In overcrowded markets, companies cannot win on product or price alone. They must create and communicate customer-specific, financially-quantified value propositions. In this authoritative white paper, Professor Malcolm McDonald and Grant Oliver lay out a step-by-step framework for doing just that — rooted in decades of strategic marketing experience and real commercial results.
Going far beyond slogans and generic benefit claims, the authors define what value really means, how to calculate it, and how to use it to build stronger customer relationships, win more deals, and defend margins in competitive markets.
Why It Matters
- Only 5% of companies use financially quantified value propositions — creating an opportunity for competitive advantage
- Even standard offerings can be enhanced through value quantification
- This framework supports strategic pricing, brand strength, and customer retention
Core Topics Covered
- Four core components of customer value:
- Added value (e.g. productivity, speed, agility)
- Cost reduction
- Cost avoidance
- Emotional contribution (e.g. trust, risk reduction)
- Examples from SKF, a global bearing company, and packaging firms that have used this method to grow accounts and reduce churn
- The role of needs-based segmentation, brand, and quantified differentiation
- Common messaging failures (e.g. “blah blah” statements) and how to avoid them
- How to use value propositions to shorten sales cycles, reduce discounting, and increase deal velocity
Insight
“Customers expect to be better off as a result of dealing with you. You must prove that you create advantage — not merely help them avoid disadvantage.” – McDonald & Oliver
Download the Full White Paper
This summary introduces the thinking, but the full document contains diagrams, segment positioning tools, and worked value calculations.