Introduction
There is a systematic methodology for developing service skills that entrepreneurs and business executives can use to improve company profitability. Specifically, Timm (2014) refers to the strong correlation between career growth and service skills. In tenth chapter, titled “Exceed Expectations with Value: Build Customer Loyalty with A-Plus Perceptions of Value,” the author defines the constituents of A-Plus value from customers’ perspective and describes intrinsic, as well as associated values. It also includes seven activities that improve the customer’s perception of value and overall explores the significance of value within the customer-seller dynamic.
Define A-Plus Value: What It Is
This subtopic provides critical information about the meaning and importance of A-Plus value. Timm (2014) argues that poor value, inappropriate people skills, and ineffective systems turn customers off and represent lost sales opportunities. On the other hand, exceptional value, or merely perceiving them, leads to customer loyalty and increased sales. A-Plus value is critical to business success because the cost of diminished perception of value is high. According to Lee et al. (2018), A-Plus value has to be continuously maintained as new needs arise rather than be provided to customers once. Essentially it means that service providers have to efficiently respond to any external changes within the market in order to meet customers’ needs.
A significant issue that service providers and product sellers sometimes experience is failing to consistently provide high-quality products or services. It breaks the trust between them and customers, who no longer see the “benefits and favorable results” out of the exchange of money and service between the parties (Lee et al., 2018, para. 4). Thus, it is crucial to maintain A-Plus Value consistently and to prioritize customers’ trust.
Create an Enhanced Sense of Intrinsic and Associated Value
Timm (2014) continues to examine the issue of customer value and its importance to sales promotion. He argue that customers base their perception of value on their understanding of intrinsic and extrinsic factors and associated components. When a business person understands these factors, they can successfully create A-Plus value experiences for customers. Notably, A-Plus value experiences refer to exceptional quality measured by the ability to meet and exceed the customers’ needs and offer them benefits that are over and beyond their expectations.
The intrinsic value of the product or service refers to what the product or service can offer to the customer; it is the reason for its existence and the primary reason for the customer to purchase it. According to Roszczynska-Kurasinska et al. (2021), intrinsic value “reflects the importance” of a certain product, and represents the “sentiments created around it” (para. 2). Hence, the efforts of service providers and product sellers’ center around improving intrinsic value of given products in order to appeal to customers for a better awareness of the benefits acquired with a purchase.
Seven Ways to Enhance the Perception of Value
Lastly, Timm (2014) discusses the additional factors (extrinsic values) that increase customer perception of the offered product or service. According to Timm (2014), if service providers or entrepreneurs focus on these seven components, they will create A-Plus situations for customers and increase the likelihood of loyalty. These seven ways of enhancing value perception include packaging, guarantees and warrants, the goodness of product fit, the memorability of product experience, uniqueness and shared values, add-ons, and company credibility. These recommendations by Timm (2014) can be considered accurate since the intrinsic value is not always enough to convince customers to buy a product or service. Additionally, extrinsic value can be considered a time value, since “it adds potential value for the option” based on possible future circumstances (Duarte, 2017, p. 45). Thus, the combination of defined intrinsic and extrinsic value can majorly contribute to the customer’s interest towards the product and makes the benefits of purchasing it more obvious and prominent.
A Final Thought
Timm (2014) provides his final thoughts about creating A-Plus value to customers in this section. According to Timm (2014), all products and services have intrinsic and extrinsic or associated values. Customers will perceive a product to be of high quality if these product components are noticeable and well-presented. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the business person to focus on these components and create high-quality products and services that satisfy the needs of the customer well. It is necessary to exceed the customer’s expectations to achieve more sales and profitability.
Conclusion
A customer’s perception of value considers a product’s internal value and external or associated factors. When customers have an enhanced perception of value, they will buy more of that product or service and develop loyalty to the company. Most importantly, while the product or service must be intrinsically satisfactory, the small things associated with it – such as packaging and warranties – enhance its appeal to customers and clients. Therefore, entrepreneurs can take seven specific steps to improve these external components of a product or service and increase product appeal, customer loyalty, and company profitability.
References
Duarte, J. (2017). Trading Options For Dummies. Wiley.
Lee, Y. L., Pan, L. Y., Hsu, C. H., & Lee, D. C. (2018). Exploring the sustainability correlation of value Co-creation and customer loyalty: A case study of fitness clubs. Sustainability, 11(1), 97.
Roszczynska-Kurasinska, M., Domaradzka, A., Wnuk, A., & Oleksy, T. (2021). Intrinsic value and perceived essentialism of culture heritage sites as tools for planning interventions. Sustainability, 13(9), 5078.
Timm, P. R. (2014). Customer service: Career success through customer loyalty. Pearson Higher Ed.