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….

Creating customer value through social networks

As a continuation to my previous blog on why a company should enter the social media platforms this post will discuss some of the essentials on how a company can create value through networks. 


The purpose of a social network is quite simple, to connect humans. Though the core purpose of the networks remain there's been millions of added services to the networks in order to engage and connect the users on a deeper level, social games, photos, specific groups and pages, events that eventually has made the previous impossible things possible, or at least a lot easier.

As I already discussed in my previous post a social network requires communication, it's not a bulletin board. The mission for a certain company entering the social networks is to provide added value to their customers, something that can't be provided in the company's product or service. The customer needs to feel special and selected. The social networks is an excellent and fairly cheap place to satisfy and give their customers something more. By engaging the customers into discussions, treating each customer as a key-customer by listening and answering them makes the customer feel special and as a part of the company. This in turn will generate added value from the customer's point of view and strengthen their view on your brand. It's a social exchange really, customers get added value and the company gets a stronger brand, Win-Win!

By engaging the customer into your product-, or service development you'll get an insurance. The insurance consists of a risk reduction from a potential failed product or service, by working with the customer there'll be a risk reduction since the customer provides you with information on what he or she wants, not what you want to make for your customers (Ask not what you can do for them, ask what they can do for you) ! Not only do you get a risk reduction but also free labour to your company, instead of having a team of engineers figuring out what you actually should produce you get the customer to do the job. A concrete example for this is are the Angry Bird cakes (Count the comments and likes and you'll be amazed) that their fans have produced which in turn have opened up new market-opportunities to the brand (The official Angry Birds bakery is yet to be seen). But you get the point, by engaging your customers on the social networks a satisfied customer will become a brand-ambassador for your company.

You should really see your customer as a co-creator of value, the days when the company produced a product and threw it out on the market are over, finito, loppu-slut, sayonara. Finnish professor Christian Grönroos even went so far as to call the company something that only made value propositions for their customers, the actual value is created by the customers.

By engaging your customer in the development process and listening to their feedback the customer will feel valuable and special, or as Rovio's Mighty Eagle said, "Good things will come to good people" meaning that it pays off for the customer to provide you with feedback.


Food for thought...