By Jeff C. West
In order for any business to be successful, at the very minimum, you must have three components:
- You must have a product or service that provides enough value to a customer that they are willing to trade their money for your product or service.
- You must have a sales process in place that effectively communicates the value of what your product or service does for the customer in such a way that your customer is willing to make that trade.
- You must have a delivery and customer service model that successfully installs the product or service, collects the revenue from the customer and keeps that customer happy.
That sounds so simple, right?
Well, unfortunately those three things ARE simple.
Simple enough, anyway.
They are simple enough that your competitors can do those things as well, or almost as well as you can. So by doing all three of those things well… you simply make yourself just an indistinguishable member of the pack.
In today’s environment, your customer has a tremendous amount of information at their fingertips. They can research what they need. They can research the good (and bad) about you and your competitors and how you do business. And they can often even find out how much they should be paying for your product or service.
They can do all of that before you representative even walks through their door.
In their eyes, you only bring a commodity to their table. And even worse, they think you and your competitors are all alike. (That’s the same thing my wife thought about men when we began dating 
)
If you are going to be different – you have to behave differently from your competitors.
The Fusion Points® model will generate persistent and beneficial partnerships in business and in life. Fusion Points® do so because they are those unifying moments when logic and positive emotion merge and ignite creating commitment, energy, and acceleration.
In our earlier posts, we have prioritized a simple principle in accomplishing those long term relationships. You must create a culture in your company where everyone in all relationships provides more in value than the simple transaction would require.
That same principle will now differentiate you from all of your competitors and will make your customers stay with you for the long haul.
Many companies have developed amazing customer loyalty over the years. In almost every case, they have attached an emotional bond with the logic of their value proposition. They have created their Fusion Points®.
I have seen companies take a political or social stance that could be controversial – and then find their customers coming in by the droves to support them. I have seen others do something as simple as consistently donating to children’s cancer hospitals or other charities. This resulted in bonds with their customers that are virtually unbreakable.
I have also seen small companies just do some simple little extra things for their customers, building that same type of loyalty.
You want your customers to be your customers for life. You can accomplish this by creating Fusion Points® with them. Connect the logic of your value proposition with their positive emotions.
Here are some simple suggestions to make that a reality for your company.
- Understand your value proposition from the eyes of your customer and equip your sales team to be outstanding at communicating that value.
- Teach your sales and service teams to be on the lookout for articles of interest that would provide useful information to your customers.
- Develop a Give and Gain Network® within your customer base – hosting events where your customers can do business with and refer business to each other.
- Embrace “cause marketing” by donating a percentage of sales to a worthy cause.
- Find a creative way in which your customer may use your product or service to drive new revenue to them or their business.
- Build personal relationships with your customers through social events, webinars of value to them, and worthy causes.
- Utilize both face-to-face and device-to-device forms of communication.
- Become an expert at Give that little extra in everything you do. Send birthday cards, holiday cards, and personal notes of appreciation.
You will find that your business grows exponentially and becomes self-sustaining when you find ways to create Fusion Points® with your sales team, your non-sales employees and your customers.
(Check out the other articles in Jeff’s “Fusion” Series.)
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Jeff C. West is an entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in sales, sales leadership, and business ownership. He is the author of the award-winning business fable, The Unexpected Tour Guide. Jeff is also a guest contributor for multiple sales and leadership blogs as well as a sought-after speaker, sales and leadership trainer, and specialist in organizational growth.
