A while ago, we were doing a 2-day workshop on Recreating the Added Value with a client of mine operating in the printer’s ink industry. At one point of the workshop, one team (they were the sales team if I’m remembering correctly) started constantly talking about the industry getting smaller, the world getting digitalized, and the danger of the industry to become obsolete. As I did not want the discussion to keep the workshop from going on, I gave them this example: another SME client of mine, who also operated in the printer’s ink field, had read the signs of digitalization in advance and decided to renew their value without changing the product range, or even the production line. After a couple weeks of value creation workshops, they decided to change their customer range.
Their new customer was Louis Vuitton, famous leather bag and shoe manufacturer. The product they were aiming for was UV Ink.
An SME that carefully listens to the expectations of their clients while offering a product suitable for the value that it wishes to achieve came forward with a product with added value. What’s more, they sold a small 50ml bottle of special production UV Ink for the price of a ton.
We cannot conclude Louis Vuitton does not know how to do business by looking at this sale. On the contrary, we are talking about a brand which is one of the hardest to satisfy and puts importance brand value the most. They even take it to the point of burning leftover products at the end of the season and preventing their prices to go down for the sake of protecting the value of the brand.
With 50 milliliters of special production UV Ink, the tiniest Louis Vuitton wallet goes from 1000€ to 2000€. Also, since the product becomes personalized, it both becomes more valuable as a gift and the customer feels more connected to the brand at the same time. The SME is happy, Louis Vuitton is happy, the final customer is happy.
What do you think? Nice example for these days when we desperately need export sales, isn’t it?
Naturally, some of you may say while finding this as a good example of B2B sales, you won’t be able to find a luxury consumer client like Louis Vuitton. In that case, just do the thing that you know how to do, just like Corning. As a glass manufacturer, Corning has been offering innovative products to all kinds of industries from automotive to electronics for 165 years.
In short, it is possible to renew your added value, reaching brand new customers and increasing your profitability. To do this, it is necessary to understand your client’s needs very well. More so, you should be creating new values in every area where your customer was unable to express clearly. The first thing you need is to change your point of view.
As soon as you decide to take the first step, we will be there for you with our experience.
