by Anthony K. Tjan  |   8:15 AM September 14, 2009


In my last post, I highlighted the fact that most people can't explain what their company does — its value proposition. The best way to start getting employees and management aligned is to understand the benefit the company is trying to deliver to its customers. Consider that there are only four types of consumer benefits that matter and by extension only four categories of value propositions that work.

1. Best quality. Richard Branson once said that being the best at something is a pretty good business model, and I agree. Think of brands that set a standard, like Louisville baseball bats,Benjamin Moore paints, and Stradivarius violins. You don't have to be a sports nut to have heard of the 125-year history of the Louisville Slugger, nor do you have to be a classical music aficionado to have heard of the legendary Stradivarius violins. Brands that set standards are sometimes luxury brands, but not necessarily. You don't need luxury to set a best-in-class standard. Brands like Benjamin Moore define quality in their categories. That's an enviable position and a value proposition that works.

2. Best bang for the buck. Recessionary woes have amplified the fact that some consumers will always buy on price. Best-in-class value doesn't always mean lowest price, however, but rather the best quality-to-price ratio. Jet Blue is a good example of a company that, though it may not offer the cheapest or best in comfort travel, does a good job of communicating its value relative to its price point. Dell, Chipotle, Ikea, and Toyota are other good examples of best-in-class value, and their value propositions have been sustainable through the years. Incidentally, the founder of Ikea, Ingvar Kamprad, has regularly traded places with Bill Gates on various world's richest lists.

3. Luxury and aspiration. 
On the other end of the spectrum from bang-for-buck players are luxury providers that promise the experience of a wealthy lifestyle to aspirational consumers. Ralph Lauren is one of the masters of a lifestyle luxury brand; others are Rolex, BMW, and Hermes. While the luxury segment was hurt during the downturn, it is almost certain that as the economy rebounds that customers will return to luxury goods as their discretionary spending increases.

4. Must-have. One of the most attractive value propositions we have seen and studied are the "must-haves." These include basic goods — certain foods, for instance. During my prior work with Thomson Reuters, we often talked about "must-have" content that business professionals could not do their jobs without. The critical legal information and tools WestLaw provides to lawyers are an example. As long as there are legal cases, there will be a need for legal information. It does not mean there will not be competition, but if the category you are pursuing is must-have, then the market leaders will have a great prize to share.

Does your company's value proposition fit in one or more of the categories above? If not, it is time to adjust. Figure out how to reposition your offering. Stop being stuck in the middle and aim to set a new standard. 

More blog posts by Anthony K. Tjan
Anthony K. Tjan

ANTHONY K. TJAN

Anthony Tjan is CEO, Managing Partner and Founder of the venture capital firm Cue Ball, vice chairman of the advisory firm Parthenon, and co-author of the New York Timesbestseller Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck (HBR Press, 2012).



출처: http://blogs.hbr.org/tjan/2009/09/value-propositions-that-work.html

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The five propositions that strategists David Bovet and Joseph Martha say help companies create value for their customers.

It's easy to be seduced by the drama of the Internet: instant connectivity, real-time conversation, free software, virtual companies, high-profile IPOs, and volatile stock markets.

David Bovet, 51, and Joseph Martha, 49, both vice presidents at Mercer Management Consulting, are just as excited about the Internet as the rest of us are. But if you want to see the impact of the Web, they say, don't look on Wall Street or even in Silicon Valley. Instead, visit factories, warehouses, and retail stores -- elements of the supply chain that runs from the moment a product gets designed to the moment it gets delivered to a customer. That is where the real business revolution is taking place.

Responding quickly to customer choices, Bovet and Martha argue, requires a new approach to business design -- a strategic model that revolves around the creation of "value nets." Over the past year, the two men have studied 30 companies with products that range from office furniture to footwear, from auto insurance to cement. Their conclusion: The combination of demanding customers and Web-enabled business models is making the old supply chain obsolete -- and is creating something far more compelling.

Their findings are captured in a new book, Value Nets: Breaking the Supply Chain to Unlock Hidden Profits (John Wiley, $29.95). In an interview with Fast Company, Bovet and Martha offered five value propositions that are reshaping the relationships between companies and their customers.

Proposition #1: Your only choice is to give customers smarter choices.

Bovet: Customer expectations are exploding. Today, almost everyone wants customized products -- right away and bundled with convenient services. You don't have to listen very hard to hear what customers expect, even of traditional companies: "Why can't I buy an automobile the same way that I buy a Gateway computer?" "Why does it take two months to design and deliver furniture for my new office?" "Why do I have to deal with four suppliers to solve a single business problem?"

The companies that win in this environment will be the ones with business designs that begin and end with customers. It all comes down to choice: Customers want products and services that meet their unique requirements, and companies need to know how to deliver on those choices quickly.

Martha: Of course, choice isn't always easy to manage. Customers love choice, but they can be overwhelmed by too much of it. That's why we value the concept of a "choiceboard," a term that was coined by our colleague Adrian Slywotzky. A choiceboard is a Web-based tool that allows for real-time, two-way interactions between companies and their customers. It's the front end of what we call a "value net." It lets customers design exactly the products and services that they want -- including attributes, components, prices, and delivery options -- and then it communicates those choices to the company's fulfillment engine. But here's the key point: Choiceboards aren't just about creating more choices -- they're also about creating smart choices. Companies like Dell, Gateway, and Weyerhaeuser use choiceboards to manage demand and to balance demand with supply.

Dell became famous for this approach long before the Web became as important as it is today. For years, Dell's telephone reps would find out right away if the company was running low on, say, a specific memory module. In real time, the order-entry person would know to offer customers an upgrade of that module for less than the item would regularly cost -- giving buyers far more value for their money and steering them toward a product that was actually in stock.

Gateway gives computer buyers three points of entry to its value net: "Click, call, or come in." Whether buyers go online, call Gateway's toll-free order number, or walk into a Gateway Country store, they will encounter a choiceboard that offers controlled choices and that feeds information into Gateway's fulfillment infrastructure.

Proposition #2: Faster is better -- that is, if customers will pay for speed.

Martha: Everyone knows that customers want things faster. But what do we mean by "speed"? Speed means instant gratification and high-velocity response. It can mean receiving an urgent document overnight, or settling an insurance claim right at the accident scene. It can also mean bringing new fashions to store shelves within a week of their being designed.

That's why we find Zara, a trendy Spanish clothing retailer, so exciting. The apparel industry is notorious for building up buffer inventories everywhere, because it has to predict fashion swings months before clothes hit store shelves. A wrong guess can mean a strategic disaster.

Zara can take fashion ideas from the drawing board to the store shelf in 10 to 15 days. It does that by using systems that effectively link customers to the company's manufacturing and distribution divisions. Store employees gather consumers' comments on designs and colors and then report back electronically to Zara's designers -- who, meanwhile, are constantly patrolling public places and looking for new trends. Within days, new designs are distributed to a network of small, contracted workshops in northern Spain. Because Zara doesn't have to wait for garments to be sewn in the Far East and assembled in different countries, it can replenish its store merchandise often.

Bovet: It's important to be fast, but it's also important to be fast for the right customers. You have to do enough research to know not only what customers want but also how profitable different customers are for you. You don't want to provide a beautiful business design that delivers products fast if customers aren't willing to pay for speed. However, once you do find customers who are willing to pay for quick delivery, you can do something really special.

Weyerhaeuser offers a great example. We studied one of its businesses, a Marshfield, Wisconsin-based company that builds doors. A few years ago, the company was in serious trouble -- on the verge of being shut down. Then Weyerhaeuser launched DoorBuilder, a Net-based choiceboard that lets dealers order precisely the doors that they need, choosing from 2 million possible configurations. A process that used to take 3 or 4 weeks now takes as little as 15 minutes and involves nothing but a few mouse clicks.

DoorBuilder was a serious investment. But it has created a premium service that its best customers are happy to pay for. One reason for DoorBuilder's success is that Weyerhaeuser began by focusing on its 200 most profitable dealers -- the ones that would define the future of the plant.

Proposition #3: You can do the right thing without doing everything.

Martha: We have some rules of thumb about outsourcing: Control customer touch points (ordering, service, and delivery); own the information, the knowledge, and the relationships, but not the transactions; and maintain control of analytical, relationship-building, and partner-management skills. Everything else is fair game for outsourcing.

