Exhibit 6.16 Value mapping — drilling down from features to
worth using example taken from mining coal.
Ultimately, in the context of customer
satisfaction, customer retention is the end goal. Customers in business markets
focus predominantly on functionality or performance. They seek to maximize
value or the monetary benefit that they may derive. Delivering value to these
customers, therefore, is the key to customer acquisition and retention.
Suppliers recognize the importance of value, yet
they often lack specific details, estimates or measures to demonstrate the
value they deliver. This absence of details creates ambiguity in the minds of
customers, leading them to focus more on concrete, unambiguous aspects like
cost.
To demonstrate value, suppliers need to drill down
from the product or service features and advantages to the benefits and from
the benefits to value. Take for example, the case of a company that is about to
start mining coal at a new mine where the coal has lower ash and sulphur
content. The lower ash and sulphur content is the feature or advantage that
their coal has to offer (see Exhibit 6.16). This advantage results in the
reduction in cost of ash and sulphur disposal — the benefit. For each of its
customers, the mining company should also be in a position to translate the
benefit, into value terms, based on the cost of disposing sulphur and ash.
