Customer value proposition: Moving from 'line cards & brochure'​ to 'customer value map'​

Customer value proposition: Moving from 'line cards & brochure' to 'customer value map'

We talked about three blind spots that plague distributors' digital journey last week. The first one is relevance of value proposition. Let's take a deep dive to understand the challenges around distributors' value proposition today and how a distributor addressed the same. What is value proposition?

Why should customers buy from you? A classical question. What would have been the answer if you asked your sales force ten years ago?..........Jot down your thoughts. 

Fast forward to 2019. How does your sales force respond to this NOW? ……Write down your thoughts. 

Has your response changed? Did you write down something similar: Inventory, diverse product portfolio, technical knowledge, fastest delivery, warehouse locations, etc. It's a good response. Unfortunately, your competition does the same. How would you differentiate your claim? In this digital age, some of these strengths are table stakes. 

Why it matters now than ever? Our customer needs and expectations are changing. Shouldn't we adapt as well? Where do you start? In our research with 15 forward-thinking distributors across varying lines of trade, we identified three blind spots in reinventing their value proposition. 

  • Blind spot 1: Lack of focus on customer business.
  • Blind spot 2: Lack of value demonstration.
  • Blind spot 3: Lack of knowledge and tools to translate our strengths to customer success.

In our research, we developed a systematic framework that connects customers' business outcomes with distributors' capabilities, to address above blind spots. The framework, called as 'customer value map', is used to develop consultative digital selling tools as part of complementing existing line cards and brochure. Here's how a distributor put customer value map into practice.

How do you put this to practice? A HVAC distributor addressed these blind spots by focusing on two segments: commercial and residential construction. An initial study of their customer base (contractors) and their business models revealed four critical success factors (CSF) to contractors’ success: safety, quality, on-time and under-budget. These four outcomes were key customer concerns. Customers were not just interested in knowing the 'great' things the distributor did, rather in how they could help achieve the four CSFs. ActVantage worked with their sales force and customer base to develop a comprehensive framework that systematically linked four CSFs to their capabilities. This connection was documented and developed as an app that sales people could access to have meaningful conversations with contractors. Instead of leading with line cards and brochures, conversations began with four CSF that highlighted distributors’ strengths. This enabled the sales force converse with customers’ multiple stakeholders: CFO, buyer, supervisor, and line man. Each customer stakeholder had different questions and concerns that were addressed by the sales force using a value builder tool. As a result, the distributor increased margins by 200 basis points with their core customers while doubling new customer acquisition rates.

Learn more by attending a 1.5-day workshop that takes a deep dive into the three blind spots and helps adapt your customer value proposition.

To view or add a comment, sign in

Insights from the community

Explore topics