Bovet: And you have to be sure that you're outsourcing for the right reasons. In the past, companies would often decide to outsource manufacturing after doing a cost analysis. Today, outsourcing has a lot to do with speed: Does the outsourced company have the ability to get products to market very quickly? We're talking about driving value, rather than about lowering costs.

In 1994, the biotech-research company Biogen thought that it had discovered a very powerful drug for multiple-sclerosis patients. It decided to use its new patent to become an operating company, rather than just a lab. But how to do that? It could license manufacturing to a big pharmaceuticals company, or it could build its own factory and its own distribution network.

But Biogen was wary of giving up control of its customer relationships to a big pharmaceuticals company. And it knew that if it built its own factory and then didn't win FDA approval, it would be stuck with that plant. So, instead, Biogen created a value net of related companies whose expertise it could use to get its product out very quickly once it received FDA approval.

To ensure high-quality outreach, Biogen kept customer support in-house. And it worked closely with its partners to make sure that all of its processes were top-notch. It created a network that got the new drug, Avonex, on pharmacists' shelves within days of FDA approval -- a record-breaking launch.

Proposition #4: Treat partners like partners.

Martha: In the past, companies were reluctant to share information with suppliers. Sometimes, they even had adversarial relationships with partners: If suppliers tried to raise prices by five cents, buyers would try to cut them off at the knees. In a value net, companies need relationships that last, and broadly shared information is the key to making that happen. You can't build a great company if you treat partners like adversaries.

Bovet: There's a great example of that in the United Kingdom. Vauxhall, the General Motors brand in the UK, became one of the first automakers to sell cars directly to consumers through its company Web site. It did so by working very closely with dealers, rather than treating dealers as part of the problem. Vauxhall created five regional distribution centers and stocked each one with a relatively narrow range of cars that best represented local customer demand. That took stock off of dealers' lots. In return, dealers agreed to visit customers after they had made a selection online and to bring along a similar car for a test-drive. During the visit, dealers would also assess the value of any trade-in, and they would complete all documentation. Then, within seven days, they would deliver the car.

Proposition #5: Know what customers want -- "super service" and "perfect orders."

Bovet: We define "super service" as a quantum leap in performance in areas deemed crucial by customers. Super service can take many forms, but its two most important features are rapid delivery and reliable delivery. Customers expect what we call "perfect orders." What's a perfect order? It's an order that gets shipped on time and complete: It arrives at a customer's desired location within a precise time window and in excellent, ready-to-use condition. Super service also means having the flexibility to handle last-minute customer changes while continuing to provide the same level of service.

Mexico-based Cemex, the world's third-largest cement company, is a great example of a company that provides super service and that delivers perfect orders. Until the late 1980s, Cemex's operations looked just as chaotic as every other company's did. The company set three-hour delivery windows -- a time frame that wreaked havoc on its customers' construction schedules. Over 10 years, though, Cemex invested $200 million in customer-service information systems. Now its delivery window is 20 minutes, and it makes that window 98% of the time. Customers can change orders at the last minute and still receive on-time shipments.

This "service wrap" is the differentiator here -- the thing that gives Cemex its brand strength. The market rewards super service by letting Cemex charge higher prices. The company's 1998 profits (before interest, taxes, and depreciation) were 35% of sales -- much higher than the industry average, which is 21%.

Martha: Go back to what Weyerhaeuser did with its door factory. Weyerhaeuser escaped the downward price spiral that usually comes with a commodity product. It was able to raise its prices and to command a premium in the marketplace because it wasn't just selling a door -- it was selling precise timing.

Many companies try to compete by offering products with different capabilities. When that approach falls apart, they try to compete by lowering their prices. They beat themselves up over features, or they cut prices like crazy to get month-end sales spikes. With value networks, you differentiate yourself not just on product attributes but also on service capability. That capability is based on a collaborative set of relationships, so it's more sustainable and harder to replicate. An effective value net creates a competitive advantage that's probably worth a lead of one to two years over your competitors.

Keith H. Hammonds (khammonds@fastcompany.com) is a Fast Company senior editor. Contact David Bovet (david.bovet@mercermc.com) and Joseph Martha (joseph.martha@mercermc.com) by email.

A version of this article appears in the August 2000 issue of Fast Company.
출처: http://www.fastcompany.com/40889/value-propositions

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Posted by insightalive
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Posted In: Valuations
value proposition

This is a long article, but it’s jampacked with value proposition examples, and I promise you’ll leave knowing what the heck your value proposition is.

What is a Value Proposition anyway?

I know the best way to answer this for Entrepreneurs is to give examples.  First, let me give a basic definition of a value proposition.

A value proposition is the solution to your customer’s problem.  It goes hand in hand with the problem you are solving.  I am a customer, I walk in with a problem, I walk out with a solution.  The solution then is notyour product or service, but the solution your product or service provides.  ie: the end result, the value given to the customer.

Here Are 10 Of The Best Value Proposition Examples

1.  Newness

For example, we did not know not having a TV was a problem…until we were introduced to the TV.  The value proposition examples then in this case, is newness.

Newness may be your value proposition if:

  • You have a new technology.
  • You have a new invention.
  • It is very, very unique.
  • You can’t figure out what industry you are in, because nothing fits.

2.  Performance

For example, the iphone was first to market.  Huge, big hit.  Then everyone else starting improving on what the iphone had.  The Galaxy by T-Mobile made a thinner look-a-like.  Galaxy identified what the iphone was missing, then sought to improve it.  The iMac did the same to the PC.

So, performance is your value proposition if:

  • Your product or service already exists.
  • You are bigger.
  • You are better.
  • You are faster.

(Alright..hopefully your brain hasn’t exploded yet.  My goal was to make this as “real life” as possible, so please let me know if I achieved that for you).

On to more value proposition examples…

Tip: You can have as many value propositions as you want by the way, but it’s better to focus on 3 core value propositions.  You may also have a different value proposition for different types of customers, that somehow work together, but then it gets really complicated.  This is why successful value propositions & business models focus on one customer, or one niche market.

3.  Customization

Customization is my favorite value proposition examples.  I love it when an Entrepreneur really knows his customer (and most do), and they are driven by passion for that customer.  Technology has allowed us to scale this model, which wasn’t available before.  This is also the value proposition that the majority of our small business owners offer.  It’s walking into a site or store, and being acknowledged.  Products or services are made or recommended just for you.

Customization might be your value proposition if:

  • Your technology recommends products or services based on the specific customer (like how Amazon recommends books).
  • Products or services designed for a specific customer.

4.  “Getting the Job Done”

Getting the job done is one of those really important value proposition examples.  The problem we’re seeing with a lot of this social media stuff is nothing really gets the job done.

Of course, all work and no play makes for a dull day, so non-productive products/services will always have a place in our market too.

“Getting the Job Done” may be your value proposition if:

  • Your product or service enhances a customer’s productivity.
  • Like internet marketing software, HubSpot.
  • Basecamp is another good example of this value proposition.

5.  Design & Usability

Who wants to buy a product or service that they can’t figure out how to use?  This is becoming more demanding in technology and electronics where customers expect this value proposition built into functionality.

Superior Design or Usability may also be your value proposition if:

  • You are in the fashion industry (design)
  • You are in the design industry (that was easy…)
  • Targeting a customer where design and usability are important.

6.  Price

Price is a big one.  The majority of customers will be price conscious, to some extent or another.  I really don’t think I need to give examples here…just make sure your price is balanced with your value.

7.  Reducing Costs

Reducing a customer’s cost is always a great value proposition.  People are always looking to save money.  The insurance companies are eating this up right now with the economy as an “easy way to save money”.

Cost Reduction may be your value proposition if:

  • You reduce your customer’s cost.
  • You can save them money by switching services (Geico focuses on this value proposition).

8.  Reducing Risk

Reducing risk is an insurance companies core value proposition.  Anytime you buy insurance, that’s what you’re paying for.

Reducing risk may be your value proposition if:

  • You are an insurance company.
  • You prey on making insecure people feel safe.
  • You provide in-depth data that can make people feel safe.

9.  Accessibility & Convenience

Why do we go to the convenience store around the corner, instead of the cheaper grocery store 15 minutes away?  Convenience.  It’s easily accessible.  Good value proposition example of this include Facebook and convience stores.  Two very different types of businesses, yet both offer the same value (see how creative you can get?).

This might be your value proposition if:

  • You can stay in front of your customers.
  • You combine products or services (like Super Walmart)

10.  Brand or Status

I included this last because most start ups won’t have an established brand or status…but you can partner with someone who does!

