Optimizing Customer Value in Business Strategy

 

We get it, defining your business strategy can be daunting. After considering all the internal strengths and weaknesses of your business, and the many external challenges and opportunities of your market, drawing insights from “crossovers” of internal assets and external opportunities is a feat in and of itself; then comes strategy execution.

A thorough SWOT analysis is an essential first step that aligns business strengths with external opportunities, but to differentiate your company from competitors consider aiming your strategy towards the things your individual customers’ value most.

When customers evaluate a product or service, they weigh its perceived value against the asking price. Yet, most companies only consider a narrow set of generic parameters (features, pricing, accessibility) to determine how their customers assign value to their products. This limited view of customer value lessens the opportunity to build brand loyalty and the significant and sustained revenue growth that it delivers.

But, how can a company optimize perceived customer value when every customer assigns value differently?

Bain & Company consultants break down the elements of customer value in the “Elements of Value” pyramid. The pyramid includes 30 elements of value divided into four categories: functional, emotional, life changing and social impact. Some are inwardly focused addressing a customer’s personal needs, while some are outwardly focused, helping customers interact with the world.

Much like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the Elements of Value Pyramid is in some ways hierarchical and in some respects heuristic; several elements of value fulfillment can exist for the same product or service, although each and every level of the pyramid does not have to be addressed.

When thinking about how these values may align with the perceptions your customers have of your product or service, consider the following universal truths:

• Companies of all industries must deliver a certain minimum level of quality, and no other element can make up for a significant shortfall in quality.
• After quality, customer values concentrate around differing elements based on the industry in question.

If growth is your goal, investing in the most industry and company appropriate elements of customer value should be starting to sound like a tremendous opportunity to increase revenue, expand market share and increase referral rates and Net Promoter Score (NPS).

StrategyBlocks software can help you add optimal elements of customer value into your strategic plan, fusing a broad range of strategic methodologies (including industry-specific and universal customer value elements) and developing a customized, structured approach to implementing them.

Whether your goal is to drive revenue growth, develop new profit streams, or improve upon current offerings, considering the elements your customers value is essential in identifying the right moves. Adapting key customer value elements into your plan gives a tangible advantage to your company over competitors and has the potential to develop greater brand loyalty and increase NPS. Just one question remains, what are you waiting for?

StrategyBlocks software offers customers nearly all of the functional elements of value described in the Elements of Value pyramid, as well as the life changing elements of “motivation” for employees and “provides hope” for managers and C-level executives.

Schedule your demo of the StrategyBlocks suite of products today, and find out how you can more easily integrate Value into your organization for your team and your customers.