Operations

Issue 2:

Every successful business, is built on delivering at least one specific benefit to customers. Mercedes gives us quality. Amazon gives us accessibility. Netflix gives us choice. So what benefit do you deliver to your customers?

It can be hard to stand out from competitors. Similar products and services, at similar prices. You probably see it in your sector. You can certainly see it supermarkets: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASDA - similar products, at similar prices.

But if you focus on a specific benefit you want to deliver to customers - and you deliver it well - you create the opportunity to stand out. It gives customers a reason to choose you, not your competitors. Again, take a look at supermarkets.

There’s a reason Aldi’s market share has risen from 2% in 2011 to 10% in 2023 (while their larger competitors have seen little change). Aldi understand how to focus on delivering a specific customer benefit.*

The good news is, there are only five benefits customers are looking for (whatever sector you operate in). They are:
• Quality
• Price
• Accessibility
• Availability
• Choice

As a business leader you just need to be clear which one (or which combination), you are going to focus on.

Quality
For any company that wants to occupy a “premium” market position, quality is probably the most important benefit. But it’s equally important for companies that provide a “budget” option. Quality is the perceived standard of the products and services you deliver, in the eyes of your customers. Depending on your target market, customers might not be looking for premium quality. Just the highest quality that fits their budget.

It can be reflected in many different ways, depending on your industry. For a manufacturing business, quality could be determined by your raw materials. In a professional services business, it might be the experience of your team.

Price
This is often the focus for companies that want to occupy a “budget” market position. Price is the cost to your customers of the products and services you deliver.

Getting pricing right can be fundamental to your businesses success. So understanding how your brand can support your pricing strategy and your market position is vital (for more insight on this, take a look at the Sales section of this newsletter). Price can define your market position. It brings with it assumptions about the other factors associated with your products or services, particularly quality.

Accessibility
For companies that want to serve a large customer base, including ecommerce businesses and companies delivering digital services, this is possibly the most important benefit. Accessibility is your customers ability to buy and / or use the products and services you deliver.

The rise of digital technology has changed expectations about the accessibility of products and services. The ability for customers to access them quickly - even instantaneously - is regarded as a necessity by many online businesses. But for some companies, particularly those delivering a premium product or service, limited accessibility can be an asset. A waiting list suggests exclusivity.

Availability
This is probably the focus for any companies that want to reach a “mass market”. This is your customers’ ability to buy their desired quantity of your products and services. It’s important to remember that “mass market” doesn’t necessarily mean global, or even national. It just means as many people as possible in the market where you do business.

If achieving scale is a priority for your business, whichever sector you operate in, you will need to maximise availability, to accommodate a high volume of customers. Whether you aspire to put your bread on every kitchen table, file the tax returns for every business or put your app on every smart phone, you need to create the capacity required to meet that demand.

Choice
For ecommerce businesses and companies delivering digital services, there is often a customer expectation that they will be offered a high level of choice. Choice is simply the range of product or service options you offer to your customers.

Digital giants like Amazon, Spotify, Airbnb and Netflix have nurtured customer expectations, where choice makes them relevant to a larger audience. But the same principle applies to any company selling services. If you are a professional services firms - lawyers, accountants, consultants - you will be relevant to a larger number of customers, if you offer greater choice, through a wider range of services.


Your ability to focus will give you the opportunity to stand out from competitors. But it’s important to remember that this focus - this strategy - isn’t a marketing campaign.

The whole business needs to be geared towards delivering it. Yes, you need the right products or services in place. But you need the right people to deliver them. You need the right marketing activity to promote them. You need the right sales process to sell them. And you need to be sure that, with all these things in place, you can still make a profit.

Everyone in your leadership team, and everyone in the company, needs to understand their role in delivering the benefit.

But your first task, as a leadership team, is to agree where to focus. Take a look at the list above. What’s most valuable to your customers?


* Aldi focus on price, balanced with quality and choice.

 

 

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If you want to know more about these benefits and why they’re important to your customers, take a look at page 54 of Brand in the Boardroom. You can find a copy here.

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If you would like to have a chat about what we have discussed in this post, please do get in touch.