Word to the Wise: Adding Value through Novelty and Purpose

The possibilities for addressing why customers care are many. The examples below are a couple of ways to drive customer decisions and how you might apply them to add value to your work.

Novelty

If decorators can provide something new and unexpected, becoming curators of what is novel or cutting-edge, to their customers while remaining cognizant of the utility of our garments and decorations, effective and perceived value can be offered.

Effectively, decorators offer new solutions to a problem while providing the perceived value of offering products set apart from the common fare of their less well-equipped counterparts. We can deliver the feeling of being ahead of the curve even if the items themselves or our new decoration processes aren’t of a higher cost or difficulty. They attain added value from an environment where that product and the experience we offer in showcasing that product is different than the rest. Many customers want to be the ‘cool’ company with the latest gear. By staying in the know, we can be their valuable guide to what’s new in our industry.

Purpose

Have you bought a product because it supported a cause you believe in, or because its owner’s values were in line with yours? Have you switched products because of ethical questions or environmental concerns? If any of those situations are familiar to you, you understand the power of purpose. You shouldn’t adopt a purpose you don’t believe in or cheapen a belief you have by marketing it in a hollow fashion, but if you have a purpose that you stand by and contribute to, identifying yourself as a resource to the community surrounding that purpose is offering a valuable service. A like-minded customer will see you as someone who supports their ideals and whose work is done with something greater than profit in mind. This adds perceived value to your product as your business will be cast in the light of your chosen cause, and your customer can feel good knowing that when they pay for your work, they not only get your well-crafted goods, but they support work to make the world a better place. Even if your purpose is simply to treat your employees better than any shop you’ve seen, or to promote local business, there are customers who will value you more on the basis that you are dedicated to something bigger than yourself. Just make sure you aren’t just giving lip-service to your purpose; nothing will sour this value like the sting of hypocrisy.