What Are You Teaching Your Customers?

What Are You Teaching Your Customers?

Last week, I was fortunate enough to be in West Palm Beach, FL, training with my mentor, Bob Burg, and my fellow Go-Giver coaches.

If you are familiar with the book, The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg, and John David Mann, then you know the first law of stratospheric success states: “Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”

We were talking about how some people get value confused with discounted prices. Discounts do not equal quality of service. This made me think of something that is happening in my own business right now.You may or may not know that I own 2 franchise stores. There was another franchise, the same as mine, located about 20 minutes from one of my stores that recently went out of business. The day after this store closed I started getting her clients in my store and calling on the telephone, and they all wanted the same thing, a discount.

I know the owner of the closed store, and she had been complaining about not making any money for as long as I have known her. From what the clients were saying, they never paid full price for the product they bought from her. Her clients told me her prices were cheaper, she always gave them a discount, and why wouldn’t I do the same?

I won’t do the same because I provide value to my customers by providing high quality product that is fresh, most of it hand-made with great care, at a reasonable price. I provide value in that my staff provides on time delivery for our orders every time. We provide value by giving quality service to our customers, hopefully with a smile. And I know what margins I need to maintain in order to keep the doors open, pay my awesome staff, while still making a profit. After all, no profits equals out of business. She believed that her customers would not pay for her products unless they were discounted. She had trained her customers that in her store, discounts equaled quality of service. She discounted herself right out of business.

Now, I am not saying that I never offer discounts, because I do. I offer discounts to my corporate clients and regular clients when they ordered in quantity. But I understand, as any good business owner does, that if you provide more in value than you take in payment, you will have a successful business, it’s the law.

So that brings me back to my original question. What are you teaching your customers about your business? Please share below.