One of the most overlooked marketing tools is value. Every business thinks of marketing as a way of promoting their products or services and that is true. Most businesses think of advertising their products or services simply through descriptions and pricing but forget about the value of those products or services to their customers and forget about other forms of value they can offer.

This leads to overlooking value as one of their best marketing tool options. Many businesses have no idea how to go about using value as a marketing tool. Here is a good example of value as a marketing tool that provides immediate value for the customer and earns trust for the business.

A professional carpet cleaning company wants to gain a larger regular client base and decided to offer a free short ebook on their site and through their regular advertising. This ebook is written to provide carpet care tips for customers to use between professional cleanings to prolong the life and looks of their carpets. The ebook is branded with the company’s name and contact information so even people who were not previous customers can call and set up a time to have their carpets cleaned. The ebook shows people that the company is interested in helping their customers maintain their carpets all the time. This is called added value and helps build trust in the company.

When people receive something free that has value they can use right now, they are more likely to use the business that offered it to them since they will have more trust in that business. The above example works well for businesses advertising online. Here is another example businesses can use in their physical business.

Even in this digital age, people still need pens to sign documents of various sorts. A good example is an automotive repair shop. A customer takes their car in for evaluation and repair. The mechanic evaluates the problem and makes an estimate of the cost. The customer needs to sign the document to approve the work to be done. The customer is given a pen with the shop’s name and phone number on it to sign the form. Now the customer has a pen to remind them of where to take their car for repair in the future and, on top of that, they have something of value they can use every time they need to sign a form or write a note.

Using value as in these two examples is making good use of it as a marketing tool. You can use either or both of these or come up with a way of using value that is unique to your needs. It is a smart way to market.