During an opportunity to review a presentation one of my clients will give to an internal audience, I had a huge aha moment. This will inform much of my work going forward.
The presentation explained pricing to other departments. It explained what value-based pricing is and then went on to describe all of the internal systems, processes, and people involved. It was pretty good, but it felt empty. It didn’t feel like it would resonate with the audience. It didn’t seem to position pricing as a crucial partner to all of the other departments.
Then it hit me. It was all about us. It was all about the internal workings of our company, of the pricing department. Let me assure you, other departments aren’t hoping you go into a deep dive about how your department works. But what’s one thing we as pricing people have in common with every other department? The customer!
I challenged my client to put the word “customer” on every slide. The outline didn’t need to change, just the positioning of the content. For example, when we talk about the process of automatically getting a quote out, instead of talking about rules and systems, we can talk about how customers get an instantaneous response so are more likely to purchase. Instead of describing the pricing system, we can talk about how customers get the right price for their situation.
Everything we do in pricing is for or about the customer. If we start talking that way inside our own companies we will become more of a business partner to other departments. After all, the entire company exists to create value for customers. Pricing simply captures some of it.
What do you think? Do you ever catch yourself talking about your department without emphasizing the customer?
