Value of Business vs. Value of Customer
Many people value their business above their customers, but in essence, your loyal customer is your business. Whenever you think about ways to improve your business, you immediately go to your customers to get feedback on a new product or service. Whenever you listen to your customers and respect the value that they add to your business, you can more easily develop new strategies to grow your business and improve on the customer journey to your brand.
Micro interactions like a gif on your website, print collateral with a hidden message or a meaningful conversation with your sales team is something that will make a lasting impression with your customers that encourage future purchases with your brand.
– Mike Riddle, Creative Director, PushCrankPress
Determining the Value of Your Business
The value of your business can mean something different to any business owner. Is value determined by how many online purchases are met in a quarter, how many people are talking about your brand online, or is it entirely based off of the ROI you track from an Ad campaign? The value of your business is entirely based on what you value as a business owner and as a brand.
Many businesses determine their value based on metrics or dollar number, but some have changed the playing field in favor of the consumer. We believe that the value of a business is reflected in the consumer journey. When you create a path for a customer or potential customer to discover your business you create a positive conversation around your brand. In doing so you increase your organization’s value.
Determining the Value of Your Customer
It is easy to get lost in chasing that new customer, but it is more effective to foster and grow the relationship with your loyal customers. By developing a relationship with your established customers you will influence them to become brand ambassadors for your business. The value of a customer increases with every positive interaction with your brand. A great experience can turn into a great review.
How customers experience your brand throughout their journey is what lasts. Experiences happen long before and long after customers swipe the card at the register or push the “confirm purchase” button. You need to delight, not discourage, customers at every touchpoint.
– Pete Sena, Co-Founder, Digital Surgeons
Before the internet trotted onto the scene businesses portrayed themselves with little consumer insight. Any advertisements were in the realm of traditional media where there wasn’t an established two-way conversation about the brand experience. The first emergence of the “online review” appeared in 1999 and since then this social trend has taken hold of how consumers choose the brands they are loyal to.
Influencing the Consumer Purchase
Before you choose a local eatery to have lunch at do you take to Google or Trivago to look at other customer reviews? The “online review” trend has turned into a cultural norm that businesses have had to learn to evaluate to help improve the consumer journey. How are you utilizing the customer voice to improve your brand’s customer journey? This reflects how much we value a customer.
We use a product from our digital services to help amplify what our customers are saying about us. They are encouraged to give us reviews so we can improve different areas of our business like our customer service, product availability or informing our clients when the next Business After Hours will be. We try to put ourselves out there in the most honest way possible. Being honest and connecting with customers by creating an invitation for conversation has helped us better understand our customer’s value and our business’s value.
We will always be in control of the future of our business and our next purchase. The customer is in control of how others perceive your business, but as a business learning about the wants and needs of your consumers helps to improve sales and the value of your business in return. Continue to invite your customers to talk about ways to improve your services. The value of your business versus the value of your customer is determined by the value of a conversation and an experience.
Posted: Nov 12, 2018