Decipher The Meaning Of ‘Total Cost'

当然，这不应该对任何人感到震惊，而是要加工符合图纸规格的部分已变得司空见惯。有成千上万的商店可以绘画并制作尺寸正确的零件，这导致了几乎每个行业中每个人都经历过的下降价格压力。说实话。如果您是螺丝加工零件的买家，您的目标是以最低的总成本购买尺寸正确的零件。让我重复：“总成本最低。”让该短语在您的脑海中徘徊。

生产加工如何变得司空见惯？将其归咎于技术和CNC机器的扩散。与几年前相比，在当今大量的复杂零件要容易得多。因此，还有更多的商店这样做，包括这些海上的排名。当我建议所有商店都具有相同的设备：CAD/CAM和计量技术时，我会感到幽默。

应该让您晚上清醒的事情是弄清楚如何将商店与许多其他可以生产几乎完美零件的商店区分开来。您不能赚大钱出售商品产品。您可以通过区分公司来赚钱，帮助客户赚更多的钱，并为客户提供比竞争对手更好的体验。

In January, I had to fly from Atlanta, Georgia to Los Angeles, California to attend a trade show in which my company was exhibiting. I went online to a travel marketplace and quickly found a number of air carriers flying that route on the day I wanted to go. No doubt, a flight between Atlanta and Los Angeles is a commodity service. However, the prices ranged from $198 to more than $600. I paid $428 to fly Delta because it was a non-stop flight, the time was right, I earned my coveted SkyMiles, and I was able to use previously accumulated points to upgrade to first class.

Delta differentiated themselves in a commodity market by offering a service that saved me valuable time (time is money), rewarded me for doing business with them (added value) and provided me with a better experience than I could get flying with its competitors.

Experience and differentiation matters. It's how Starbucks turns 5 cents worth of coffee beans into a $4 latte.

Your customers have exactly the same mentality as I did when purchasing my ticket for air travel. They are the keys to figuring out what differentiates your company from the plethora of others they could be doing business with for a lower cost per part. Talk to your customers and ask them why they do business with you. Ask them what "total cost" means to them. Ask them what factors cause them to choose one supplier over another. Ask them who their best supplier is (regardless of the service they provide) and why they hold them in such high regard. You will find that your customers will be very happy to have these discussions with you; after all, you are a key link in their supply chain. It is in their best interest to help you remain strong, grow and provide even more value to them.

Take the insights from your customers and build upon them, and do more of the thing that resonated with them. Craft a consistent marketing message that highlights your differentiating points. This will hit home with the companies you would like to have as your customers. When you speak to prospective customers, don't start off by saying, "We do production machining." Lead with your differentiating value proposition. Perhaps say, "We help our customers reduce costs and reach higher margins by providing production machined parts in a manner that reduces their inventory and virtually eliminates all warranty claims related to components in which our parts reside."

I would like to recommend a book to you by Seth Godin called Purple Cow: Transforming Your Business By Being Remarkable (Penguin Group, New York). It's about how to differentiate yourself. It's an easy read and very thought provoking.

Mitch Free是佐治亚州亚特兰大MFGQUOTE.com的总裁兼首席执行官。可以通过（770）444-9686与Ext。2946或mfree@mfgquote.com