What about Value 1.0?

For eight years I watched my previous employer struggle with how to articulate our value proposition. It seemed every 18 months we had a "modified" message...a "better" message. We are this...we are that. The pain about defining a value proposition is that it all sounds perfect--until you go to your competitors' website only to find they are saying the same thing.

With the onset of technology and new opportunities to better the customer experience, strengthen brand, and streamline processes--you would think the ability to articulate value would be even easier. I believe it is harder. Just as we try to sift through the mountains of information we are exposed to each day, corporations are trying to make sense of what adds the most value. Is it creating a blog? Is it creating alter egos in a virtual world? Is it as simple as a cool website?

And just think...if the corporations are throwing everything at the wall to see what will stick, what messages are our customers receiving? How do they sift through the mounds of bull? Excuse me..."value propositions". It's overwhelming.

I watched my company, an industry leader of research and technology, try to do all of it...spend millions on new ventures. "This is the future"..."Imagine the possibilities"...Only to struggle with the same theme. What is our value?

Technology isn't worth anything if it doesn't fit the value proposition. It can certainly help define it, but it's not the only answer. My last company lost sight of that...and it left me skeptical. Value 2.0 can only come after the company has defined and clearly articulated their value. In other words, they better have Value 1.0 down first.