When I was on site during Reeva Impact's on-site coaching this year, Mark Godaire and Martin Pettigrew asked a lot of company reps what their 3 differentiators are.
(Read: Good to Great - Hedgehog concept, Traction - "3 unique" if you need more context here)
The reason he asks that is because when you want to create a customer surplus you are confronted with the reality of business. You only have 3 levers you can control in business.
- PERCEIVED VALUE (not what you consider valuable but what the customer perceives to be valuable)
- PRICE that you charge
- COST of providing that product/service.
The way you create a customer surplus is by increasing the PERCEIVED value or reducing the PRICE relative to the PERCEIVED value.
(Think: Netflix vs. Blockbuster. $9.99 unlimited movies the money you want them, without having to brush off the cheetos to change the DVD vs. Driving to blockbuster and paying 3.00 per rental with a $17 late fee and overpriced cheetos. VALUE and PRICE are clearly in favour of the old model and thus massive customer surplus)
By offering a RISK REVERSAL, meaning reversing all risks associated with making the purchase, has a measurable impact on the speed and frequency of customers making a decision that aligns with your goals.
The way the math works in our industry, with our margins and our close rates - in a field of competitors with few differentiators that add TRUE PERCEIVED VALUE to the customer... this is a NO BRAINER. We are all installing the same shingles, installed the same way, in the same amount of time, using the same people, using the same tools.
Show me a more effective way to create a measurable impact on your business.