July 11th was the international release date for the new Apple iPhone 3G. Stores around the world opened their doors and proceeded to sell out of every phone they had.
Here in St. Louis the line was so long you would have had to wait 5 hours to buy and activate a phone. While I chose not to wait I did decide to hang out a bit and chat with some of the people who were waiting. It was mid-day and shortly I saw someone from California Pizza Kitchen arrive. CPK is located in the mall and has excellent pizza.
The woman began to go down the long line of people who were waiting and asked if anyone wanted to order pizza for lunch. Before long she was running back with her orders, coming back for more orders and then running back to start delivering the pizzas from the first round of orders. I’m sure that CPK had a great day of sales as they had their normal restaurant business as well as so many of the people who were waiting in line.
Someone at CPK must have noticed the line and thought, “Those people could use some food.” Other than the occasional Powerbar no one had brought anything to eat. CPK saw a need and then went about filling it. They delivered value for everyone who was stuck in line and getting hungry.
To grow our business we must be accountable to deliver authentic value. Our business model is based on the value we deliver, who we best deliver it to and how we deliver it. Authentic value represents the value that the client really needs. It is not about the value we think they need or the value the client thinks they need, although that is important. Truly successful companies deliver authentic value. People waiting in that line really needed something to eat, something that was brought right to them and something that was easy to purchase and consume.
How much time do you spend thinking about your clients, talking to your clients and evaluating the value they need? What is it that will make their job easier, remove stress, add enjoyment to their life, enable them to achieve their goals? The answer to these questions applied to the services you provide and the products you sell will help you create authentic value. Be accountable to regularly evaluate your clients and your capabilities. Strive to deliver authentic value– you will be on the road to Building a Better Biz.
