04.07.05 The 1st Key for Adding Value to Your Business

1. Define and Identify ‘Value’

In order to succeed in our cosmetics business, one of the first things I did was to put a finger on what our buyers really perceived as ‘value’ when it came to cosmetics. Back then, end users highly esteemed beauty products that had been imported from the United Kingdom. Firstly, buyers perceived that the cosmetics would have been checked by the UK National Standards Body and therefore safe to use. That was understandable since numberless items had done more harm than good to women’s hair and skins. Secondly, assuming the products were authentic, they had to be suitably designed to meet the unique needs of African women. Third and lastly, since most of our buyers were retailers, the price had to be low enough for them (retailers) to make a profit.

Lydia must have also figured out what her customers really perceived as value. Historians and archaeologist report how for millenniums, the extremely valuable purple was paraded as a symbol of money, sovereignty and strength. It was such a precious product that it was more than three times its worth in gold; so valuable that Queen Cleopatra used it for sails on her boat and some Roman Emperors had decreed that anyone found wearing it without permission would be sentenced to death. This meant lucrative business for Lydia as only those with very deep pockets would be buying her product. With all that said and done, the fabric was resistant to fading, irrespective of how many times one would wash it, which was another attribute of value.

A value-adding businesswoman must be able to recognize and accurately describe the value inherent in the products and services that she renders to her customers.

Therefore, my sister, identifying what targetted customers consider as ‘value’ is a necessary first step in any business; as that will help you to customise your products to suit the buyer’s needs, wants and expectations. Will the customer be ready to pay a premium for the value you have added? Will they notice that extras you have included or are the customers blind to the new features? Are the things you have added considered a priority or important by the people you are targeting?

The next step is to write a clear and readable eye-catching statement that describes the value that you are promising your customers, over and above what competitors offer, which is technically called a Unique Value Proposition.