Managing costs for clients or customers can be a great way to position your product or service, and we’re going to share 4 ways to do that.
In our most recent blog, we mentioned that adding value is about (1) increasing a client’s pleasure, or (2) decreasing pain. One of the most obvious ways to “reduce pain” for a client or customer is by lowering costs. How often do we think about managing costs beyond cutting the price of our products or services?
We’re going to give you 4 ways costs are measured and felt by a business. Chances are, your product or service can help mitigate at least one of the following:
1. Energy
In this case, we are speaking both literally and figuratively. Are you helping clients or customers save actual energy costs on their electricity and utility bills? Or does your product or service help clients save time or the creative energy that’s required to complete a task?
Even something as simple as providing a template – a resource your clients can implement quickly – can mean huge “energy” savings.
2. Space
Don’t let this one throw you for a loop. Quite literally, we mean space.
Say you go to a garage sale and find a great deal on a piece of furniture. The first question you’ll ask yourself is, “Do I have space for this?” If you don’t have space in your living room for this piece of furniture, you’ll realize it isn’t going to work. Sure, it may be a great deal, but the cost of space is too high.
In our digital age, we can also think about “space” in terms of storage. We pay for digital space. In what way can you help your clients or customers save space?
3. Time
Time is a commonly understood cost. Our time is a valuable commodity. The proverbial phrase, “Time is money,” comes to mind. When you think about saving time, ask yourself:
- Can I make things faster?
- Can I reduce the amount of time a process will take?
It is certainly valuable to “speed things up” or to make a process faster.
4. Money
And lastly, but certainly not least, is the financial cost. The actual cash outlay required to make something happen.
Can you reduce the amount of money it will take to start the process or to achieve a goal?
Hierarchy of Costs
We also need to understand that these costs form a hierarchy. If a person doesn’t have the will or the energy to make something happen, it doesn’t matter how much money they have. Likewise, if they don’t have adequate space in order to execute, money can’t solve the problem. Space may be a limiting factor.
When it comes to time, we all have the same 168 hours in a week. Time can also be a greater limiting factor than money. In fact, money may be the only “unlimited” resource on this list. Though our budgets and financial costs are often what first comes to mind, we should remember there’s not a restrictive supply of money like there is energy, space, and time.
When you’re positioning your products and services, think about how you can cut costs for your clients or customers by saving energy, space, time, or money. If you can figure out how to reduce these costs, you have an excellent opportunity to position your product and make the sale. Get out there and cut costs.
