I was with my friend and ex-colleague Mike Kelly this week. We met for breakfast in Manchester to chat over our business plans and generally catch up. Mike is one of the rare breed of people who, like me, have managed to make the transition from full on corporate careers to a healthy mix of work that provides variety, interest and flexibility rather than just money and "career prospects". Amongst other things, Mike runs Northern Light Images, a photography business specialising in social events and weddings.

Mike was talking me through the challenge presented by 'Uncle Bob' in his industry.

Many wedding photography customers show interest, make a booking, pay a deposit and then with only weeks to go to the big event cancel the photographer. To cut costs, they have found a an alternative - "Uncle Bob" has recently bought a new 10 Mega Pixel camera and he has kindly offered to record their day for posterity. The quality of the photographs are fantastic and he'll be at the wedding anyway so he's the perfect solution.

In reality, is Uncle Bob really going to be able to juggle the wildly varying light inside the church then outside in the sunshine? Will Uncle Bob be able to maintain his focus quickly and repeatedly without getting distracted by the fun of being a guest? Will he have two of every piece of kit required? And does he really have have "the eye" to see and capture those special moments in just before they happen?

Being a great photographer is part artist, part project manager. Having a good camera is a start, but not a qualification.

Mike and I talked over how to deal with this problem, not just in the photography business, but in any line of business. How do you demonstrate your value over and above less credible competition when your customer thinks that the less credible will do a good enough job?

The answer, lies in creating a sound value proposition. People don't just buy a product or service from you, they buy other aspects of what you sell too. Your value proposition needs to provide a solution to a particular problem your customer has and it needs to provide a notion of what the experience of working with you will be like.

In Mike's case, the product is a set of photographs. But the real value in terms of solving a problem is that they are the single record of the most important event in somebody's life. When Mike demonstrates that he will capture this day in quality and in detail, he's got a real edge on Uncle Bob. The quality of his 'eye' for the right shot demonstrated through previous photographs and happy customer testimonials stating that they were ecstatic with the results are important tools in building this credibility with new customers.

The experience is also important. Mike has a professional, friendly relationship with his customers where they feel comfortable letting him in to their lives. But that's just the initial rapport hurdle - to really induce customer confidence, Mike shows an exceptional understanding of what they want and is as excited and interested in their big day as they are. I know from personal experience that a grumpy or rude wedding photographer can put a bigger dampener on the day than torrential rain.

It is easy to think of experience as being your credentials and skills. It's better to think of your customer's experience in using you - how do they need to feel about working with you in order to buy from you and recommend your services? Northern Light is in a pretty unique position - having worked for big consulting firms and their corporate customers, Mike knows more than enough about giving customers the right feeling as they work with him.

So although Mike and I didn't have time over breakfast to complete our 'how to get customers to value your expertise' guide, I came away with the following formula in my head:

Valued Expertise = The problem you solve for your customer + The experience you create for your customer

If you'd like to create ways of improving the way your customers perceive your value - contact us and we'll help you complete with the Uncle Bob in your industry.