Cupcakes. Could anything be simpler? There is a cupcake establishment that my family loves to patronize. A friend said to me on one visit, “This place is rather expensive, don’t you think?” The question got me to thinking and made me appreciate our cupcake place even more. Every visit for my family makes us happy because the cupcakes are great and their care for us, as customers, is refreshing. Excellent product. Excellent service. Could anything be simpler?

When you know your value; then your customers will appreciate you more. Sure, the bakery cupcakes cost more than the local big-box grocery chain, but my family loves it, we feel special and we really have a great time whenever we visit. So, what is the price tag on great family memories? My sons absolutely love the place and it puts a smile on their faces…that is priceless. That leaves the entrepreneur with a point to ponder: People don’t mind paying the premium when THEY know that YOU know your value and when you give them a service that is far above what they would get anywhere else.

In a fast-growing society with options on every corner, it’s good to know that there are businesses that go above and beyond average. Mediocre has become the norm and it must be stopped by those businesses that really want to achieve excellence in product and profit. Men and women work hard for their money but they don’t have a problem parting with it for a service that is above average. Back to our cupcake place. Every visit is exciting for my family (not to mention the high expectation of a great-tasting cupcake) and an experience that makes family time worth every dime spent.

Your clients and customers would be loyal if they were sure that YOU knew your value…your value to THEIR day, THEIR week and even THEIR life. Some products and services may seem expensive but how does that business enrich and enhance the customers’ life? What is it worth to you for your hair stylist to know your schedule and yet fit you in without wait and worry? What is it worth to you for your favorite restaurant to prepare a meal for your family that makes family time and conversation absolutely memorable each and every time? Setting the price of your offerings based on the highs and lows of your competition can make you no better than your competition. You know what you bring to the table, so how can you turn it around? Fact: Your business has to solve problems known and unknown.

Be intuitive. Being reactive says that your value may not be clear to you, but being proactive suggests that you know your value which is something your clients can appreciate. Consider what you bring to the table. Is your passion revealed in your product or service? Are you average or are you exceptional from concept to completion? Your clients can’t appreciate what you bring to the table if you don’t know yourself. Secondly, concentrate on the client more than yourself. When your product and/or service solves or eliminates a concern for your clients, they will appreciate you with their time and their treasure. Lastly, calculate your value to the client. Don’t underestimate what you do and how you do it and don’t assume that your industry competition has the inclination or skill to meet your potential customers’ need better than you! Change the climate, become the standard and let your excellence justify why your price is what it is.

Do we practice what we preach? Yes! DOMINION customers are certain that their directives will be meticulously followed. They are certain that they are getting what they’ve paid for and much more. They are certain that our company focus is on the highest standards of safety and best-in-class jets. Our clients are certain that their expectations will be met and exceeded because nothing matters more to us than the client and his or her travel. When YOU know your value, your client becomes your voice and that’s the best appreciation you should strive for.

C. Edward Moten, President
http://dominioncharterltd.com
©Apr2013; Dominion Charter Ltd., All rights reserved

Appreciate this article and others like it that DOMINION produces? Retweet and “like” us on Facebook. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed for instant notifications!

Our businesses have become more high tech to offer expedient convenience to our clients as they patronize our products and services. I am not against speed and convenience at all. Nonetheless, I just think that it is high time modern businesses make ‘touch’ as equally important as ‘tech’. A client is still a person with a busy life and schedule. He or she needs to know that the place where he spends his dollar really cares after the sell. High tech doesn’t eliminate life even though it makes life more manageable. My smartphone app may help me navigate my schedule, but it doesn’t eliminate the actual time and tasks that will consume me today. So, how do we serve this busy, high tech generation? Make the commitment to give our clients ‘high touch’. Words cannot become mere words with no perception of urgency or sentiment. Emotions ought never to be replaced by emoticons.