Brand may be your value proposition if:

  • You are well known.
  • You’ve purchased something well known (JcPenny bought Liz Claiborne)
  • Or maybe you can create a brand that is powerful & unique.

Hope you enjoyed my value proposition examples.

출처: http://plantostart.com/10-value-proposition-examples/

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by James C. Anderson, James A. Narus, and Wouter Van Rossum


“Customer value proposition” has become one of the most widely used terms in business markets in recent years. Yet our management-practice research reveals that there is no agreement as to what constitutes a customer value proposition—or what makes one persuasive. Moreover, we find that most value propositions make claims of savings and benefits to the customer without backing them up. An offering may actually provide superior value—but if the supplier doesn’t demonstrate and document that claim, a customer manager will likely dismiss it as marketing puffery. Customer managers, increasingly held accountable for reducing costs, don’t have the luxury of simply believing suppliers’ assertions.

Take the case of a company that makes integrated circuits (ICs). It hoped to supply 5 million units to an electronic device manufacturer for its next-generation product. In the course of negotiations, the supplier’s salesperson learned that he was competing against a company whose price was 10 cents lower per unit. The customer asked each salesperson why his company’s offering was superior. This salesperson based his value proposition on the service that he, personally, would provide.

Unbeknownst to the salesperson, the customer had built a customer value model, which found that the company’s offering, though 10 cents higher in price per IC, was actually worth 15.9 cents more. The electronics engineer who was leading the development project had recommended that the purchasing manager buy those ICs, even at the higher price. The service was, indeed, worth something in the model—but just 0.2 cents! Unfortunately, the salesperson had overlooked the two elements of his company’s IC offering that were most valuable to the customer, evidently unaware how much they were worth to that customer and, objectively, how superior they made his company’s offering to that of the competitor. Not surprisingly, when push came to shove, perhaps suspecting that his service was not worth the difference in price, the salesperson offered a 10-cent price concession to win the business—consequently leaving at least a half million dollars on the table.

Some managers view the customer value proposition as a form of spin their marketing departments develop for advertising and promotional copy. This shortsighted view neglects the very real contribution of value propositions to superior business performance. Properly constructed, they force companies to rigorously focus on what their offerings are really worth to their customers. Once companies become disciplined about understanding customers, they can make smarter choices about where to allocate scarce company resources in developing new offerins.

We conducted management-practice research over the past two years in Europe and the United States to understand what constitutes a customer value proposition and what makes one persuasive to customers. One striking discovery is that it is exceptionally difficult to find examples of value propositions that resonate with customers. Here, drawing on the best practices of a handful of suppliers in business markets, we present a systematic approach for developing value propositions that are meaningful to target customers and that focus suppliers’ efforts on creating superior value.

Three Kinds of Value Propositions

We have classified the ways that suppliers use the term “value proposition” into three types: all benefits, favorable points of difference, and resonating focus. (See the exhibit “Which Alternative Conveys Value to Customers?”)

All benefits.

Our research indicates that most managers, when asked to construct a customer value proposition, simply list all the benefits they believe that their offering might deliver to target customers. The more they can think of, the better. This approach requires the least knowledge about customers and competitors and, thus, the least amount of work to construct. However, its relative simplicity has a major potential drawback: benefit assertion. Managers may claim advantages for features that actually provide no benefit to target customers.

Such was the case with a company that sold high-performance gas chromatographs to R&D laboratories in large companies, universities, and government agencies in the Benelux countries. One feature of a particular chromatograph allowed R&D lab customers to maintain a high degree of sample integrity. Seeking growth, the company began to market the most basic model of this chromatograph to a new segment: commercial laboratories. In initial meetings with prospective customers, the firm’s salespeople touted the benefits of maintaining sample integrity. Their prospects scoffed at this benefit assertion, stating that they routinely tested soil and water samples, for which maintaining sample integrity was not a concern. The supplier was taken aback and forced to rethink its value proposition.

Another pitfall of the all benefits value proposition is that many, even most, of the benefits may be points of parity with those of the next best alternative, diluting the effect of the few genuine points of difference. Managers need to clearly identify in their customer value propositions which elements are points of parity and which are points of difference. (See the exhibit “The Building Blocks of a Successful Customer Value Proposition.”) For example, an international engineering consultancy was bidding for a light-rail project. The last chart of the company’s presentation listed ten reasons why the municipality should award the project to the firm. But the chart had little persuasive power because the other two finalists could make most of the same claims.

Put yourself, for a moment, in the place of the prospective client. Suppose each firm, at the end of its presentation, gives ten reasons why you ought to award it the project, and the lists from all the firms are almost the same. If each firm is saying essentially the same thing, how do you make a choice? You ask each of the firms to give a final, best price, and then you award the project to the firm that gives the largest price concession. Any distinctions that do exist have been overshadowed by the firms’ greater sameness.

Favorable points of difference.

The second type of value proposition explicitly recognizes that the customer has an alternative. The recent experience of a leading industrial gas supplier illustrates this perspective. A customer sent the company a request for proposal stating that the two or three suppliers that could demonstrate the most persuasive value propositions would be invited to visit the customer to discuss and refine their proposals. After this meeting, the customer would select a sole supplier for this business. As this example shows, “Why should our firm purchase your offering instead of your competitor’s?” is a more pertinent question than “Why should our firm purchase your offering?” The first question focuses suppliers on differentiating their offerings from the next best alternative, a process that requires detailed knowledge of that alternative, whether it be buying a competitor’s offering or solving the customer’s problem in a different way.

Knowing that an element of an offering is a point of difference relative to the next best alternative does not, however, convey the value of this difference to target customers. Furthermore, a product or service may have several points of difference, complicating the supplier’s understanding of which ones deliver the greatest value. Without a detailed understanding of the customer’s requirements and preferences, and what it is worth to fulfill them, suppliers may stress points of difference that deliver relatively little value to the target customer. Each of these can lead to the pitfall of value presumption: assuming that favorable points of difference must be valuable for the customer. Our opening anecdote about the IC supplier that unnecessarily discounted its price exemplifies this pitfall.

Resonating focus.

Although the favorable points of difference value proposition is preferable to an all benefits proposition for companies crafting a consumer value proposition, the resonating focus value proposition should be the gold standard. This approach acknowledges that the managers who make purchase decisions have major, ever-increasing levels of responsibility and often are pressed for time. They want to do business with suppliers that fully grasp critical issues in their business and deliver a customer value proposition that’s simple yet powerfully captivating. Suppliers can provide such a customer value proposition by making their offerings superior on the few elements that matter most to target customers, demonstrating and documenting the value of this superior performance, and communicating it in a way that conveys a sophisticated understanding of the customer’s business priorities.

This type of proposition differs from favorable points of difference in two significant respects. First, more is not better. Although a supplier’s offering may possess several favorable points of difference, the resonating focus proposition steadfastly concentrates on the one or two points of difference that deliver, and whose improvement will continue to deliver, the greatest value to target customers. To better leverage limited resources, a supplier might even cede to the next best alternative the favorable points of difference that customers value least, so that the supplier can concentrate its resources on improving the one or two points of difference customers value most. Second, the resonating focus proposition may contain a point of parity. This occurs either when the point of parity is required for target customers even to consider the supplier’s offering or when a supplier wants to counter customers’ mistaken perceptions that a particular value element is a point of difference in favor of a competitor’s offering. This latter case arises when customers believe that the competitor’s offering is superior but the supplier believes its offerings are comparable—customer value research provides empirical support for the supplier’s assertion.

To give practical meaning to resonating focus, consider the following example. Sonoco, a global packaging supplier headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina, approached a large European customer, a maker of consumer packaged goods, about redesigning the packaging for one of its product lines. Sonoco believed that the customer would profit from updated packaging, and, by proposing the initiative itself, Sonoco reinforced its reputation as an innovator. Although the redesigned packaging provided six favorable points of difference relative to the next best alternative, Sonoco chose to emphasize one point of parity and two points of difference in what it called its distinctive value proposition (DVP). The value proposition was that the redesigned packaging would deliver significantly greater manufacturing efficiency in the customer’s fill lines, through higher-speed closing, and provide a distinctive look that consumers would find more appealing—all for the same price as the present packaging.

