• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Submissions
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Mar 7, 2021
  • Startup
    • Creating a Plan
    • Funding a Startup
    • Franchise Center
    • Getting Your Office Ready
    • Making Your Business Official
    • Marketing Your New Business
    • Personal Readiness
  • Run & Grow
    • Customer Service
    • Human Resources
    • Innovation
    • Legal
    • Operations
    • Risk Management
  • Leadership
    • Best Practices
    • Communication
    • Green Initiatives
    • Open Culture
    • Strategic Planning
    • People Skills
  • Sales & Marketing
    • Advertising and Lead Generation
    • Marketing Innovations
    • Marketing Plans
    • Online Marketing
    • Relationships
    • Sales Activities
  • Finance
    • Budgeting and Personal Finance
    • Payments and Collections
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Pricing Strategy
    • Working with Investors
    • Working with Lenders
  • Tech
    • eCommerce
    • Hardware
    • Software
    • Security
    • Tech Reviews
    • Telecom
  • Shop

SmallBizClub

Helping You Succeed

efile4biz banner
Home / Sales and Marketing / Sales Activities / Are You Commoditizing Your Customers?
Are You Commoditizing Your Customers?

Are You Commoditizing Your Customers?

334 Views

Apr 13, 2017 By Dave Brock

Everyone understands the challenges of selling commoditized products. They are perceived as undifferentiated. In the customers’ and markets’ eyes, there is no difference between these products, regardless the supplier.

To win with commoditized products, we have to find some way to differentiate ourselves. Too often, we differentiate through pricing. Adept sellers broaden the purchase considerations, differentiating on non-product attributes that are important to customers.

But as sellers, none of us want to be “commoditized,” it makes things so much more difficult.

Pause for a moment and consider, “In our marketing and sales efforts, are we commoditizing the customer?”

Those “Dear occupant or current resident…” emails, each of us is inundated with, applies “commodity” thinking to our customers. We are treating each one of them the same, using the same approach, papering the world with endless streams of irrelevant messages.

Minimal personalization, saying “Dear Dave,” but sending a message that is irrelevant to my likely concerns is just as bad. In my case, while I deeply respect companies like Microsoft, Google, General Electric, what they do is very far away from what I care about in running my business.

Or those scripted SDR calls, focused on what they are interested in, not me and my business. The moment I interrupt, describing what I care about, they struggle to ignore it and get back to their scripts.

Or the standard demos that don’t touch anything that I care about.

Or the incessant product pitches.

Or the “one size/one approach fits all” techniques.

And there’s more……..

All these commoditize the customer. They treat each customer the same, failing to recognize that everyone is different. Each company has different cultures, strategies, priorities. Their problems and opportunities vary. Within those organizations, each decision maker is different. They have differing personal and business wants/goals/needs.

When we de-commoditize our approaches to our customers, both organizations and individuals, we differentiate our marketing and selling. We set ourselves apart in the minds of our customers, engaging them deeply in conversations about the issues most critical to them–and how we help them achieve their goals and dreams.

Commoditization sucks. Being perceived as a commodity — either as a seller or buyer is not a path to success.

Think about your marketing and sales strategies. Are you commoditizing your customers? Are you letting yourself be commoditized?

Filed Under: Sales Activities Tagged With: Customer Experience, Personalization, Relationships, Sales Strategies

Source: Partners in Excellence

Dave Brock

Dave Brock

Dave Brock is the founder of Partners in EXCELLENCE, a consulting and services company helping to improve the effectiveness of business professionals with strategy development, organizational planning, and implementation. Dave has spent his career working for and with high performance organizations, ranging from the Fortune 25 to startups, including companies such as IBM, HP, Nokia, AT&T, Microsoft, General Electric, and many, many more. The work Dave does with business strategies is closely tied to personal effectiveness of the people in the organization. As a result, Dave is deeply involved in the development of a number of training and coaching programs.

Related Posts

  • Why Your Marketing Department Needs a 360 Customer View
  • Want to Sell Effectively? Stop Talking!
  • 3 Sure Ways to Improve Your Sales Figures

Primary Sidebar

Random

You’re Being Sued for a Work Accident: Here’s What to Do 

Mar 5, 2021 By Cynthia Madison

Finding Your Confidence Starts With a Reality Check

Mar 5, 2021 By Fran Tarkenton

5 Signs Your Business is Doing Well Amid the Pandemic

Mar 5, 2021 By Gemma Moss

how-to-take-a-slice-of-the-3d-printing-pie

Lessons learned from COVID-19 and 3D printing

Mar 5, 2021 By Paul Gordon

embracing-cloud-security--infographic-

Beginner’s Guide to Understanding Cloud Security

Mar 5, 2021 By Gary Wilkinson

Footer

About Us

Small Biz Club is the premier destination for small business owners and entrepreneurs. To succeed in business, you have to constantly learn about new things, evaluate what you’re doing, and look for ways to improve—that’s what we’re here to help you do.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 by Tarkenton Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Terms | Privacy