, stopped me to ask me a question. I could sense that it was something that was niggling him for a while as he had that “not sure how to phrase this question” look.

The question that triggered my thoughts

So he asked if the over sized boxes contained a security product for some type of mega-computer? I explained that they were used only for advertising, they had no practical application, they were simply to catch ones eye.
Simple question simple answer right? However, I thought about it. Those boxes have been there maybe years, updated from time to time obviously and the security guard is there for sometime as well. So that probably meant that the security guard had been rolling over the question for some time. And finally, there are 400 people in the building, however he choose me to ask the question.

How we affect others and how they can, if we let them, affect us

As I have twitted and mentioned many times I think the keys to life are people and our relationships. Life is at best regular but what makes it special is the ability to share it with others. Think about your greatest achievement, what does that mean to you if you could not share it with family, friends, and peers?

My interpretation of this simple encounter is that due to my interaction with the security guard I had obviously created enough rapport so he would feel comfortable to ask me the question, I must have come off as been approachable. To be honest it made me feel quite honored to think that he had chosen me out of all the people that work in the office.

That mans’ interaction with me gave me an insight into how I am perceived from the outside and that I must be doing something right in my day to day dealings with others.

The conclusion I drew from this encounter was that the way we deal with others in out most normal everyday dealings does not go by without notice. In an excellent post by Eric Ronning, he talked emotively on the circle of life and specifically on how his grandfather affected others during his life. It made me think that life is a series of day to day encounters and that I best make the most of them and also be alert to the feedback others offer (direct or indirect).

Are you alert to how you affect others? What do you look out for?

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Added Value. Part 2. How to create it

September 17th, 2010

 

In the first part of this 2 part post I mentioned that added value is something a customer perceives as an increase in a products’ benefit or worth. So value is 100% customer dependent, anything else is just an add-on, additional feature. In addition I made the claim that all added values have 1 common denominator; they solve customers’ problems! The value for the customer is in the resolution of her/his problem.

So, we’ve got customers and their problems, these for me are the sources for first identifying and then creating added value.

First and foremost, to create added value you must first identify the problems that you will address and resolve. To do so you need to interact with your customers. Remember this does not have to be end customer; this is applicable to all customers, internal and external. The better your relationship with your customer the easier it will be to engage with them and identify their challenges. So don’t go thinking that a quick “What should we do better survey” will suffice. This is something you have to work on and like long distance races, relationships are won over time.

Try and get close enough to see what is troubling them, not only directly related to your end product but in a broader sense.

Here is a practical example. In his post “Should all customers be treated equally” Jake La Caze talks about the value for him in getting his new iPhone already charged so he can get started right away copying agendas without having to wait for it to charge up. A simple but crystal clear example of value and how it was identified by the sales person in question.

The closer you are to your customer the easier it will be to identify these issues. But the most ideal way, IMHO, is not to walk a mile in your clients shoes as the saying goes but to walk a mile with her / him. Actually spend time with your customer in their day to day activities, easy said than done but I think it’s worth it. I have never walked away from spending time with a client without having some new idea for create value.

Establishing a close relationship not only enables you to identify new ways of create valuing for your customer base. It also enables you to identify over deliveries on your behalf, features, services, etc. that are of no interest and create no value for your customer. So the relationship helps you identify and eliminate waste.

So the grand trade off in sincerely creating value is that you have the opportunity to reduce waste and costs!!! Streamline your product / service into strictly what is needed from your customers stand point.

Take aways:

1. Identify your customer’s problems, they are the sources that will enable you to create added value. Added value is established through the resolution of these problems.

 2. You need to work towards closer relationships with your customer to identify these problems.

3. These close relationships are actually quid pro quo in which a trade off is inherently established, you create extra value for your customer while you reduce waste / costs (features of your “product” which are of no interest to your customers).

How do you identify and create added value for your customers? Do you have a process, even ad-hoc?

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Posted in Differentiators, Marketing

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Added value. Part 1: What is added value?

September 4th, 2010

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In my last post I talked about innovation and what that is, I did this as it is a buzz word topic that has gotten over used and warped out of context. To a certain degree the same can be said about added value. Creating added value for clients seems to be a buzz word solution which enables companies to confront the present and difficult business landscape with consists of saturated markets and an unprecedented economic recession. But what is added value exactly; this is my take on the topic.

I think we can all agree on the meaning of added in any context, so it’s simply more, extra. So the key is in the value. In general terms it is an increase in worth or benefit of a product, service, solution etc but the real catch and what makes it so interesting is that it is subjective. That means that it is not generic / objective, it is totally dependent on the subject’s, which is the customer`s, perception of the additional worth / benefit.

This might seem like an insignificant point but it is the essence of the issue and the key to succeeding in the creation of added value. If you do not understand that added value is determined by the customer’s perception of “it” you are doomed to failure or at the very least you are playing bingo, who knows you might get lucky!

So value is customer determined or triggered if you like. Unusual, right? Because how many products, services do know have branded or hyped “added value” without ever asking their customers what they think? I venture to say the great majority.

Only the end customer can give you that insight and determine if it is truly ”value” for them. You can obviously make insightful and educated predictions based on data / experience but they would be that; predictions. Until the customer perceives the new addition as value it is only an addition, a feature, an add on.

So added value is something a customer perceives as an increase in products benefit or worth. In addition I would venture to add another key factor when dealing with this topic: All added values have 1 common denominator, they solve customers’ problems!!!

Hence, the “take aways” from this post are:

  1. Added value is subjective: it is defined and determined by the end client, until which point it is merely an added feature, addition.
  2. Added value solves a problem for the customer. It is the resolution of the problem that generates additional worth or benefit for the customer.

Now you know what added value means, how do you go about creating it? In the next post I will focus on how you should go about identifying added value for your customers (internal and external) and then creating it.

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Posted in Differentiators, Marketing, strategy