How is that usable?

Here's one interpretation:
Focus on the customer and how you can make their life (or business) better.

That's pretty straightforward but it needs a little more work to make it usable in your decision-making.

• First, you have to make their life better in ways that are distinct from other options. Otherwise, why would they turn to you?
• Second, it's not enough to think of ways to improve customers' lives - the customer has to experience the improvement as a result of your efforts.
• Third, you have to get paid - and paid enough that you'll make a profit.

It's useful to think of the ways in which you improve lives or businesses as the Value you provide the customer. This Value could be in the form of convenience, speed, quality, cost or being able to do something not previously possible. You can also think of Value as the ways in which you meet customer needs and as something for which customers are willing to pay.

That all nets out to our view of the Purpose of a Business:

"Create and Deliver Real and Distinct Value"
(in a profitable manner).

How do you use it?

One way of cutting to the heart of a business (or any organization) is to identify the Value they provide - and in particular, the Distinct Value.

It's valuable for any organization to ask the following questions (especially if the business isn't performing):

• Do we offer sufficient Distinct Value?
• Do we know all of the Value that we offer?
• Do customers and prospects understand the Value that we offer?
• Does our pricing reflect the Value and Distinct Value that we provide?
• Does our positioning reflect the Distinct Value that we provide?
• Do we avoid misleading prospects and customers on the Value that we can provide?
• Are we delivering the Value that we offer and could provide?
• Is the customer experiencing (receiving) the Value?
• Does the customer understand the Value that they are receiving?

If the answer to any of those questions is "No", that points to an area of the business that requires urgent attention. And these questions have increasing relevance during major economic change. When your customer needs have changed significantly, the Value you offer can evaporate or morph accordingly.

We can help you pursue the answers to those questions, as well as explore and implement solutions. We have unique tools and techniques that can help you answer "Yes" to the above questions on an ongoing basis.