How to Add Value to Your Product

Yesterday was my wife’s birthday, and she’s recently con­sid­ered buying a new camera. Although she hadn’t been shooting lately, she minored in photo jour­nal­ism and she’d worked in a camera store for several years. I surprised her by sharing research my friend, Josh Humble, had done on new cameras. She and I then visited Robert’s Camera in downtown Indi­anapo­lis. Before we arrived, she’d decided on a Nikon 3200. My wife can be a research per­fec­tion­ist, which can slow the process, but with Josh’s advice, she concluded the Nikon fit her needs. She was ready to make a buying decision, but was she?

Before we went to the store, she compared prices from both Robert’s, and a non-local online retailer. The online retailer was more than 10% less for the exact same product. Upon arriving at the store, we were imme­di­ately greeted. My wife spent 45 minutes in Q&A with our knowl­edge­able and helpful photo pro­fes­sional. Near the end, I asked an honest yet uncom­fort­able question — an “elephant in the room” question: “Why should we purchase the camera here, when we could get it cheaper online?” I have to hand it to our con­sul­tant… here’s what he had to say:

We build rela­tion­ships — When you purchase from us, we’re here to help you. We are part of your team.

We offer more than just a receipt when the purchase is complete — This includes frequent free pho­tog­ra­phy classes, advice, and ongoing education.

We know this industry — The store is pro­fes­sion­ally operated by pho­tog­ra­phy enthu­si­asts who know their business.

We’re someone you can trust — While I was waiting on my wife I looked at a video camera on sale. Another employee asked about my interest in the camera. After asking how I would use it I was advised it wasn’t what I needed and they didn’t have a camera that fit my purposes. They even rec­om­mended a brand they didn’t carry.

We’re part of the community — Not only are they part of our community but have been for over 55 years – that means something.

These are lessons any business would do well to embrace. Many consumers aren’t looking for the lowest price, but the best value, which includes service, follow-up, and trust. We bought the camera.