Selling value, not price
We got up early this morning to spend some time with fellow members of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce. We were invited to present at the Chamber’s Sunrise Scrambler on the topic of selling value, not price. Sometimes it seems that everything boils down to low price. We attempted to show that companies and brands do not have to compete on price to be successful.This is because, people will pay more for something that has a higher perceived value, as illustrated in the video.
In our presentation, we covered the following (download your own copy of the slides here):
- Uncovering key features of your business or products through exploring shared equity. Shared equity is made up of things that your organization identifies as key features that you do well, which are also key features that your customers say they value.
- Using key features to find your unique selling proposition. Once you have your features identified, determine the customer benefit that is derived from the features. For example, a feature might be your years of operation. The benefit of this feature may be security, continuity or even trustworthiness. Once you know the benefits, find those that are unique to your business and those that set you apart from the competition. These make up your unique selling proposition.
- Branding and image advertising is important. This type of advertising, which communicates your unique selling proposition, is key to building perceived value, or equity. Multiple studies have shown that companies with more brand equity experience success where it matters most: profitability.
This is just a portion of what we covered in the presentation. Overall, we hope that we helped people see the value of building their brands, focusing on their unique selling propositions and engaging in the right level of advertising to support their growth.
(Video from Showtime’s “Penn & Teller: BullS@$t!”)