Ep 15 - Is Your Operating Model Designed to Dazzle Your Clients?

Power Up Your Team Podcast

So, where do you like to shop for your next outfit? Do you enjoy getting a super deal at Nordstrom Rack? Or, do you like shopping in an exclusive high-end boutique?

Where do you like to have dinner? Do you prefer the quick meal at McDonalds where you get a burger for $1.99 in a brown paper bag? Or, do you prefer a $30 made-to-order burger in a fancy five-star restaurant?

While we have our own subjective expectations of price to value, we are generally willing to pay more for superior service or high customization.

But what would happen, if the fancy restaurant served us the one-size-fits all burger in a brown paper bag? Or, if we needed to dig through a pile of sale items in a fancy boutique just to find our dress size?

We probably would not be happy because the price to value ratio has gotten out of whack.

Welcome to episode 15 of Power Up Your Team podcast where I share three considerations so you can build a business model that dazzles your clients.

Where does your business model sit on the trajectory between

• same service at low cost, or
• high customization at premium price?

There is no right or wrong as long as price-to-value is fair in the eyes of the customer. As you are scaling your business, build your operating model with that intention in mind.

Three Considerations

1. Design Your Customer Interface with Strategic Intend

Have you designed your business for

• low cost/high efficiency, or
• high touch/customer intimacy?

Consulting services or project-based businesses fall typically into the 2nd category, because the organization tailors each deal to the needs of a specific customer. In this model, account executives develop intimate knowledge about the client over the course of the relationship. In a small organization, you as owner might end up in this role for all major accounts.

Then there are organizations that cater to a vast number of customers with the exact same service. Examples are printing, social media, recruiting, online trading, or marketing services.

We can find both models in one and the same industry. In the travel industry, for instance, there are boutique travel agencies that book your trip soup-to-nuts. On the other end of the spectrum is Expedia, for instance, where you do everything yourself.

Both models need great service to ensure customers feel they get their money’s worth. The difference lies in how that is achieved.

2. Avoid the Murky Middle of Wanting to be Everything to Everybody

In this spot, you are not making any customer happy and don’t make much profit. Customers may perceive your offering as too expensive if they seek boutique services, or, not convenient enough if they pay for efficiency.

An Example from my Experience Leading a Portfolio Management Company :

Find out more at www.powerupyourteam.com/15