Providing Service A La Carte

Imagine going to a brand new restaurant and trying to place your order without having been given a menu. Do they serve French cuisine? Or Italian? Is it gourmet or simple fare? How much should you expect to pay? You may just decide it’s all too hard and simply leave.

Now consider your own business from your customers’ and your prospects’ points of view. Have you made it as easy as you possibly can for them to decide to do business with you?

You don’t have to be in the restaurant business to be able to offer a menu to your customers. Creating a ‘menu’ or schedule of the products or services you offer gives your customers a clear picture of how your business can meet their needs.

Creating your product or service menu
Start by looking at what your customers need. You may have already held a Customer Advisory Board with some of your better customers, to get a better understanding of their needs and expectations.

With your team, review the range of products and services you offer and identify if there are any that are complimentary to one another. Now look at how you might package those various offerings into a ‘menu’ or schedule of offerings for your customers.

Remember, the essence of really delivering extra value is in the fact that clients will value a service range more if it really delivers some tangible benefits to them.

Here’s one way to structure a customer menu, using a motor shop as an example:

Choice 1. Bronze Care

Six-monthly full vehicle service that includes —

oil filter change, check brake and transmission fluids, battery, tyre pressure, exhaust, electric.

Choice 2. Silver Care

Bronze Care plus —

full car detailing, inside and out.

Choice 3. Gold Care

You get all from Bronze and Silver Care plus —

full pick up and delivery service from home or office.

By bundling your products or services into a ‘menu’, you give your customers a clear understanding of what they can expect to get and how much they can expect to invest. They’re in a better position to make a decision to do business with you based on what they need, and you’re in a better position to charge according to the value you’re delivering for them.