Sonoco chose to include a point of parity in its value proposition because, in this case, the customer would not even consider a packaging redesign if the price went up. The first point of difference in the value proposition (increased efficiency) delivered cost savings to the customer, allowing it to move from a seven-day, three-shift production schedule during peak times to a five-day, two-shift operation. The second point of difference delivered an advantage at the consumer level, helping the customer to grow its revenues and profits incrementally. In persuading the customer to change to the redesigned packaging, Sonoco did not neglect to mention the other favorable points of difference. Rather, it chose to place much greater emphasis on the two points of difference and the one point of parity that mattered most to the customer, thereby delivering a value proposition with resonating focus.

Substantiate Customer Value Propositions

In a series of business roundtable discussions we conducted in Europe and the United States, customer managers reported that “We can save you money!” has become almost a generic value proposition from prospective suppliers. But, as one participant in Rotterdam wryly observed, most of the suppliers were telling “fairy tales.” After he heard a pitch from a prospective supplier, he would follow up with a series of questions to determine whether the supplier had the people, processes, tools, and experience to actually save his firm money. As often as not, they could not really back up the claims. Simply put, to make customer value propositions persuasive, suppliers must be able to demonstrate and document them.

Value word equations enable a supplier to show points of difference and points of contention relative to the next best alternative, so that customer managers can easily grasp them and find them persuasive. A value word equation expresses in words and simple mathematical operators (for example, + and divide) how to assess the differences in functionality or performance between a supplier’s offering and the next best alternative and how to convert those differences into dollars.

Best-practice firms like Intergraph and, in Milwaukee, Rockwell Automation use value word equations to make it clear to customers how their offerings will lower costs or add value relative to the next best alternatives. The data needed to provide the value estimates are most often collected from the customer’s business operations by supplier and customer managers working together, but, at times, data may come from outside sources, such as industry association studies. Consider a value word equation that Rockwell Automation used to calculate the cost savings from reduced power usage that a customer would gain by using a Rockwell Automation motor solution instead of a competitor’s comparable offering:

Power Reduction Cost Savings = [kW spent x number of operating hours per year x $ per kW hour x number of years system solution in operation] Competitor Solution - [kW spent x number of operating hours per year x $ per kW hour x number of years system solution in operation] Rockwell Automation Solution

This value word equation uses industry-specific terminology that suppliers and customers in business markets rely on to communicate precisely and efficiently about functionality and performance.

Demonstrate Customer Value in Advance

Prospective customers must see convincingly the cost savings or added value they can expect from using the supplier’s offering instead of the next best alternative. Best-practice suppliers, such as Rockwell Automation and precision-engineering and manufacturing firm Nijdra Groep in the Netherlands, use value case histories to demonstrate this. Value case histories document the cost savings or added value that reference customers have actually received from their use of the supplier’s market offering. Another way that best-practice firms, such as Pennsylvania-based GE Infrastructure Water & Process Technologies (GEIW&PT) and SKF USA, show the value of their offerings to prospective customers in advance is through value calculators. These customer value assessment tools typically are spreadsheet software applications that salespeople or value specialists use on laptops as part of a consultative selling approach to demonstrate the value that customers likely would receive from the suppliers’ offerings.

When necessary, best-practice suppliers go to extraordinary lengths to demonstrate the value of their offerings relative to the next best alternatives. The polymer chemicals unit of Akzo Nobel in Chicago recently conducted an on-site two-week pilot on a production reactor at a prospective customer’s facility to gather data firsthand on the performance of its high-purity metal organics offering relative to the next best alternative in producing compound semiconductor wafers. Akzo Nobel paid this prospective customer for these two weeks, in which each day was a trial because of daily considerations such as output and maintenance. Akzo Nobel now has data from an actual production machine to substantiate assertions about its product and anticipated cost savings, and evidence that the compound semiconductor wafers produced are as good as or better than those the customer currently grows using the next best alternative. To let its prospective clients’ customers verify this for themselves, Akzo Nobel brought them sample wafers it had produced for testing. Akzo Nobel combines this point of parity with two points of difference: significantly lower energy costs for conversion and significantly lower maintenance costs.

Document Customer Value

Demonstrating superior value is necessary, but this is no longer enough for a firm to be considered a best-practice company. Suppliers also must document the cost savings and incremental profits (from additional revenue generated) their offerings deliver to the companies that have purchased them. Thus, suppliers work with their customers to define how cost savings or incremental profits will be tracked and then, after a suitable period of time, work with customer managers to document the results. They use value documenters to further refine their customer value models, create value case histories, enable customer managers to get credit for the cost savings and incremental profits produced, and (because customer managers know that the supplier is willing to return later to document the value received) enhance the credibility of the offering’s value.

A pioneer in substantiating value propositions over the past decade, GEIW&PT documents the results provided to customers through its value generation planning (VGP) process and tools, which enable its field personnel to understand customers’ businesses and to plan, execute, and document projects that have the highest value impact for its customers. An online tracking tool allows GEIW&PT and customer managers to easily monitor the execution and documented results of each project the company undertakes. Since it began using VGP in 1992, GEIW&PT has documented more than 1,000 case histories, accounting for $1.3 billion in customer cost savings, 24 billion gallons of water conserved, 5.5 million tons of waste eliminated, and 4.8 million tons of air emissions removed.

As suppliers gain experience documenting the value provided to customers, they become knowledgeable about how their offerings deliver superior value to customers and even how the value delivered varies across kinds of customers. Because of this extensive and detailed knowledge, they become confident in predicting the cost savings and added value that prospective customers likely will receive. Some best-practice suppliers are even willing to guarantee a certain amount of savings before a customer signs on.

A global automotive engine manufacturer turned to Quaker Chemical, a Pennsylvania-based specialty chemical and management services firm, for help in significantly reducing its operating costs. Quaker’s team of chemical, mechanical, and environmental engineers, which has been meticulously documenting cost savings to customers for years, identified potential savings for this customer through process and productivity improvements. Then Quaker implemented its proposed solution—with a guarantee that savings would be five times more than what the engine manufacturer spent annually just to purchase coolant. In real numbers, that meant savings of $1.4 million a year. What customer wouldn’t find such a guarantee persuasive?

Superior Business Performance

We contend that customer value propositions, properly constructed and delivered, make a significant contribution to business strategy and performance. GE Infrastructure Water & Process Technologies’ recent development of a new service offering to refinery customers illustrates how general manager John Panichella allocates limited resources to initiatives that will generate the greatest incremental value for his company and its customers. For example, a few years ago, a field rep had a creative idea for a new product, based on his comprehensive understanding of refinery processes and how refineries make money. The field rep submitted a new product introduction (NPI) request to the hydrocarbon industry marketing manager for further study. Field reps or anyone else in the organization can submit NPI requests whenever they have an inventive idea for a customer solution that they believe would have a large value impact but that GEIW&PT presently does not offer. Industry marketing managers, who have extensive industry expertise, then perform scoping studies to understand the potential of the proposed products to deliver significant value to segment customers. They create business cases for the proposed product, which are “racked and stacked” for review. The senior management team of GEIW&PT sort through a large number of potential initiatives competing for limited resources. The team approved Panichella’s initiative, which led to the development of a new offering that provided refinery customers with documented cost savings amounting to five to ten times the price they paid for the offering, thus realizing a compelling value proposition.

Sonoco, at the corporate level, has made customer value propositions fundamental to its business strategy. Since 2003, its CEO, Harris DeLoach, Jr., and the executive committee have set an ambitious growth goal for the firm: sustainable, double-digit, profitable growth every year. They believe that distinctive value propositions are crucial to support the growth initiative. At Sonoco, each value proposition must be:

  • Distinctive. It must be superior to those of Sonoco’s competition.

  • Measurable. All value propositions should be based on tangible points of difference that can be quantified in monetary terms.

  • Sustainable. Sonoco must be able to execute this value proposition for a significant period of time.

Unit managers know how critical DVPs are to business unit performance because they are one of the ten key metrics on the managers’ performance scorecard. In senior management reviews, each unit manager presents proposed value propositions for each target market segment or key customer, or both. The managers then receive summary feedback on the value proposition metric (as well as on each of the nine other performance metrics) in terms of whether their proposals can lead to profitable growth.

In addition, Sonoco senior management tracks the relationship between business unit value propositions and business unit performance—and, year after year, has concluded that the emphasis on DVPs has made a significant contribution toward sustainable, double-digit, profitable growth.

