Every once in a while, we experience an inflection point that makes us stop and say, “Holy %^*#!”
We’ve all been there, right?
It happened to me twice this week. The first time was at the gas pump. As I was filling my tank, I looked up and noticed the price per gallon:
It was over $4.00.
Granted, that was on the Super Unleaded, but I’d never seen that a price that high on a gas pump in my entire life! Call me naïve, but it was still an emotional shock.
The second event was less dramatic, but still a sign of the times: I picked up a bag of Columbian coffee beans – the same 12-ounce bag I always buy, and it had gone up over 50 cents since the last time I bought it – a week earlier.
It’s inflation, and it’s real. Soon, looking for lower prices will be a futile effort, since rising prices are a moving target.
So what’s a consumer to do?
Look for greater value. That’s right, instead of searching for the gas station with the lower price, look for the one with the added value – like the dollar-off car wash with the fill-up. Or the coupon for the free coffee.
When prices climb, smart customers look for added value.
As a company, what are you doing about it? How can you deliver greater value to your customers? What can you do differently? How can you get creative? What other forms of “overhead” are born by your customer, in the process of finding, buying, using or disposing of your product or service? How can you deliver additional value in those areas, to reduce the customers’ overall expense?
When you figure it out, don’t forget to promote it, because if the customer doesn’t know, that too, will have been a futile effort.
Inflation is here. Customers are feeling it. Use the opportunity to be more creative, and more innovative, to create more value for your customers. And remember to tell them when you do.
Thanks to the for this inflationary photo.