個案總覽

The amount of value in any given product will always lie in the eye of the beholder. Yet universal building blocks of value do exist. Two senior Bain & Company experts describe the 'elements of value' for both business-to-consumer and business-to-business products. They explain how they have organized these elements (30 for B2C and 40 for B2B) into a hierarchical pyramid inspired by Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs-with basic value offerings at the bottom and aspirational offerings at the top. Apple's iPhone, for instance, covers 11 of the 30 possible elements of value for consumers. The challenge for leaders today, they argue, is to compare their value offerings to their competitors; seek to close value gaps; and come up with innovative new combinations of value.

As B2B offerings become more commoditized, the subjective, sometimes quite personal considerations of business customers are increasingly important in purchases. To discover what matters most to B2B buyers, the consulting firm Bain analyzed scores of quantitative and qualitative customer studies. All told, it identified 40 discrete "elements of value," which fall into five categories: table stakes, functional, ease of doing business, individual, and inspirational. The elements range from strictly objective--those related to pricing and specifications, for example--to more subjective ones, such as reducing the buyer's anxiety and enhancing his or her reputation. Understanding this full range of rational and emotional considerations, and tailoring the value proposition to the ones customers prize most, is critical to avoiding the commodity trap.