value Archives - Page 2 of 2

Is Price Really The Issue?

May 5, 2014Nina KovnerGROW

“Value is more expensive than price.” Toba Beta

One of the core principles of marketing is price; it is also one of the most misunderstood elements of creating an awesome business. Price can be determined by many things… cost of goods, overhead, brand positioning, product or service type, strategy, business model, and more.

But what I want to focus on today is value. Value and price are not the same, and I agree a gazillion percent with the above quote. Value is actually more expensive than price. What does that mean?

In my experience, it means the amount of value you bring to your service experience is what ultimately matters, and delivering meaningful and relevant value consistently is not easy.

Do you know what your clients value? Really know? If you don’t, it’s time to find out. If you solely compete and do business on price, be careful, as you become a very vulnerable business, in fact, you will become a commodity. (Defined by Webster’s: a good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (as brand name) other than price) Ouch!

A haircut, a Pilates class, an ice tea, anyone can get those anywhere, anytime. You have to give me a reason to want your haircut, take your class or purchase your ice tea.

My colorist Lucie Doughty at AT Tramp delivers value far beyond the price. She is kind, attentive, focused 100% on me, and delivers quality consistently. That is what I value. The same with my hair cutter Carlos Ramos, aka Sugar Skulls, in fact, I get my haircut almost weekly, so clearly I love my experience.

My Pilates studio, Whole Body Method is calm, friendly, focused and really cares about my well being. That is what I value.

My Starbucks, and now my Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf next door to the Passion Squared Loft consistently deliver a smile, a happy greeting, and pay attention to what I love, TONS of ice. That is what I value.

What do your clients value and are you delivering it consistently. Those are the questions I want you to focus on this week. When there is true value being delivered consistently, price no longer is the issue.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

PS: If price really is the issue, and you are in the volume, discount business, that is a strategy too. The key is knowing what business you are in. And always be mindful, some other business is always going to offer a lower price.

The Long Cut

July 22, 2013Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“’I love being marketed to.’ Said no one, ever.”

Jess3

Here is the audio for today’s post. Background music by Zen Louis Kovner. Enjoy!
The Long Cut

It’s so tempting today to market “at” people. To shout and scream and try to get attention. To create lots of noise hoping someone will listen. We see it every day. Online or off, many are looking for a short cut. For the quick sale. The fast money. This blog is not for those people.

Today we have an opportunity to engage, connect, create and care like no other time in our history. We can deliver value in the most creative and meaningful ways. We can build relationships, change lives, lift people up and make a difference. Whether we are marketing haircuts or education services, its how we choose to market that can make us a creative contributor.

If you want to create a brand or business that matters, that changes people’s lives for the better and that adds value to the world, you are on the right track. It begins with intention. Doesn’t everything?

The Short Cut
1. Talk at people
2. Scream on social platforms
3. Ignore the community
4. Lead with price
5. Over promise

The Long Cut
1. Listen
2. Engage on social platforms
3. Respond to the community
4. Deliver value
5. Exceed expectations

Which path is your brand or business on?

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

The Customer Is Always Wrong

July 1, 2013Nina KovnerGROW

“Marketing is not the art of finding clever ways to dispose of what you make. It is the art of creating genuine customer value.”

Philip Kotler

Here is the audio version of this post, background snoring compliments of Zen Louis Kovner, my perfect pug.
The Customer Is Always Wrong

I have a very kinda dislike/dislike relationship with daily deal platforms such as Groupon, Living Social, etc. Trusting my gut has always served me well and my gut has always told me most of these platforms care about one thing and it’s not small business.

It’s so easy for many small businesses to get lured into quick revenue and promises of 1000’s of new clients running in the door. And these platforms have gotten so good at presenting all their “facts” that claim their “deals” are game changers.

If you have experienced one of these deals, you may have had one of these outcomes or a mix of the three:
1. Awesome sales, unhappy team members and no return customers.
2. Not so awesome sales, unhappy team members and some return customers.
3. Good sales, happy team members, some return customers.

To me, these platforms are commodity builders, not brand builders. Brands are built through value and meaning, commodities are endless amounts of the same stuff for the lowest price.

So what does this have to do with customers? Well, one of my clients has actually been successful with these types of deal platforms, to my dismay I might add. But then again, they do so many things right. They do not excessively discount, they provide an exceptional experience, they get buy in from their team and they have a program to retain the clients they get via these deals.

Last week, I had a jaw dropping interaction with a deal site that inspired this post. They claimed that the last promotion run with my client was “unsuccessful” and gave me all the reasons why. What floored me is that they never once asked how the promotion did for my client. Had they asked, they would have known my client was very happy, had retained a high percentage of the clients and was ready to sign on for another promotion.

Here is a portion of the email interaction with this sales person:

Sales Person
“It looks like the performance has greatly been hindered because we haven’t added enough value (I’m basing this on historical data from our market and what has been shown to work well) for the consumer. Since this is an impulse buy we need to make sure the customer sees an amazing value right off the bat. This helps in purchases.”

Me
“My client has been very happy with the performance of the previous promotions. They are not looking for a high volume of deal chasers, but for potential long term clients. They have been very successful with retaining the clients that discovered them via these promotions. I would expect success be defined by how the business did with the promotion, not the other way around, or at least seeing both sides before determining if something was successful. If you suggest a higher discount for more volume, we will respectfully pass.”

What is wrong with this picture? A million things…
1. I would think success would be defined by the customer, not the other way around.
2. By value they mean lowest price, which is absolutely sad and disturbing on many levels.
3. They fail to define “work well”, yet I know all it really means is it worked well for them, not my client.
4. Since when is the customer always wrong?

Whether you believe the customer is always right, wrong or a mix of the two, what never changes is that we must define value in the customers eyes and find out what’s important to them, because at the end of the day, if the customer sees value, they buy stuff. And value does not always mean lowest price.

I always knew this was how these deal platforms really felt, but I had never seen it in writing until last week. In the end, the deal platform lost a customer because apparently, the customer is always wrong.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

Unsubscribe

April 1, 2013Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“Follow those who follow something – an idea, a belief, a vision, a cause. Avoid those who need to convince us to follow them.”

Simon Sinek

Please enjoy the audio version of this post if reading is not your thing.
Unsubscribe or Subscribe. Your Choice

In today’s world, we can get so wrapped up in all the “noise”. Whether it’s the news, social networks, TV, e-mails, phone calls, etc. But one thing many of us forget is that we have a choice. We can subscribe and we can unsubscribe.

I Took A Stand
An interesting thing happened on Facebook on March 26, the day the Supreme Court began hearings on Prop 8 and DOMA, two issues that are very near and dear to my heart as a gay woman.

When I posted the Human Right Campaign equality logo on the Passion Squared Facebook page, four fans unliked the page. That’s right, I lost four awesome Passionistas that day, who chose to unsubscribe.

Was I sad to lose those fans? Of course. I value every person who chooses to like and follow Passion Squared. Did I understand why? Yes. And I respect the fact that they did not share my beliefs and chose to move on. What was awesome though is Passion Squared found 7 new Passionistas who subscribed to my vision and liked my Facebook page, and for that, I am grateful.

Subscribe
To that which brings value to you and your business.
To the messages that matter to you.
To what you believe in.
To what brings you joy.

Unsubscribe
To that which does not bring value to you and your business.
To the messages that do not matter to you.
To what you do not believe in.
To what brings you angst.

Tag Archives: value

Is Price Really The Issue?

The Long Cut