Best-practice suppliers recognize that constructing and substantiating resonating focus value propositions is not a onetime undertaking, so they make sure their people know how to identify what the next value propositions ought to be. Quaker Chemical, for example, conducts a value-proposition training program each year for its chemical program managers, who work on-site with customers and have responsibility for formulating and executing customer value propositions. These managers first review case studies from a variety of industries Quaker serves, where their peers have executed savings projects and quantified the monetary savings produced. Competing in teams, the managers then participate in a simulation where they interview “customer managers” to gather information needed to devise a proposal for a customer value proposition. The team that is judged to have the best proposal earns “bragging rights,” which are highly valued in Quaker’s competitive culture. The training program, Quaker believes, helps sharpen the skills of chemical program managers to identify savings projects when they return to the customers they are serving.

As the final part of the training program, Quaker stages an annual real-world contest where the chemical program managers have 90 days to submit a proposal for a savings project that they plan to present to their customers. The director of chemical management judges these proposals and provides feedback. If he deems a proposed project to be viable, he awards the manager with a gift certificate. Implementing these projects goes toward fulfilling Quaker’s guaranteed annual savings commitments of, on average, $5 million to $6 million a year per customer.

Each of these businesses has made customer value propositions a fundamental part of its business strategy. Drawing on best practices, we have presented an approach to customer value propositions that businesses can implement to communicate, with resonating focus, the superior value their offerings provide to target market segments and customers. Customer value propositions can be a guiding beacon as well as the cornerstone for superior business performance. Thus, it is the responsibility of senior management and general management, not just marketing management, to ensure that their customer value propositions are just that.

출처: http://hbr.org/2006/03/customer-value-propositions-in-business-markets/ar/6


Posted by insightalive
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경영학의 여러 카테고리 가운데 조직 내부의 운영 매커니즘을 다루는 영역은 조직행동론(OB;Organization Behavior)에 속한다. 조직행동론은 개인과 집단 그리고 조직구조가 조직 내부의 역학관계에 어떤 영향을 미치는지를 연구하여 조직 자체를 보다 정확히 이해하고 나아가 구성원들과 조직의 역량을 극대화하는데 그 목표를 둔다. 이 조직행동론에서 주요하게 관심을 두는 개념들 가운데 가장 기본이 되는 단위는 개인이고, 이 개인의 역량과 성과를 극대화하는데 필수적인 요소인 동기부여motivation 역시 조직행동론을 이해하는데 가장 기본이 되는 개념이다.

 

      동기부여라는 이론이 채 정립되기 이전인 초기를 형성하던 이론들이 있다. 국민 동기부여이론이라 해도 과언이 아닐 매슬로우의 욕구단계이론과 성악설/성선설의 일종인 맥그리거의 X-Y이론이다. 이 고전적 동기부여이론의 기저에는 다음과 같은 전제가 깔려 있는데, 이는 '만족 ⇔ 불만족'이라는 기존의 절대적 명제다. 개인 차원에서 동기부여를 결정짓는 요인은 모두 같은 성격을 지니며, 이 요인이 충족될 경우 사람들은 만족하게 되고, 그렇지 않을 경우 불만을 갖게 된다는 명제다.

 

이 관점을 뒤짚은 이가 심리학자 허즈버그Herzberg다. 그는 기존 '만족 ⇔ 불만족'의 명제를 뒤짚어 다음과 같은 관점을 정의내린다.

 

만족 ⇔ 만족하지 않음
불만족 ⇔ 불만족하지 않음

      다시 말하자면 개인의 만족을 결정짓는 요인이 충족되지 않는다고 하여 불만으로 이어지지는 않고, 반대로 불만을 만들어내는 요인들이 충족된다고 하여 만족을 이끌어내지는 못한다는 뜻이다. 만족을 결정짓는 요인을 그는 동기motivation 요인이라고, 반대로 불만족을 야기하는 요인을 위생hygiene 요인이라고 불렀다. 그래서 허즈버그의 동기부여 이론을 '동기-위생이론'이라고 부르기도 하고 두 가지 요인으로 나누었다고 하여 2요인two-factor 이론이라고 부르기도 한다.

 

      허즈버그의 연구에 따르면, 일반적으로 성취나 인정처럼 내재적인 요인의 경우에는 동기요인에 속하는 경우가 많다. 업무를 하면서 개인적인 성취를 이루거나 외부에 의한 인정을 받게 되는 경우 동기부여가 이루어지고 과업에 대한 만족도가 높아진다는 것이다. 하지만 특별한 성취를 이루어내지 못한다거나 누군가가 인정을 해주지 않는다고 하여 곧장 업무에 대한 불만족으로 이어지지는 않는다.

 

      한편 급여나 작업환경 등 외재적인 요인의 경우 위생요인에 속하는 경우가 많다. 급여가 기대를 충족시키지 못한다거나 작업환경이 만족스럽지 못하는 경우, 회사정책이 합리적이지 않은 경우에는 불만이 발생하여 업무의 동기부여를 저해한다. 하지만 급여를 많이 준다고 해서, 작업환경을 끝내주게 꾸민다고 해서 과업에 대한 만족도가 올라가지는 않는다. 다만 불만이 없어질 뿐이다.

 

      업무와 관련한 주관적 요소들을 극단적으로 2분화하여 일방적으로 해석하는 이 이론에 대한 비판도 물론 있다. 1) 사람들이 일반적으로 자신의 부족한 점을 인정하지 않고 외부의 탓을 하는 경향이 있다는 점. 2) 특정 한 가지 요인으로 인해 만족/불만이 발생하지는 않으며 총체적인 주관이 동기부여에 영향을 미친다는 점. 3) 상황변수에 대한 고려가 부족하다는 점. 4) 생산성과의 상관관계에 대한 분석이 부족하다는 점 등이다.

 

      업무를 둘러싼 개인의 주관요소들을 1차원적으로 분석하던 기존의 이론에게 새로운 관점을 제시했다는 점에서는 큰 의미를 갖는다. 특히 조직을 운영하고 이끌어가는 조직 관리자들에게는 모든 요인들에 동일한 잣대를 들이대기보다 이들 요인들을 적절히 분류하여 각기 다른 방법론을 제시할 수 있는 이론적 토대가 되었다. 


'불만족 요인을 해소하는 것이 만족으로 이어지지 않는다'는 점은 허즈버그 2요인 이론이 주는 가장 큰 가르침이다. 외부적 요인을 아무리 해결해준다고 하더라도(임금을 올려주거나 작업장을 최신식으로 바꾼다고 하더라도) 개인들의 동기부여가 절대 되지 않음을 이해할 수 있게 되었고, 반대로 동기부여를 이끌어내기 위해 수직적인 업무결정권 확대를 도입할 수 있는 계기가 되었다.  

  

      물론 1950년대에 발표된 허즈버그의 연구가 지금까지도 많은 조직 관리자들에게는 전혀 생소한 이야기라는 것이 큰 문제지만.


출처: http://sttora2.net/30088031162

Posted by insightalive
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고객은 늘 옳다. '고객은 왕'이라는 절대명제의 이면엔 '그들이 원하는 것이 무엇인지 파악하라'는 지상과제가 있고, 이를 수행하기 위해서는 '그들이 무슨 말을 하는가'를 부단히 체크해야만 한다. 그런 사람들, 고객을 왕으로 모시고 그들의 하나하나를 알고자 하는 이들이 적잖은고로, 그네들이 하는 말이 당최 무슨 말이고 우리에게 어떤 시사점을 주느냐를 연구하는 사람들 역시 적잖다.

 

      1980년대 도쿄 리카 대학에서 활동했던 카노 노리아키 교수가 개발한 '카노 모델' 역시 소비자/고객의 목소리(Voice of Consumer; VoC)를 어떻게 받아들이고 이를 통해 어떤 시사점을 얻어내느냐 하는 요구분석 툴의 일종이다. 단순히 고객의 목소리를 분석하는 것을 목표로 하기보다는 고객들에게 만족감을 줄 수 있는 요소들이 어떤 것들이 있나를 분석하여 신상품이나 신기능/디자인을 기획하고 개발하는데에 이용되는 것을 목표로 한다.

