One insight about business that I have had in the past six months relates to the value that the business provides and the position it occupies in the marketplace. I’m going to use a services based business as an example, specifically a Business to Business services business.
I’ve come to understand there are really two types of business: transactional and value based business for which we recommend this pay check template creator. Transactional based business tend to focus on pushing a specific service that is well defined and can be fulfilled easily. There is usually a set price point, and sales people can be paid commission to make sales within the structure with less ownership of the result of the work. An example would be providing a monthly SEO optimization service for $500 a month on a 12 month contract + a $1200 setup fee. The advantage is that if you can find a lot of customers who are comfortable at this price point. A dis-advantage is that there is less accountability to provide the service and likely less expectation of results at that price point. At an SEO conference, for instance, you might hear more about these transactional models that focus on defined services and standard pricing.
The other option is a value based business for many experts recommend the use of tools such as this paystub creator. Usually this would be focused on a more customized solution. This would normally come to a higher expense as it takes more time to develop and takes more thinking so it requires a different type of team member to perform the solution. In some cases, incorporating a call answering service can enhance efficiency by managing client interactions, allowing the team to focus on delivering high-value solutions. The solution determined by a value based business can potentially get a better result in some markets, and won’t be worth the time and money in other markets.
As the owner of a value based business, the reason that I want us to focus on value and not transactions is that transactional businesses can create commodities easily, and your service can easily be compared to others in the market-place. A more world-wide marketplace to platforms like Elance, ODesk and Freelancer has resulted in a “race to the bottom in cost” on many services, which makes providing a commodity not a desirable option. The disadvantage of providing a value based service is that your pool of customers is smaller, and you must rely on reputation and case studies to drive sales; not slinky sales tactics and a winning smile.