Like most business executives you've been tailoring your marketing mix to customer needs. That's the first rule of both industrial and consumer marketing. But by figuring out what customers actually value and buy, you can also take the first step in creating strategies that lead to superior profitability.
Value is measured differently in every business.
And no, in spite of what the gurus of popular business literature say, it's not simple and it's not just quality. Blanket customer first strategies mask the subtle differences among customers and the trade-offs they make when they purchase. And it's these differences that often provide the essential clues in the search for the key sources of comparative advantage. Intangible Values Customers purchase products and services for what they do, the utility or value they provide, not what they are. In many businesses, competitors provide products, essentially similar in quality, function, and price.