 

      카노 모델은 조직행동론에서 동기부여 내용을 다루는 허즈버그의 2요인이론에서 크게 영향을 받았다. 허즈버그는 개인이 주변에 대해 주관적인 감적을 느끼는 요인이 크게 두 가지로 나뉜다고 보았다. 만족과 '안'만족을 결정하는 동기요인과 불만족과 '안'불만족을 결정하는 위생요인이 그것이다. 카노 요인도 비슷한 논리구성을 갖는다. 고객이 '만족감'을 느끼는 요인(Delight)과 '불만족'을 느끼는 요인(Must-be)은 다르다는 것, 노리아키는 여기에 기대-결과에 따라 만족/불만족을 결정하는 비례요인(Primary) 하나를 더해서 총 3개의 주요 요인이 있다고 생각했다. (indifference요인과 reverse요인이 있지만 사실상 무의미하므로 아웃)

 

 

      각 요인은 허즈버그 동기/위생요인과 비슷한 성격을 갖는다. 첫 째로 Must-be요인은 충족되지 않을 시 굉장히 큰 불만족을 불러일으키지만 있다고 해서 딱히 좋은 것은 아닌 요인이다. 극단적인 예로 낙지에서 중금속이 나오는 것. '중금속이 나오는 낙지'는 오마이갓 문제가 되지만 '중금속 없는 낙지'가 딱히 큰 만족을 주는 것은 아니다. (뭐 그럴 수도 있겠지만) 둘 째로는 기본 요인인 Primary요인으로 없으면 아쉽고 있으면 또 좋은 아주 기본적인 하지만 핵심적인 요인이다. 음식점으로 치면 음식의 맛이다. 음식이 맛없으면 기분 나쁘고 맛있으면 다른 곳과 차별화된 만족감을 준다. 마지막으로는 Delight 요인인데, 없다고 해서 아쉬운 것은 아니지만 있으면 확실히 좋은 요인이다. 통상적으로 제품의 디자인이 이런 요인에 속하며, 알바의 외모(?!)도 매우 전형적인 delight요소라 할 수 있다.

 

      문제는, delight요인이나 Must-be요인으로 분류하는 것이 굉장히 주관적인 작업이라는 사실이다. 같은 요인이라도 개인에 따라서는 delight가 될 수도 primary가 될 수도 있는 것이고, 시대나 상황에 따라 그 요인이 바뀔 수도 있다. 예를 들어 휴대폰에서의 '통화 품질'은 불과 몇년 전만 하더라도 delight, 최소한 primary 요인이었는데 지금은 Must-be요인이 되어버렸다. 따라서 고객의 요구사항을 분석하여 각 요인으로 분류를 할 때에는 통계를 바탕으로 철저하게 객관적으로 이루어져야 할 필요가 있다. (물론 쉽지않지만)

 

      카노 분석은 그 자체만으로 뭔가 신제품/기능 개발 방법론에 적용되지는 않고, QFD(Quality-Function Development)라는 제품개발방법론의 이론적 배경이 된다. 대충 의역하자면 '고객 요구 기반의 디자인/기능 개발론'에 해당하는 이 QFD는 기능/심미적 요인들과 고객요구사항을 짝지어서 지금의 모습을 더욱 개선하는 일본기업 특유의 '개선(카이젠)' 문화를 나타내주는 모델이다.

 

      신제품이나 신기능에까지 이어지지 않는다고 하더라도 카노 모델이 갖는 의미는 분명히 존재한다. 쉽게 말해서 '당신이 죽어라고 신경썼던 그 기능이 고객에겐 딱히 좋은 기능이 아닐 수 있다'는 의미다. 통상적으로 어떤 제품이나 서비스를 만드는 입장에서는 '내가 이렇게 피땀을 흘려 죽을둥 살둥 만들어낸 이 알흠답고 훌륭한 기능이 당신에게도 그 크나큰 기쁨 아닐쏘냐' 하는 굉장한 착각에 빠지기 쉽다. 고생한 만큼 알아줄 것이라는 굉장히 순진한 기대인데, 무조건 옳으신 고객 나으리들께서는 그렇게 너그럽지는 않으시다. 생각지 않았던 부분(delight)이 채워지면 기뻐하겠으나, 당연하게 생각하고 있던 부분(Must-be)에서는 놀랄만치 덤덤.

 

      Must-be 요인은 딱 그만큼만 채워놓는 것이, 그리고 Primary에 역량을 집중하되 가능하다면 delight요인에 살짝 살짝 손을 대는 것이 '이론적으로 이상적인' 과업이 된다. 이는 비단 경영활동에만 해당하는 것은 아니고, 인간사의 모~든 활동에 해당하는 내용이기는 하다. 그런데 왜 이 명명백백한 모델을 지키지 못하느냐 하면.. 일단은 (말했다시피) 어떤게 Must-be과 delight인지 알아낼 재간이 없다는 것, 그리고 그 비중이 어느 정도로 이루어지는지도 감이 잡히지 않는다는 것, 그리고 그게 당장 내일은 어떻게 바뀔지 모른다는 것이다. 한 마디로, 세상사가 이론적 모형대로 가는 경우가 어디 있냐는 거다.


출처: http://sttora2.net/30095281845?Redirect=Log&from=postView

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경영학의 여러 카테고리 가운데 조직 내부의 운영 매커니즘을 다루는 영역은 조직행동론(OB;Organization Behavior)에 속한다. 조직행동론은 개인과 집단 그리고 조직구조가 조직 내부의 역학관계에 어떤 영향을 미치는지를 연구하여 조직 자체를 보다 정확히 이해하고 나아가 구성원들과 조직의 역량을 극대화하는데 그 목표를 둔다. 이 조직행동론에서 주요하게 관심을 두는 개념들 가운데 가장 기본이 되는 단위는 개인이고, 이 개인의 역량과 성과를 극대화하는데 필수적인 요소인 동기부여motivation 역시 조직행동론을 이해하는데 가장 기본이 되는 개념이다.

 

      동기부여라는 이론이 채 정립되기 이전인 초기를 형성하던 이론들이 있다. 국민 동기부여이론이라 해도 과언이 아닐 매슬로우의 욕구단계이론과 성악설/성선설의 일종인 맥그리거의 X-Y이론이다. 이 고전적 동기부여이론의 기저에는 다음과 같은 전제가 깔려 있는데, 이는 '만족 ⇔ 불만족'이라는 기존의 절대적 명제다. 개인 차원에서 동기부여를 결정짓는 요인은 모두 같은 성격을 지니며, 이 요인이 충족될 경우 사람들은 만족하게 되고, 그렇지 않을 경우 불만을 갖게 된다는 명제다.

 

이 관점을 뒤짚은 이가 심리학자 허즈버그Herzberg다. 그는 기존 '만족 ⇔ 불만족'의 명제를 뒤짚어 다음과 같은 관점을 정의내린다.

만족 ⇔ 만족하지 않음
불만족 ⇔ 불만족하지 않음

      다시 말하자면 개인의 만족을 결정짓는 요인이 충족되지 않는다고 하여 불만으로 이어지지는 않고, 반대로 불만을 만들어내는 요인들이 충족된다고 하여 만족을 이끌어내지는 못한다는 뜻이다. 만족을 결정짓는 요인을 그는 동기motivation 요인이라고, 반대로 불만족을 야기하는 요인을 위생hygiene 요인이라고 불렀다. 그래서 허즈버그의 동기부여 이론을 '동기-위생이론'이라고 부르기도 하고 두 가지 요인으로 나누었다고 하여 2요인two-factor 이론이라고 부르기도 한다.

 

      허즈버그의 연구에 따르면, 일반적으로 성취나 인정처럼 내재적인 요인의 경우에는 동기요인에 속하는 경우가 많다. 업무를 하면서 개인적인 성취를 이루거나 외부에 의한 인정을 받게 되는 경우 동기부여가 이루어지고 과업에 대한 만족도가 높아진다는 것이다. 하지만 특별한 성취를 이루어내지 못한다거나 누군가가 인정을 해주지 않는다고 하여 곧장 업무에 대한 불만족으로 이어지지는 않는다.

 

      한편 급여나 작업환경 등 외재적인 요인의 경우 위생요인에 속하는 경우가 많다. 급여가 기대를 충족시키지 못한다거나 작업환경이 만족스럽지 못하는 경우, 회사정책이 합리적이지 않은 경우에는 불만이 발생하여 업무의 동기부여를 저해한다. 하지만 급여를 많이 준다고 해서, 작업환경을 끝내주게 꾸민다고 해서 과업에 대한 만족도가 올라가지는 않는다. 다만 불만이 없어질 뿐이다.

 

      업무와 관련한 주관적 요소들을 극단적으로 2분화하여 일방적으로 해석하는 이 이론에 대한 비판도 물론 있다. 1) 사람들이 일반적으로 자신의 부족한 점을 인정하지 않고 외부의 탓을 하는 경향이 있다는 점. 2) 특정 한 가지 요인으로 인해 만족/불만이 발생하지는 않으며 총체적인 주관이 동기부여에 영향을 미친다는 점. 3) 상황변수에 대한 고려가 부족하다는 점. 4) 생산성과의 상관관계에 대한 분석이 부족하다는 점 등이다.

