Messages
Whether you realize it or not, you are sending messages every day to customers and prospects.
You may not like what your prospects think that those messages say:
“I’m really only in this for the money.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’ve read magazines and books and WANT to do this.”
“I will promise to do everything better than anyone else, but I will do just enough to get by.”
We want the very best we can get – an A+ in anything and everything-- it’s part of human nature, the way people make decisions. WIIFM -- What’s In It For Me? Why settle for less than the best?
When we believe that something – a product, a service, a company, a person – IS the very best at what they do, we WANT to do business, to buy.
What IS “the best?” It better be unique, because, as any marketer will tell you, in the absence of a clear perception that one product/service/company is unique (substantially different and better than all others that “do the same thing”) the criteria for selection shrink down to one thing – cost.
So, if you DON’T have a unique offer, you better have the LPP, the Lowest Possible Price, because there are no other positions in the marketplace. The only thing in between is … Death Valley.
Perception
Value Positioning Helps Create TRUST by creating Perceived Value
|
PERCEIVED VALUE = WIIFM
WIIFM really means “What is the VALUE I am receiving from this relationship?” Many marketing books talk about VALUE this way:
The problem is, VALUE is a very personal thing. We all PERCEIVE value differently – usually in terms of our own viewpoint on life and what we want. We see “Value” when we get high personal benefit.
A better way to define Value is as PERCEIVED VALUE, which the best marketers define as THIS:
| PERCEIVED VALUE = |
PERCEIVED BENEFIT |
| PERCEIVED COST |
Long-term PERCEIVED VALUE is the REAL WIIFM. It’s the basis of a RELATIONSHIP based on lack of fear – or TRUST. You buy certain products, pretty much regardless of cost, because you TRUST them, and you see a PERCEIVED VALUE -- reliable performance.
You “buy into” a relationship for the same reasons – perceived value and Trust. Trust and Perceived Value are the ingredients for a real relationship.
Value Positioning is BASED on your unique offer – Focusing on VALUE instead of Cost
|
| The Great Wheel of Relationships |
 |
|
|