People need to be touched, again, by your products and services. People still want to know that someone cares. DOMINION understands the importance of treating every client like a person versus a machine. We recently had a client rushing to meet his personal schedule and plans to get to the FBO for his flight. With all of the anxiousness of his harried morning, he forgot breakfast and had resolved to eat at his destination once the flight landed. Imagine his surprise to find that DOMINION thought like a busy person and had pre-arranged for a few of his breakfast favorites to be procured and waiting onboard his jet charter before departure. His DOMINION Concierge Representative had reviewed the Client Profile and made sure that a few of his preferences were available. No upcharge or surcharge; just the right business doing the right thing to eliminate a tense and hungry client. That’s what you pay for. Right? It is high time business gets back to high touch.

So how do I define high touch? Take the time to learn your client. Respect his or her time, talent and treasure. Think beyond the moment to your client’s total success. Think: How can I add value to her beyond the moment of purchase? How can I make today a better day for him with my service? Seems like a lot, but think about the saying: “See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil” and it becomes easy. People are people. It makes sense to appeal to the senses.

What does your client see? Touch him with a better VISION than just for the moment. Make a positive impact in his life and the life of the community around him. Can he consistently count on you to make the right decisions as a person and a business? Lastly, touch her with a better VOICE. A text message never conveys the full emotion with the statement. What implied ideas are you leaving in the ears of your customers? Your positive voice could mitigate the effects of a bad meeting, a bad transaction or even a bad day. Again, people are people and it’s high time we give them our greatest human touch as a hallmark of professionalism.

And here’s the bonus…a happy client is still your best marketing tool in a high tech society. Why? A happy client speaks no evil. He or she will wholeheartedly refer new potential clients to your business even when smartphones break on tile floors and iPads are not fully charged. When your client knows that you view him or her as a person, he or she instinctively trusts you with his circle of friends and invites your business to the prime-time events of life. Think about it. Why wouldn’t he want you to add value to his friends’ lives as well? So, reflect on why you started in business then redefine your steps toward VISION and VOICE. Ensuring a happy clientele means you ensure that you get to continue doing the business you love, generation after generation!

C. Edward Moten, President
http://dominioncharterltd.com
©Mar2013; Dominion Charter Ltd., All rights reserved

Appreciate this article and others like it that DOMINION produces? Retweet and “like” us on Facebook. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed for instant notifications!

I believe that many of us forget the power of ONE determined individual. If you are certain that your product or service is what people need, then this is your year. Sure, there are moments of struggle and there should be. To accomplish the kind of success that you are destined for, a little struggle should be welcomed. You can’t afford to give up and panic; there is too much at stake for you and your potential clients. Your product, your service and your ideas are just want this new generation needs to succeed and be catapulted to a new level of living.

Yes, I hear what is being said in the business and finance world. Understandably, I don’t dismiss all I’ve heard because the information is noteworthy. Noteworthy, however, your personal success has to be viewed in proper prospective through an optimistic lens. So, let’s see, is it a cliff or a launching pad? At this point, only you can make that decision given the assignment on your life. You were made to succeed! Yes, even without knowing how to swim, you were made to naturally float. So why panic?

Allow me to drive the point home with you even more. There is this story in Old Testament scripture about a man named Noah. Noah had preached ‘it’s going to rain’ for many years. He feels compelled to preach it constantly to a generation that has never seen rain and that really doesn’t readily have a reference point for the magnitude of events to come. Sure enough, the rains do come and continue for forty days and nights. My point is everybody experienced the same rain and eventual flood. For some, however, the flood caused them to sink and experience loss of life, property and all of what they’d held dear. For others, flood created an opportunity to sail. New horizon, new destination and new lands to conquer…a new life. DOMINION Charter firmly believes we offer a uniqueness in service, time management and integrity that the consumer needs. And so, we have chosen to sail.

You must decide to make 2013 a progressive and prosperous year for yourself, your family and your business. Accept the challenge to be a person and a business worthy of investment. Remember while others are looking to fall from a cliff, you should be looking to rise from your pad. You decide!

C. Edward Moten, President

http://dominioncharter.com©Jan2013; DOMINION Charter Ltd., All rights reserved

Appreciate this article and others like it that DOMINION produces? Retweet on Twitter and “like” us on Facebook. Click to subscribe to our RSS feed for instant notifications!