If a beverage customer calls from the factory floor and asks his counterpart at your company to deliver their packaging a little early, maybe on Saturday night instead of early Monday morning, should the supplier just comply with the request? Their order is ready, and there’s room on the truck, so it’s no bother–right?

Your staff, unaware of the true value of the rescheduling to your customer, agrees to do it. But in reality, your customer was about to be fined a fortune by one of their retail outlets for being out-of-stock.

Suppliers accept changes from their large customers repeatedly and readily. They regularly go above and beyond what was contracted without charging for the additional value provided. …And at what cost to you?

You, as the supplier, get nothing for going the extra yard. You also get nothing for disruption and additional cost to your business as a result of the work changes—for example, additional transportation cost by the contractor working on a premium rate while the truck is being loaded and unloaded and travelling with extra delivery.

This shines a light on one of the biggest costs from undervaluing your value proposition—the loss of self-respect. By not paying attention to what your value proposition is and being blindly customer-centric, you allow others to treat you in a way that ultimately costs you.

In short, the service bar gets raised, but the price doesn’t go up with it.

Are you undervaluing your value proposition?