Understanding Customer Values

Understanding customer's values is key to getting to delight.

How often do you identify what your customer's values are? How do you use that information when designing solutions for them? If the solutions to customer's problems don't mesh with their view of the world and their values, they won't find the solution delightful. If they do... wow.

Examples of companies that focus on values:

• Harley-Davidson designs everything to support their customer's underlying values of experiencing freedom, adventure and community.
• Boon designs things to support their customer's underlying value of style and whimsy.
• The Body Shop designs solutions to support their customer's underlying values of being sustainable, natural and unique.
• Lego designs things that support their customer's values of play, creativity and community.

The better you are at recognizing a customer's values, the more likely you will be to delight them.

Here is a wonderful video of a small business customer talking about his business. Watch it and try to figure out his values. Then, look at the first of the "comments" on this blog entry for my assessment. How close are you?