Value Marketing

Value Creation

The world today is revolving around Value ! There is too much and too many around all of us. How do we differentiate ? How do they differentiate ?

All Products whether physical or service have to fill up a space. A space which is always evolving and ever changing . The physical and spiritual space of demand and the ever-busy art of fulfilment through Value Marketing. It is the world of differentiated categories that are creating the niche in today's world and the slice of that niche is where value drivers are going to rush.

A value factor might overshadow the basic need factor in the product ! Sounds surprising ! Imagine the delivery of a birthday cake at the right time of birth (day or night) wherever you are on this globe . Would you then bother to think which variety of cake it was or which brand ?

In my opinion, value marketing has capabilities infinite which is not reachable through conventional marketing could ever exploit. The creative aspects of value creation around the 'human being' or the 'subject' could be endless and renewable.

Perhaps here lies the solution from the claustrophobia of a crowded marketplace......

What are the challenges ? - Design, Delivery & Delight monitoring. It's the 3D-challenge.

Design

Its human nature to overdo or underdo. And that's because no one really knows what is 'just enough'. It takes time, patience and complex analysis to design a 'value packet' around the basic 'need fulfilment product'. The dangers of an improper design are similar to over or under baking your cake ! Leaves you too white or too brown.

Designing value is therefore, by no means a novice job. At the same time Design has to go hand-in-hand with Delivery. The fanfare with the cake in the earlier example is rotten cabbage if it reaches 1 day late !

One important and at the same time very fundamental value orientation is to make the recipient feel important. Or as extensions - happy, comfortable, confident. After a road accident, a 29-yr old was being relieved from a private nursing home where he had to undergo a penile transplant. The bills were settled. The Head Nurse handed out a smart envelope which read 'Happy performing'. The patient smiled. A while later when he opened the envelope to discover a pair of pink latex condoms, he broke into a laughter. You made it ! You made him feel happy and comfortable first and then happy and confident !

Many would argue the need to do this act of value delivery in the case of a penile prosthesis. After all, who would ever come back for a second one ? But that is myopia in value marketing. The patient refers to the hospital as a place who understands his difficulty, removes it and wishes him luck. Something what a mother would do for her child. Far away from a mundane act with no call-back.

Delivery

A crowded marketplace is also challenged with an increasing stress on value delivery. Not just the right value. Also at the right time , in the right place and very much in the right form. Mind you Value degrades and perishes fast before delivery. It is subjected to change stress during the process of delivery.

Quite alarming though, a well designed value proposition has often been carelessly delivered with a net result of business erosion. The CEO of a company throws an all important party to declare a new business plan. He invites distinguished guests and not only that, he also books a chartered aircraft to fly them in. But due to improper communication, delegation and lack of empowerment of a junior officer, the flight arrives four hours late. All is over by then. The press had left. The bottle of champagne was over and .......

As a thumb rule in value marketing, if delivery poses a doubt design should