Biodun Da-Silva: Here’s How to Provide Valuable Products or Services

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” – Bill Gates

Value is a derivative of service rendered or product used. I have heard a lot of “I don’t sell a product, my business is service-based.” True, services could be sold. But the result of services rendered or products sold ends in customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Value is very important in the business world. Unfortunately, a lot of business owners do not pay attention to the value their services or products offer the consumers. Many entrepreneurs get too carried away designing products and services – they focus more on aesthetics instead of bettering their products.

Human’s needs and wants are unlimited, and it is the duty of entrepreneurs to satisfy these needs. Whether it’s a feeling you get from wearing a well-tailored attire or a sound intellectual representation by your lawyer in the court of law, there should be value attached to every money spent and it must be worth it. To achieve this, an entrepreneur must tailor his or her product or services to suit the consumer’s needs. Customers pay to get value not service, product, or branding. The easiest way to lose a valued customer is to provide nothing in exchange for money.

As consumers, we must also identify the difference between products and services in other to get complete value for our money. When you get healed from the clinical treatment provided by a doctor, that is service. However, the painkiller you got from that pharmacy is considered a ‘product.’ The value derived from the used product is the relief you get from the pain. It doesn’t end there, you should know where to get what you want, this will maximize customer satisfaction. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been a victim of this. I recently purchased a product and I didn’t get the satisfaction I was expecting. I conducted further research and realized that to really get result, I have to use the services of specialists.

For those planning to become entrepreneurs, you should learn how to see through the lens of a consumer when trying to detect a problem in the society or industry. Although consumer’s preferences and tastes vary but seeing things from the point of view of a consumer will aid progress and ultimately drive sales.

Buying and selling determine the gross domestic product and contribute to the growth of any nation’s economy. It is pertinent to know what we are buying or selling, ours and customers’s needs, and the potential benefit of what we’re offering. When we come to this understanding, entrepreneurship in Nigeria will experience more progressive growth.

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