Developing a sustainable customer value proposition today can be very difficult. In English that means matching up what you are offering versus what the consumers actually want. Most of us are familiar with the term 'Value for Money' i.e. it's about price. However that's only one factor in the equation.
Whenever you see anybody use the word 'Premium' it means: we aren't the cheapest, but we are better than them in some objectively identifiable way - better fabric, better whooshing noise, go faster stripes etc. Basically it is about definable product attributes. When it comes to services you have a whole set of other emotional triggers - do you trust them, is it easy, do they help me, is it for me, did I enjoy it etc.
The relative weights of all the factors, which make up your relevance to the consumer, are constantly shifting, and apparently insignificant tweaks can lead to complete failure if you aren't careful. It's one of these things you see every day and yet brands and services keep falling into the same trap - sometimes because of greed, others just circumstance.
It's worth reminding ourselves that the Holy Trinity of 'Company', 'Brand' and 'Product' have become mashed together in consumers minds. Corporate behaviour influences consumers in far more profound ways than could ever happen in the pre-web world, and so the value proposition goes far beyond just the product at hand.
I thought it would be interesting to look at a few current examples of how and why these changes occur and what the impact can be.