So last time I talked about what a business’ value proposition is, both in their mind and in the mind of the prospect. We saw that for many businesses—perhaps most—the prospect sees the same thing in each business and the result is that the business has been “commoditized.” When commoditized, all it has to compete on is price.
Most insurance agencies say things like this about themselves in their marketing (value proposition): “We have superior service,” “We have great claims service,” “As independent agents we offer you lots of choices,” “We are your “Trusted Choice,” “We have 24/7 customer service,” etc. Sound familiar?
I would argue that these aren’t value propositions at all! In today’s business environment those things aren’t valuable. They are threshold minimums to exist!
If that’s what you’re offering then what your customer perceives is that your value to them is lowest price. You may not like it. But that’s the reality.
So, how can you fix that?
I think the beginning of value creation in the modern world is crafting the customer experience. This means intentionally creating the way in which the prospect or customer experiences doing business with you.
This sounds a little touchy feely for insurance doesn’t it? But it isn’t. What I mean by this is how is the experience one has with your agency unique? Pleasant? Optimized for the customer (not you!)?
This last point, optimized for the customer (not you!), is critical in establishing a value proposition that moves you from commodity to unstoppable force.
As a beginning point in crafting a customer experience that is optimized for the prospect or customer let’s look at how the experience is now created. We’ll do that next time.