Among the many facets of value management that will provide the greatest benefit to you when starting out, learning the core ideas of lean customer value may be among the most important. Lean thinking will help you go far and give you the ability to deliver quickly, so it’s definitely a concept you don’t want to overlook. Here’s what you’ll need to know.
The Lean Concept in a Nutshell
If you’re looking for the most bare bones definition of what lean customer value is all about, just think of this: lean is how you create the greatest amount of value with the fewest resources possible. You’re trimming the fat, in essence, so that nothing is wasted and efficiency is taken to it’s apex. As you do, consider some of the following principles.
Value Is Context-Specific
Did you know that the value of something can change given the context?
You might not be willing to pay all that much for a bottle of water on a normal day, but when you’re stuck outside without a fountain in sight that bottled water might be well worth the 5 bucks someone is charging (or more, given other factors).
Just about any product or service works in a similar fashion, and when you’re thinking about presenting value to your customers, you must always consider the context.
Value Isn’t Just About Money
Sure, the dollar amount attached to a product or service is an important factor, but it’s not the only thing a customer has to spend in order to obtain that product or service.
They might have to expend time and effort to get that product or service as well, and though your brand might not immediately consider that fact, you can be sure it plays into a customer’s evaluation over whether or not something is “worth it.”
Value Won’t Always Make Sense
No matter how much data you gather on customers and how much you might think that there’s a logical choice as to what product or service a customer should prefer, you’ve always got to remember that customers are not always going to behave rationally.
Decisions will always have an emotional element, and that’s not something you’re always going to be able to predict. Allow for a bit of randomness in all of the plans you make, particularly when they pertain to generating value that will entice your prospective customers.
Pursue Value While Minimizing Inefficiency
If you consider some of the above, you’ll start to identify ways you can eliminate waste from your processes and add value for your customers while using fewer resources. This all contributes to your bottom line, so be sure to prioritize these ideas to reap their maximum benefit.
