How Do You Create Value?

Anyone who sells anything knows all too well their product or service is (or might be) commoditized, meaning they’re increasing competing on price alone.  To escape commoditization you must be unique in the way you create and deliver value.  You must have an edge over your competition that “protects” the price you can charge for your services.

When you create unique value for someone, you’re able to charge what it’s actually worth without worrying about what your competition is doing.  What tends to be missing, however, from most of these discussions is how one actually goes about creating unique value.

Value Creation Begins with Asking Questions

Before we create unique value for our clients, we first must have a meaningful conversation with them.  During this conversation we ask questions - questions with meaning.  The kinds of questions that have the ability to transform someone’s thinking and how they do business.

What makes us unique are the kinds of questions we ask at the on-set of any relationship.  Nobody can have the same conversation (similar, perhaps, but never the same), because nobody else is, well, us.

Our conversations aren’t canned or boiler-plated.  Our questions educate and inform.  They help us arrive at a set of tangible goals with clear deadlines and a plan to get there.  Our questions come from a combination of direct experience and industry best practices.

Together, all of these questions form the basis for a meaningful conversation that help us create unique value (and results) for a client and differentiate us from the competition.

So, what kinds of questions are you asking?

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, a professional member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands to some of Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100.  Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media here at [mitchellfanning.com].

Photo credit: e-magic