While your company’s bottom line is necessary to maintain in order to keep your business afloat, when running a new business you should seriously take into consideration what value you bring to your customers and your employees. Your income and success is a direct reflection of how much value you are adding for those buying your product as well as selling your product.
What exactly is value? Value can be anything from employee perks to increased customer benefits. One of the most visible examples of increase customer benefits is the value menu at many fast food restaurants – the prices are competitively low but the customer still receives a generous amount of food for the cost. This is literally adding value to the customer’s meal. In addition, that same fast food restaurant might offer financial assistance to their student employees and professional training for their new staff members, adding value to the company’s workplace culture at the same time.
How can you add and create value for your company? Setting aside a few minutes a day to consider this question can make a huge difference for your company’s culture and customer relations. It doesn’t matter what your role is in the company – whether you’re the CEO or a new hire – there is always something you can do to contribute to the overall value your company has to offer. Consider from every angle what type of value you want to create and encourage collaboration from others in your company.
When it comes to value, don’t fall into the trap of equating your value with your outcome. You may see an increase in traffic and revenues, that is true, but the core question shouldn’t be ‘how can this benefit me?’ and should be ‘how can this benefit my customers and employees?’. When they have a positive interaction with your business, the collective value of your company and your product goes up. Constantly consider what you can do to be of greater value to your boss, employees, and customers.
There are so many products and services available on the market now that competitive pricing does not necessary guarantee customer returns. When it comes to increasing the value for your customers, the best place to start is in customer service. When your customers feel like you truly care about their experience with your company and products, they will be more inclined to continue their patronage and encourage others to do the same. Adding value doesn’t necessarily mean giving monetary discounts, it could mean providing extra services, resources, and guarantees that your competitors cannot.
In order to know why types of services and resources your customers would value the most, you need to know your audience intimately. Customer service is the core practice for adding value to their experience. When you receive feedback from a customer, don’t just listen to it – react. Show that you truly care about their encounter and that you are in the business of making sure they directly benefit from using or buying from your company.
When your employees feel valued as well, you can clearly see the effects in the day to day productivity and functionality of your company. One of the leading causes of people quitting their jobs is not feeling appreciated by their superiors. By showing your employees that they are valuable, important members of your corporate family, not only does the company culture benefit from it, but so does your talent retention and product development standards.
Individuals who feel valued contribute more, do better work, and are more engaged, loyal, and passionate. It costs almost nothing to show your employees and fellow co-workers that you appreciate their hard work and presence in the work place. Offering positive feedback and encouragement bolsters confidence, which breeds good communication and collaboration. Be authentic when expressing your appreciation for your employee’s hard work and aim to connect with them on a level beyond work expectations. When someone feel like you care more about them as a whole person rather than simply as an employee, they will feel more content and satisfied with the work they do. Satisfied employees lead to satisfied customers.
If you’re not sure how best to express how you value your employees, open the discussion up to them. In order to encourage and grow our own company culture and emphasis our over-all company value, I asked my staff at 911 Restoration to come together and discuss their own ideals. We established several Fresh Start Ambassadors who spent the last month focusing on ways to increase passion, collaboration, and execution throughout the company. “We are getting a glimpse of what really gets people motivated by dissecting the inner workings per department.” Jimmy Garcia, one of our writers and a Passion Ambassador, has spent the last few weeks gathering information on what drives out employees to perform at their best. Our next step is to take this information, develop it and deliver a return as well as I can in encourage their continued dedication.
