Questions

I'm in the international shipping service, so at the end of the day potential customers usually are looking for the "lowest shipping rates", and I'm sure they view my services just as a "commodity" because if they don't like my "shipping rate prices" they can just go to one of my competitors. I don't want to play the "lower my prices" game to beat my competitor's pricing because that will just end up thinning my margins and putting me out of business. I've read some competitor customer reviews online, and I see people had bad experiences with customer service, their items handled poorly, shipping delays, lost packages, etc. So I try to increase my perceived value by stating how we do all these things better and customers won't have these same issues with my services, but maybe it's still not enough because all potential customers care about is the "lowest shipping rates".

Yes, buyers do this. Make a spreadsheet--mental or written--with the vendors across the top. Features down the side. Prices along the bottom.

Line 'em up, reduce them to equal, and make it all about price.

They have professional Buyer courses teaching them how to do this and outwit Sales & Marketing, too!

So you have to add something.

It can be tangible or intangible.

Tangible is "Every delivery comes with a free bouquet of flowers."

Intangible is "We'll get it there on time--no matter what," and you develop the reputation for doing so through stories. An attitude. Commercials of your gritted-teeth courier delivering to an isolated, snowy mountaintop Buddhist monastery they had to free climb to reach.

The target market has to value this differentiating factor, and when it's done right a real monkey wrench can be thrown into their spreadsheet price-shopping plans.

Want my help in developing this differentiation in your buyers' minds? Let's book a call.


Answered 8 years ago

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