 

      업무를 둘러싼 개인의 주관요소들을 1차원적으로 분석하던 기존의 이론에게 새로운 관점을 제시했다는 점에서는 큰 의미를 갖는다. 특히 조직을 운영하고 이끌어가는 조직 관리자들에게는 모든 요인들에 동일한 잣대를 들이대기보다 이들 요인들을 적절히 분류하여 각기 다른 방법론을 제시할 수 있는 이론적 토대가 되었다. '불만족 요인을 해소하는 것이 만족으로 이어지지 않는다'는 점은 허즈버그 2요인 이론이 주는 가장 큰 가르침이다. 외부적 요인을 아무리 해결해준다고 하더라도(임금을 올려주거나 작업장을 최신식으로 바꾼다고 하더라도) 개인들의 동기부여가 절대 되지 않음을 이해할 수 있게 되었고, 반대로 동기부여를 이끌어내기 위해 수직적인 업무결정권 확대를 도입할 수 있는 계기가 되었다.  

 

      물론 1950년대에 발표된 허즈버그의 연구가 지금까지도 많은 조직 관리자들에게는 전혀 생소한 이야기라는 것이 큰 문제지만.


출처: http://sttora2.net/30088031162

Posted by insightalive
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ALEXANDER OSTERWALDER

In my last post I described a new business tool, the Value PropositionDesigner Canvas. In this post I outline how you can use the tool to not only design Value Propositions, but also to test them. You’ll learn how you can supercharge the already powerful Lean Startup and Customer Development principles to design, test, and build stuff that customers really want.

The Value Proposition Designer Canvas (VP Designer Canvas) allows you to zoom into the details of your Value Proposition and the Customer Segments you target. You can use it as a poster (cf image below) to design better Value Propositions with sticky notes. However, to make sure your customers really want what you design, you’ll need to test all the assumptions you make with the VP Designer Canvas.


Value Proposition Canvas


We already now know how to do this kind of designing and testing for business models: by combining the Business Model Canvas with theCustomer Development process. Steve Blank has impressively demonstrated this in his work.

We can achieve the same for Value Propositions by combining the VPDesigner Canvas with the Lean Startup process. This will help us more systematically work towards achieving what the startup movement calls a product-market fit or problem solution fit. In other words, building/offering stuff that customers really want.

Design, Test, and Build Business Models & Value Propositions


In a nutshell, the Lean Startup process essentially consists of iterating through the “building” of, “measuring” of, and “learning” from product (and service) prototypes. The Lean Startup movement calls these prototypes Minimum Viable Products (MVP).

Supercharge the Lean Startup Process

The VP Designer Canvas can add two crucial things to this process that are currently missing. Adding them to the mix will bring us to a whole new level.

Firstly, the VP Designer Canvas gives you a simple and practical way to rapidly sketch out WHAT you are building and how you believe this will create customer value/benefits, as well as WHY your are building it: which customer jobs, pains, and gains you intend to address.

Doing this BEFORE building an MVP, will help you better track and manage the testing, measuring, and learning process.

Value Proposition Canvas: What and Why

Secondly, the VP Designer Canvas helps you distinguish between Product/VP and Customer assumptions. If you “just” build an MVP to measure and learn, you won’t know if a negative outcome of your experiment is related to your MVP or to a lack of customer interest.

In science such a significant bias would invalidate your results all together. Hence, you need to separate the testing of your product/VP assumptions (i.e. WHAT) and your customer assumptions (i.e. WHY) whenever possible. The latter is something you can observe and investigate even before designing an MVP.

Using the Value Proposition Designer Canvas – Step by Step

Let me walk you through a rough step by step process of how to use the VP Designer Canvas for testing. In reality, of course, these steps will be less sequential and much more messy. You’ll also want to adapt this process to your needs and circumstances.

1. Fill Out Your VP Designer Canvas.

Describe the JOBS your customer is trying to get done and outline their PAINS and GAINS. List the PRODUCTS and SERVICES you intend to offer and describe how you believe they will ALLEVIATE your customer’s PAINS and CREATE GAINS. You can use the trigger questions in the poster and in my last blogpost if you need help.

1 - Fill Out VP Canvas

Voilà, you now have a great list of Produc/VP and Customer assumptions. You described who you think customers are and what you think would create value for them. It’s your best guess – but still just your (smart) opinion.

1b - Your Assumptions

2. Test your Customer Assumptions

Now it’s time to “get out of the building” – to use Steve Blank’s terms – in order to verify your customer assumptions. Talk to as many (potential) customers as possible to verify if they really are trying to get those JOBS done that you described in the VP Designer Canvas. Find out if those JOBS are crucial to them or unimportant? Find out if the really have those PAINS you believed they have. Are those PAINS severe or minor? Verify if they really value the GAINS you believed they value.

2 - Test Customer Assumptions

It’s even better if you can test your customer assumptions more rigorously. What I mean with that is going beyond simply talking to customers, but not yet building an MVP. The design professions have several techniques to achieve that.

3. Adjust your Customer Assumptions Based on Insights

Now that you better know who your customers are you should revisit the Customer Profile in your VP Designer Canvas. Ideally you now understand the significance of your customers’ JOBS, the severity of their PAINS and the intensity of their desired GAINS.

3 - Adjust Customer Assumptions

4. Redesign your Value Proposition Based on Insights

Adjust which pains and gains you want to focus on, based on your customer insights. Then redesign your Value Proposition accordingly. Don’t forget that great Value Propositions rarely address all customer PAINS and GAINS. They address a few really well!

4 - Redesign your Value Proposition

This will give you a readjusted VP Designer Canvas.

4b Adjusted VP Canvas

5. Start Testing your Value Proposition

Now it’s time to build your MVP and continuously test and adjust your Value Proposition based on what you learn.

5 - Test with MVP

The VP Designer Canvas will serve as your map to permanently track assumptions and tests, while you’re pivoting through the Lean Startup process. The moment this circle ends is when you’ve achieved a fit between your Value Proposition and what your Customers expect. This is what the startup movement calls product-market fit or problem-solution fit. It’s when you build stuff that customers really want!

Lean Startup Process

Don’t hesitate to give me your feedback, since this process is just a first suggestion of how to use the Value Proposition Designer Canvas.

Posted by insightalive
,

ALEXANDER OSTERWALDER

I’m a big fan of the Lean Startup movement and love the underlying principle of testing, learning, and pivoting by experimenting with the most basic product prototypes imaginable – so-called Minimal Viable Products (MVP) – during the search for product-market fit. It helps companies avoid building stuff that customers don’t want. Yet, there is no underlying conceptual tool that accompanies this process. There is no practical tool that helps business people map, think through, discuss, test, and pivot their company’s value proposition in relationship to their customers’ needs. So I came up with the Value Proposition Designer Canvas together with Yves Pigneur and Alan Smith.

The Value Proposition Designer Canvas is like a plug-in tool to theBusiness Model Canvas. It helps you design, test, and build your company’s Value Proposition to Customers in a more structured and thoughtful way, just like the Canvas assists you in the business model design process (I wrote more about how we came up with this new toolpreviously).

The Canvas with its 9 building blocks focuses on the big picture. The Value Proposition Designer Canvas zooms in on two of those building blocks, the Value Proposition and the Customer Segment, so you can describe them in more detail and analyze the “fit” between them. Companies need to get both right, the “fit” and the business model, if they don’t want to go out of business, as I described in an earlier post on failure. The tools work best in combination. One does not replace the other.

Untitled

In this post I’ll explain the conceptual tool. In my next post I’ll outline how you can use it for testing in combination with the Customer Development process by Steve Blank and the Lean Start-up process by Eric Ries. The Value Proposition Designer Canvas will allow you to better describe the hypotheses underlying Value Propositions and Customers, it will prepare you for customer interviews, and it will guide you in the testing and pivoting.

The Value Proposition Designer Canvas

As mentioned above, the Value Proposition Designer Canvas is composed of two blocks from the Business Model Canvas, the Value Proposition and the corresponding Customer Segment you are targeting. The purpose of the tool is to help you sketch out both in more detail with a simple but powerful structure. Through this visualization you will have better strategic conversations and it will prepare you for testing both building blocks.

