This is the first of a series of articles in which the authors explore customer value and differentiation. In this article, Dr Simon Kelly and Dr Paul Johnston consider the importance of customer value and its criticality in building effective value propositions.

Credible commercial research suggests there is definitely a problem out there. In a recent study performed by Televerde, 47% of B2B salespeople said that the major reason they lost a deal was that the product or service’s value had not been adequately conveyed to the prospect. Small wonder that 46% of salespeople said the asset they most wanted from marketing was “value proposition”.