Want to stand out from your competitors? Adding value is one of the most overlooked and underrated strategies for showing people your expertise and how you can help them. Offer that little something extra that nobody else does.
How can you add value?
There are many ways, of course, but in this blog let’s look at one way: giving surprise high quality and useful gifts, something that your competitors aren’t offering. It’s taking care of your clients and always providing something that your clients need and want, when and where they want it. And who doesn’t like to receive a surprise useful gift?
If you receive a free gift from someone when you don’t expect it, do you remember that person? Answer; yes usually. For example, if you subscribe to a newsletter, what do you expect? You expect to get what you subscribed for, a newsletter, right?
Now imagine that you subscribed for a newsletter about financial advice, and when you open the confirmation email you find you’ve also received a free report containing tips on how to save money. Wouldn’t that make you more likely to open and read future issues?
Here is how you can use this approach:
1. Create your free report and either upload the PDF directly on your website (preferably on a stand-alone page), or stored on an outside source like Amazon S3.
2. For new subscribers, send a welcome email and include the link to download your offer.
3. You can do that for your existing subscribers as well. Create your report and send an email with the link to download your offer. Let them know you’re sending it to let them know how much you appreciate them.
4. You can create a separate stand-alone page with an opt-in form and send an email to your entire list (less your current subscribers) with the link to that page.
5. Post a link to the opt-in page on your social media.
How your free gift has helped you and your followers
- You have developed a product (at no cost to you) that will entice people to want to learn more from you, and that helps you build trust and rapport.
- You have used that product to increase the chances of your new subscriber opening your next email.
- You have promoted your offer to your social media followers to get your name out to a wider audience.
After they have opted in for your free report, you can let them know about the next offer. Get the idea? It’s all just a matter of finding ways that you can add value and provide information that will help them.
The more you give, the more you will receive!
[tweetthis]Add value that no one else does to stand out from your competitors![/tweetthis]
Your turn: What other ways do you add value to your prospects and clients?
Deidra Miller
Administrative and Customer Service Consultant
