Recently I finished up a class sponsored by Goldman Sachs and Babson College. Babson College is ranked # 1 in America for Entrepreneurship. The class is called 10ksb (10,000 small businesses), and it is designed to help small businesses grow. Most of the work was done on-line, but I had to make two trips to Boston to go through sections of the program that were held on campus. It was an outstanding class, and I had many takeaways from the program. At Murchison Drilling Schools (MDS), we have already begun implementing many of the things that I learned in the class.
One of the topics covered in the program was the customer value proposition or CVP. A CVP is a business or marketing statement that describes why a customer should buy a product or use a service. There were several steps involved in developing a CVP. First, we had to identify our customers or segments of customers. Second, we had to identify our customer pain points or needs. At MDS, we have two primary customer segments and their pain points are very different. Third, we had to develop a message to each of our customer segments that addressed their specific pain points and how our products and services would meet that need. I realized that I needed to change the messaging to our clients. We had focused on what we provide and what distinguishes us from our competitors, but had not addressed our customer needs. We made immediate changes in our CVPs and are now addressing our customer pain points.
When I was learning about CVPs I could not help but think about Jesus. He was the Master of CVPs. He knew who His customers were. In Matthew 9:12-13, Mark 2:17, and Luke 5:31, Jesus identified His customers as those who needed a physician. He identified His customers as those who knew they were sinners. He said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” In Matthew 11:28, Jesus called out another customer group. He said, “Come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest…” He not only knew who His clients were; He knew their pain points. They were weary and burdened with sin. Jesus offered a solution. He offered a new covenant, not based on a law that burdened people, but one based on grace. Jesus was a Master at identifying His customers, their pain points, and addressing these in His message to us. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus said, “Learn from Me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.” I am still learning from Jesus, the Master of CVPs, on how to effectively reach and touch the lives of people around us.