Many customers, like the commercial grower, understand their own requirements but do not necessarily know what fulfilling those requirements is worth to them. Which proposition would you find more convincing? We’ll provide superior value for your money.” The second supplier says, “We can lower the cost of your mulch film by $16.83 per acre,” and offers to show you exactly how. The first supplier comes to you with this proposition: “Trust us-our mulch film will lower your costs. Two suppliers are trying to sell you mulch film: thin plastic sheets that are placed on the ground to hold in moisture, prevent weed growth, and allow melons and vegetables to be planted closer together. Put yourself, for a moment, in the role of a commercial grower. To persuade customers to focus on total costs rather than simply on acquisition price, a supplier must have an accurate understanding of what its customers value, and would value. Customers-especially those whose costs are driven by what they purchase-increasingly look to purchasing as a way to increase profits and therefore pressure suppliers to reduce prices. And yet the ability to pinpoint the value of a product or service for one’s customer has never been more important. How do you define value? can you measure it? What are your products and services actually worth to customers? Remarkably few suppliers in business markets are able to answer those questions.

“Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.”

Value perception definition