Creating Value – Part II

The BIG Idea.

As discussed in Creating Value – Part I, Chevy is using The Big Idea – patriotism – to sell their cars.

The Big Idea is often a value that is widely shared by your customers – hence the need to know them really well. Your Tribe, in Seth Godin’s phrase.

Here is a couple more:

Imagination!

The tag line for this baguette is, “ready to bake at home.” Comfort! Cozy nest!

Soroptimist International is committed to “Improving the lives of women and girls, locally and around the world.” The Big Idea is Gender Equality.

Now here’s mine:

I need to feel like I am putting down roots in the place I live; I need to be connected to my community. I told a business coach about the toy store I used to co-own in a small town where people wanted the small town feel. “Sure, we were selling toys, but we were selling the white picket fence.”

She said, “Isn’t that what you’re still selling?”

I slapped myself upside the head and went, “Oh duh! Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – it’s not just me; it’s everyone. I am selling a sense of belonging.”

Finding your Big Idea:

  • What is happening in your marketplace; What are the problems? At Soroptimist, we tackled two problems: young women who need to make their first home and older people needing to downsize. So we created Anney’s Closet, and the mundane explanation is a free store, but the Big Idea is Passing The Torch.
  • What do your people want that you can give them – adventure? Healthy food? Taking care of their parents or partners?
  • What idea hasn’t been pillaged (Being Green?) When in doubt, go with a classic.

I’ll leave you with a couple more I found:

The Future

The Future is the second big wagon to hitch your business to, in order to create big value. In The Art of War the Chinese general Sun Tzu said, “ Occupy the place of conflict early.” For example, water tables are dropping in the US Southwest. Therefore, water is a precious resource. I can associate with water conservation: occupying the high ground in the place of conflict.

Panasonic ads show the technology to its fullest potential, it brings you into Star Trek. This is the future of play, and Panasonic brings you there NOW.

The tagline for this annual biking event with over 10,000 participants is “Move the City.” You can be part of what cities will be like in the future.

One Soroptimist program is all about the future, based on research showing girls with access to mentoring are far more likely to achieve their dreams:

I’m taking a different approach, similar to Moleskine:

Moleskine is incredibly successful at mixing romance and history into their product. The future is one-world, one-size spandex spacesuits, and rush rush rush.

So my high ground is being ready to respond when people get fed up with the generic world. These paper calendars say, “My life is not disposable.” They are calendars for keeps, about a meaningful life.

Finding your Place in the Future:

What is our world coming to? More importantly, your customers’ world:

  • What’s in the future that you can identify with?
  • How can you advantage of what is going to happen?
  • Where can you take your customers that they want to go?

How WCB Claims Impact Your Bottom Line

Pamela Stover WCB Claims Health care costs are only the beginning of the financial impact of a worker’s injury. Lost time claims and mismanaged claims cost businesses in productivity and profits.

Some common issues that affect your bottom line:

  • Internal mismanagement of claims: Untrained or generalists may make internal errors which have a lasting impact on your bottom line as well as missed opportunities.
  • Failure to review claims for cost saving opportunities: Claims should be reviewed by an experienced professional that is versed in law, policy and procedures in order to mitigate claim costs and ensure proper management of a claim. After all, claims costs impact a businesses bottom line that has a lasting effect.
  • Fraudulent misrepresentation claims: Some claims are not as obvious as to the origin of the disability and/or work-related injury and therefore require deeper examination. Unfortunately, some workers are reluctant to RTW or are non-compliant in the process.
  • Improper claim reporting: Lack of information on the Accident Investigation Form and/or Form 7.
  • Late reporting: Cost employers in fines and delayed reporting takes away the ability to properly investigate a claim which can impact your claim costs.
  • No Return to Work Plan: A formal RTW program will assist with getting your injured worker back to work by providing them with meaningful work that allows them to stay involved and is proven to assist in their recovery. It also assists with reducing the overall claim cost and returns skilled workers to productivity.
  • Lack of sustained employer involvement: Some employers believe that once a claim has been established with WorkSafe BC that they can become a passive participant. Whereas, quite the opposite is required.

Effective and consistent claims management reflect ultimately in lower costs of a claim and subsequently lower premiums/surcharges. Our extensive knowledge, expertise and commitment drives us to achieve the best outcomes for our clients.