Designing Value Propositions in the Digital Economy

August 13, 2018

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Digitization has made connectivity between businesses, suppliers, and potential partners quicker, more effective. It has enhanced just-in-time delivery processes and allowed for more rapid deployment of software solutions and services that are favoured by, or of interest to, public and private sector industry enterprises.

A business entity may have a fantastic range of products and services, but it can still sink if it is unable to successfully promote the benefits of its offerings over those of its competitors, to an important group: consumers.

Company X, for example, has developed mobile apps that are able to factor in and predict traffic conditions more efficiently and accurately than Company Y’s software. If Company X is unable to convince consumers that their commutes will be quicker and more stress-free, thanks to their app, however, Company Y will potentially benefit if their strategies are more effective, and their value propositions are better formulated.

A value proposition, as defined in McKinsey & Company’s June 2000 edition of their Quarterly Report, is “a simple statement of the benefits that the company intends to provide, along with the approximate price the company will charge each segment for those benefits.” Rapid digital transformation of the economy and of the modus operandi of business entities mean that value proposition statements must become streamlined and factor in the new realities of the growing digital power that consumers have in the accelerated marketplace.

Just as digital technologies have made communication between businesses, partners and suppliers potentially faster than before, however, they have also made it easier for consumers to determine whether a product or service is a potential success or failure at launch.

Today, consumers at every level of the economy and in every industry have more access to information about goods and services than they did even five years ago, and as a result, are more discerning when it comes evaluating the ups and downs of goods and services in the marketplace. They are also more adept at recognising the merits of products and services within minutes, let alone days or weeks or months. This places more pressure on businesses today to develop value propositions that factor in awareness of the impacts and changing realities of digital transformation on business strategies, in the short and long-term. Digital transformation has the ability to allow businesses to gather data more efficiently than ever before to meet the fundamental needs of their potential consumers, but it also means that businesses must hit the ground running and be able to assess whom their products and services are best suited for, or risk being overtaken by others.

In one of the episodes of the AbacusWired live webinar series, Apigee, AbacusConsulting and JS Bank —the first bank in Pakistan with an open API platform — provided businesses and public sector entities with the best practices and insights to allow them to develop long-term strategies that are reflective of the accelerated nature of the digital economy and meet the fundamental needs of their consumers, incorporating the positive changes that digital transformation can bring to the way they operate in the 21st century. Watch the complete episode here.