Product´s Benefit. The Procter Way

In my previous article we saw that one essential proficiency of sustainable firms is their ability to target their customers based on the total value of the products.

The proposed benefit to the customer is the determining factor in the value equation. It is benefit that initiates the customer’s desire to purchase.

Leading companies know that this proposed benefit must always be considered from the customer’s perspective, never that of the firm. A famous shoe designer, founder of one of the largest shoe companies, once said: “I do not sell shoes, I sell beautiful feet.”

Customers rarely buy a product for what it is but for what it brings. They buy pleasure, health, recreation, the opportunity to rejuvenate, beautify, to be different or to do as everyone else, to escape the routine, to discover new things, or to enjoy being at home.

For some customers, the product´s benefit is not merely limited to material gain, but rather the final purpose of purchase. The question no longer concerns what the product brings to the customers, but why they need it. This explains the success of fair-trade products built on transparency and respect for independent producers to achieve greater equality in global trade

The same product can be a source of different interests for different categories of customers. Some prefer convenience or design while others appreciate ease of use or time saving, fun or innovative aspects, elegance or simplicity, and finally, some will be sensitive to the product’s social or ethical impact.

To measure the value sought by customers, sustainable companies have a simple method: they ask them what they want and why they want it. Interviews can be formal or informal, short or long. Some interviews are conducted with the aid of questionnaires to be filled quickly by a large number of individuals. Others take the form of semi-directive discussions with a smaller pool of respondents lasting two or three hours.

For years, surveys through interviews have been the preferred source of information. But they have one big drawback: sometimes the respondents evade telling the truth or they forget what they do exactly. In fact, there is often a gap, willful or not, between the response of customers and their actual behavior.

Aware of this bias, sustainable companies now go beyond market research and declarative data. They observe directly their customers’ behavior when they buy at the point of sale. They even go to customers’ homes to examine the actual conditions of product use. The results of these in situ investigations are sometimes far from what clients describe in interviews or questionnaires.

The most advanced companies act in the same way for their products in development. Before even launching them on the market, their marketing research departments have the new products tested by users and not just by laboratory researchers.

It is in the actual context of use that these companies can actually understand the concrete value of their products as seen by customers. It also gives them the opportunity to find ideas for additional benefits which could be offered to the customers.

A company such as Procter and Gamble (P&G), the 181 year old consumer goods company. P&G has even created a dedicated position, the Consumer Market Knowledge manager whose role is to ensure that consumers’ insights are the foundations of the firm's business strategy and execution….

If you are interested with this topic, you will find much more material and ideas in the new edition of my book “The Timeless Principles of Successful Business Strategy. Corporate Sustainability as the New Driving Force” published by Springer. For more information go to https://www.springer.com/la/book/9783662544884