As a supplier, you’re great at creating strong, long-lasting relationships with your customers. Nurturing relationships is the key to gaining ongoing business and happy business partners. However, while you know that keeping these important relationships is a large part of your job, in the last few years we’ve learned that there’s always more work to do.
Building value is a phrase used to describe ways in which you can create connections that last with your customers. By working to build value in your customer interactions, you can nurture and develop your relationships. That helps your relations with customers remain strong through tough times and allows you to gain both ongoing and additional business from your customers and new referrals.
What does Building Value mean?
Building value refers to the practice of creating value beyond the price of a good or service with your customers. That means that your customers see you as more than a building material supplier. They view you as a source of information, a trusted advisor, and a company that puts the needs of the customer first.
You build value through the interactions you have with customers and the efforts you put into customer relations. By working hard and having a plan in place to nurture your current customers, you can find many opportunities to prove your value to customers and let them know about all the benefits your business can bring to them.
Why you should invest in Building Value
The value you create with customers is what influences their decision to stay with you and continue doing business or going to a different supplier that might have a lower price or better deal running. If the extent of your interaction with customers never goes beyond the price you offer, then there is no reason to stick with your business over a competitor. By building value with your customers, you can convince them to stick with you through highs and lows.
Customers that see the value you provide are also great sources for positive reviews or referrals. After all, if a customer believes that your business provides more than just a product, they will want you to have more business and continue growing strong. If a customer doesn’t perceive any value in your company beyond a price point, they have no other reason to recommend your services.
4 Examples of Building Value
Knowing exactly which steps need to be taken to improve your customer relationships is the first part of connecting to your customers and providing excellent service. Now that you know what building value means and why it's an important part of managing your customer relationships, let’s take a look at a few different ways in which you can provide additional value to your customer base.
1. Offering high value products
The first way in which you can help improve the relationship between yourself and your customers is to provide better product selections. When you can showcase products that have many different benefits and good pricing, you help customers understand that you have their best interests at heart.
A great example of a product that provides value in multiple areas is enclosed blinds for doors and windows. Not only do enclosed blinds offer amazing control over lighting and privacy, but they also are safer than traditional blinds, come in a wide variety of colors, equip homes with privacy controls, are easy to clean, and come at great prices for you and your customers.
2. Listening to customer feedback
Listening to the feedback you receive from your customers is another way in which you can prove your value goes beyond supply. When you pay attention to the honest feedback from customers regarding their experience and their thoughts on your interactions with their business, you can learn important information.
When you listen and respond to customer feedback you can take action to improve your sales process, customer service responses, and communication. Not only does this make doing business smoother in the future, but it shows customers that you care about more than just making a deal—you want to make sure their experience is a great one.
3. Prioritizing quality over price
One of the biggest challenges you face as a supplier is balancing between quality products and affordable products. While in an ideal world we would all be able to get the highest-quality materials for the lowest prices, reality means that decisions need to be made.
When you prioritize the quality of the product over the price, you can help build value with your customer base. While price is important, when a customer only sees you as a price point, they won’t see additional value in your brand or want to come back if they can find a lower price at a competitor. By emphasizing the quality of your products you can keep customers coming back for more time and time again.
4. Creating positive experiences
Customers want their interactions with their suppliers to be positive. No one likes making phone calls or placing orders that lead to headaches. By working to make the customer experience positive, you can help your customers understand the amount of value you provide.
Be an open resource for additional questions they may have outside of a sale, and stay informed on new industry and product trends so you can offer solid recommendations if a customer comes to you asking for advice on how to proceed or what to order. That type of proactive customer interaction builds additional value with your customers.
Building Value with ODL
At ODL, we want you to be able to build additional value with your customers. When your customers are satisfied with your service and want to continue building relationships with you, we all benefit. To learn more about our product lines, check out our Pro Resources so you can get more information that builds confidence with your customers.
