Imagine if you were the first company to own a printing press. What value could you bring to your customers? Courtesy of Wikipedia

Sean D’Souza wrote an article on Copyblogger entitled Why Urgency Succeeds Like Nothing Else In A Bad Economy.

While I agree with Sean that creating a sense of urgency is definitely a key factor in boosting sales during a slow economy, we also shouldn’t forget the power of adding company value to the list.

In marketing, you should always keep these 3 things in mind that your customer wants to know:

• So What?
• Why Now?
• Why Your Company?

The so what? factor isn’t necessarily a key to beating your competition, but rather simply shows potential customers the need of your product or service. “So What?” “Who Cares?” “Why Do I Need This?”

Once they understand what it is you offer and how it can benefit them, you have to show them why they need to buy from you and why they need it now.

Key 1: Creating A Sense Of Urgency

I think Sean explained the why now? very well in his article about creating a sense of urgency. He shows us how without a sense of urgency, people wait to buy.

Oh they might need it – they might even need it really bad, but without someone showing them that by waiting they could be making matters worse, they’ll just put off buying until the very last moment.

So the first key to beating your competition, in any market really, is to create a sense of urgency. Tell them the benefits of buying now opposed to the frustrations of buying later.

Key 2: Adding Value To Your Company

This part may involve a little creativity. Maybe you need to spend some time finding your Purple Cow or researching your competition to examine what it is they are lacking in and you can improve upon.

Company value tells your customers, “Hey, I provide those services, too – but guess what you get (or can count on) when you use our company?”

For example, I am co-owner of a landscape company called Modern Landscape that’s based here in Las Vegas, NV. My brother is a genius when it comes to landscape design and creating a beautiful lush yard filled with vibrant colors that beautify our barren desert.

Problem is, there are a ton of landscape contractors out there. Why should someone want to use us over the next guy?

After doing a competitive analysis among local contractors and evaluating our own customer feedback, we found there was a great deal of mistrust going on. Customers didn’t trust contractors to show up on time and finish the job. Therefore, because we are truly a family business and personally we knew our good family values would shine through, we decided to market our landscape company as a family-owned business that always shows up on time and completes the job.

And you know what? It worked. At first we just stated it. But as time went on word has spread around the community and local businesses that our company is very trustworthy.

Can you see the value our company has built up for customers? We built trust through our actions and word of mouth. What better value can you provide your customers?

Here’s a quick list off the top of my head that companies can use to increase company value to their customers:

• Slash prices (not my favorite method but still works)
• Increased customer support and service
• A better warranty (think how some car manufactures market this way)
• 2 for 1 deals
• Money-back guarantee
• Free subscriptions
• Free bonuses
• Gift wrapping

To figure out what kind of value you can bring to your customers, you need to evaluate. Evaluate you, your business, your expertise, your budget, customer profile, competition, products offered, surrounding neighborhood, lack of services in your area, conversations in message boards, educate yourself, and maybe throw in a little unconventional thinking.

What other values can you think of that a company can market to their customers which once they overcome the urgency factor, they pick you?

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3. How To Protect Your Assets Using Business Structures
4. General Partnerships: A Not-So-Great Business Structure
5. How Thinking Like A Real Estate Investor Can Help Business Owners Think Creatively and Profit