The company as a co-creator of value

It’s been said that the customer should be a co-creator of value for the company in order to help the company make the right products for the market.

I propose that the company, instead of the customer is the co-creator of value. The company is co-creating value with the customer who is the main creator.

Nowadays it is quite known that the company is a supplier of value propositions and the customer is a creator of value. Value is not defined as buying a sack of potatoes; value is defined as cooking a meal, having a dinner party with friends. Now think, who created the value? Was it the company who sold the sack of potatoes or the customer who invited his/her friends and cooked the meal.. The answer is pretty obvious isn’t it?

Back in the days a product or a service was something that the company made and threw out on the market. “Take it or leave it, this is what we’ve done for you”.

Then it got turned upside down, “Hey, would you like to be a part of developing new products? We’ve got some ideas but we’d sure love if you’d test em’”.

Now I turn it upside down again.

The companies should ask themselves: “What do the customers want us to do?” How can we make their lives better? How can we be a part of helping them create value?  Customers are the value creators and we assist them, we are co-producers of value!”

Of course the company’s got the machines, the funding the people and all that, BUT there’s something they don’t have. The company don’t have the WANT. The WANT is the property of a customer and is why you do something at all, the machines, the funding the people are merely tools to reach the WANT.

A little story about a small cleaning company in Tennessee:

-What do you want, how can we make it, how can we try to help you in your pursuit for value?

We can sell you a vacuum cleaner!Oh, you don’t want that?

We can provide you with a maid who cleans your house, Oh, you don’t want that?

Hmm.. We can… sell you carpet that keeps your dust away! Oh, you don’t want that either?

WHAT DO YOU WANT THEN?

The customer answers -I just want a clean house.

In this case value for the customer is a clean house, not a vacuum cleaner, a maid or the super carpet. These are only tools to reach value. By buying the vacuum cleaner the customer can reach joy and piece of mind that’ll eventually transform into value but the company’s role in this is to CO-Create value for the customer.

This of course isn't rocket science. These are obvious facts, but again that's what marketing is all about. Sometimes one just can't see the forest for the trees...

To be continued….