Bathwater? Buyer Friendly VS. Seller Friendly

The idea that a given market is considered “buyer friendly” versus “seller friendly” is prevalent these days.  If a market is saturated with supply, it is believed that buyers have all the leverage.  In turn, many businesses invite competition, and then feel pressure to lower prices.

Certainly it’s easy to color a market toward the buyer, but that mindset is not healthy for the business overall.  Data may tell us that pricing is low and the number of substitute products and services is high, but giving way to those variables distracts us from connecting with clients on a differentiated level.

Our contention is that if we simply defer to the metrics of a business environment we are not creating value.  More specifically, value is created through a deep level of understanding of a community and by entrenching yourself and your company within it.

We are not saying that you throw the baby out with the bathwater and disregard the pricing within a market.  We believe that over the long term, sustainability is rooted in your brand’s relationship to your clients.  Just because you may have to sell certain products at lower levels, doesn’t mean you toss aside the opportunities that may not be explicitly clear right now.

When you have a deeper relationship with your clients, you become a trusted voice in their world.  The sale of a lower priced product without a focus on building trust defines your brand at a level that can prove to be unrecoverable.  Consequently, the sale of a lower priced product, coupled with trust, sets you up for an impactful future.

Some of you subscribe to our publication, “Connect Magazine.” This month’s cover story, “Back in the Saddle,” examines why it is important to embrace the lessons learned from the missteps that happen along the way and what future disciplines they can help you make.

Our second feature, “Impact,” takes a hard look at the art of going deeper than data and exploring the benefits of more intimate engagement with your market.

We hope that the lessons we’ve learned, shared and will continue to share can help you strengthen the relationships and commitments you are building with your customers.