Achieving Fit

The goal of the Value Proposition Designer Canvas is to assist you in designing great Value Propositions that match your Customer’s needs and jobs-to-be-done and helps them solve their problems. This is what the start-up scene calls product-market fit or problem-solution fit. The Value Proposition Designer Canvas helps you work towards this fit in a more systematic way.

Value Proposition Canvas - fit

Customer Jobs

First let us look at customers more closely by sketching out a customer profile. I want you to look at three things. Start by describing what the customers you are targeting are trying to get done. It could be the tasks they are trying to perform and complete, the problems they are trying to solve, or the needs they are trying to satisfy.
Value Proposition Canvas - customer jobs

Ask yourself:

  • What functional jobs is your customer trying get done? (e.g. perform or complete a specific task, solve a specific problem, …)
  • What social jobs is your customer trying to get done? (e.g. trying to look good, gain power or status, …)
  • What emotional jobs is your customer trying get done? (e.g. esthetics, feel good, security, …)
  • What basic needs is your customer trying to satisfy? (e.g. communication, sex, …)

Customer Pains

Now describe negative emotions, undesired costs and situations, and risks that your customer experiences or could experience before, during, and after getting the job done.
Value Proposition Canvas - pains
Ask yourself:

  • What does your customer find too costly? (e.g. takes a lot of time, costs too much money, requires substantial efforts, …)
  • What makes your customer feel bad?(e.g. frustrations, annoyances, things that give them a headache, …)
  • How are current solutions underperforming for your customer? (e.g. lack of features, performance, malfunctioning, …)
  • What are the main difficulties and challenges your customer encounters? (e.g. understanding how things work, difficulties getting things done, resistance, …)
  • What negative social consequences does your customer encounter or fear? (e.g. loss of face, power, trust, or status, …)
  • What risks does your customer fear? (e.g. financial, social, technical risks, or what could go awfully wrong, …)
  • What’s keeping your customer awake at night? (e.g. big issues, concerns, worries, …)
  • What common mistakes does your customer make? (e.g. usage mistakes, …)
  • What barriers are keeping your customer from adopting solutions? (e.g. upfront investment costs, learning curve, resistance to change, …)

Rank each pain according to the intensity it represents for your customer. Is it very intense or is it very light. For each pain indicate how often it occurs.

Customer Gains

Now describe the benefits your customer expects, desires or would be surprised by. This includes functional utility, social gains, positive emotions, and cost savings.
Value Proposition Canvas - gains
Ask yourself:

  • Which savings would make your customer happy? (e.g. in terms of time, money and effort, …)
  • What outcomes does your customer expect and what would go beyond his/her expectations? (e.g. quality level, more of something, less of something, …)
  • How do current solutions delight your customer? (e.g. specific features, performance, quality, …)
  • What would make your customer’s job or life easier? (e.g. flatter learning curve, more services, lower cost of ownership, …)
  • What positive social consequences does your customer desire? (e.g. makes them look good, increase in power, status, …)
  • What are customers looking for? (e.g. good design, guarantees, specific or more features, …)
  • What do customers dream about? (e.g. big achievements, big reliefs, …)
  • How does your customer measure success and failure? (e.g. performance, cost, …)
  • What would increase the likelihood of adopting a solution? (e.g. lower cost, less investments, lower risk, better quality, performance, design, …)

Rank each gain according to its relevance to your customer. Is it substantial or is it insignificant? For each gain indicate how often it occurs.

Products & Services

Now that you sketched out a profile of your Customer, let’s tackle the Value Proposition. Again, I want you to look at three things. First, list all the products and services your value proposition is built around.
Value Proposition Canvas - products & services

Ask yourself which products and services you offer that help your customer get either a functional, social, or emotional job done, or help him/her satisfy basic needs?

Products and services may either by tangible (e.g. manufactured goods, face-to-face customer service), digital/virtual (e.g. downloads, online recommendations), intangible (e.g. copyrights, quality assurance), or financial (e.g. investment funds, financing services).

Rank all products and services according to their importance to your customer. Are they crucial or trivial to your customer?

Pain Relievers

Now lets outline how your products and services create value. First, describe how your products and services alleviate customer pains. How do they eliminate or reduce negative emotions, undesired costs and situations, and risks your customer experiences or could experience before, during, and after getting the job done?
Value Proposition Canvas - pain relievers
Ask yourself if they…

  • … produce savings? (e.g. in terms of time, money, or efforts, …)
  • … make your customers feel better? (e.g. kills frustrations, annoyances, things that give them a headache, …)
  • … fix underperforming solutions? (e.g. new features, better performance, better quality, …)
  • … put an end to difficulties and challenges your customers encounter? (e.g. make things easier, helping them get done, eliminate resistance, …)
  • … wipe out negative social consequences your customers encounter or fear? (e.g. loss of face, power, trust, or status, …)
  • … eliminate risks your customers fear? (e.g. financial, social, technical risks, or what could go awfully wrong, …)
  • … help your customers better sleep at night? (e.g. by helping with big issues, diminishing concerns, or eliminating worries, …)
  • … limit or eradicate common mistakes customers make? (e.g. usage mistakes, …)
  • … get rid of barriers that are keeping your customer from adopting solutions? (e.g. lower or no upfront investment costs, flatter learning curve, less resistance to change, …)

Rank each pain your products and services kill according to their intensity for your customer. Is it very intense or very light? For each pain indicate how often it occurs.

Gain Creators

Finally, describe how your products and services create customer gains. How do they create benefits your customer expects, desires or would be surprised by, including functional utility, social gains, positive emotions, and cost savings?
Value Proposition Canvas
Ask yourself if they…

  • …create savings that make your customer happy? (e.g. in terms of time, money and effort, …)
  • … produce outcomes your customer expects or that go beyond their expectations? (e.g. better quality level, more of something, less of something, …)
  • … copy or outperform current solutions that delight your customer? (e.g. regarding specific features, performance, quality, …)
  • … make your customer’s job or life easier? (e.g. flatter learning curve, usability, accessibility, more services, lower cost of ownership, …)
  • … create positive social consequences that your customer desires? (e.g. makes them look good, produces an increase in power, status, …)
  • … do something customers are looking for? (e.g. good design, guarantees, specific or more features, …)
  • … fulfill something customers are dreaming about? (e.g. help big achievements, produce big reliefs, …)
  • … produce positive outcomes matching your customers success and failure criteria? (e.g. better performance, lower cost, …)
  • … help make adoption easier? (e.g. lower cost, less investments, lower risk, better quality, performance, design, …)

Rank each gain your products and services create according to its relevance to your customer. Is it substantial or insignificant? For each gain indicate how often it occurs.

Competing for Customers

Most Value Propositions compete with others for the same Customer Segment. I like thinking of this as an “open slot” that will be filled by the company with the best fit. The visualization for this was an idea by Alan Smith, one of my co-founders, and the designer of Business Model Generation.
Competing Value Propositions
If you sketch out competing value propositions, you can easily compare them by mapping out the same variables (e.g. price, performance, risk, service quality, etc.) on a so-called strategy canvas.
BoS Strategy Canvas

The Value Proposition Designer Canvas Poster

You can use the Value Proposition Designer Canvas like the Business Model Canvas: plot it as a poster, then stick it up on the wall, and then use sticky notes to start sketching.

Contrary to the Canvas, the Value Proposition Designer Canvas poster and methodology is copyrighted. However, you are free to use it and earn money with it as an entrepreneur, consultant, or executive, as long as you are not a software company (the latter need to license it from us). However, when you us it please reference and link toBusinessModelGeneration.com.

Here is a downloadable draft poster version of the Value PropositionDesigner Canvas.

Value Proposition Designer

Testing and Pivoting

Using the Value Proposition Designer Canvas as a thinking and design tool is only a start. To get the best out of it you need to combine it with testing and pivoting. In my next blogpost I explain how the Value Proposition Designer Canvas perfectly integrates with the Customer Development and Lean Startup Process. I explain how it helps you substantially when you “get out of the building” as Steve Blank would say.

Last But Not Least: Workshop Date Announcements

We have a couple of 2-day workshops coming up where you can learn about all our tools:

  • Save US$600.- with the super-early bird discount on our 2-day San Francisco Workshop on Nov 29/30 2012 (this discount expires Sept 2, 2012)
  • Save US$500.- with the early-bird discount on our 2-dayZurich Workshop on Oct 25/26 (this discount expires Sept 9, 2012)

Hope to see you in either San Francisco or Zurich!

Posted by insightalive
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