How to measure customers’ perceived value?
Companies that understand how their customers perceive the value of their products or services are better positioned to design attractive offers and set appropriate prices. However, measuring that perception is not a simple task. It requires qualitative and quantitative tools that allow identifying and ranking the most relevant attributes for each segment.
PERCEIVED VALUEMARKET RESEARCH
Different customer segments may value different attributes of the same product. In addition, within the same segment, levels of price sensitivity may vary depending on factors such as the use of the product, whether it is paid for directly or indirectly, or the reference products each customer has in mind.
Understanding which attributes generate the most value allows marketing, design, and pricing efforts to focus on what really matters to the target customers.
Qualitative techniques to uncover relevant attributes
One of the most commonly used methodologies is group sessions or focus groups. These are meetings with between 6 and 10 people, guided by a moderator who seeks to generate an open conversation about consumption habits and preferences. For example, they may ask “what do you pay attention to when buying a phone?”, which helps uncover key attributes in the purchase decision.
In industrial markets, where it is not feasible to gather several customers at the same time, in-depth or one-on-one interviews are used. These interviews, lasting 30 to 60 minutes, allow for a detailed understanding of each customer’s preferences. Although they are costly, they are useful for understanding specific segments.
In both cases, it is important not to draw quantitative conclusions. The goal is to identify which attributes matter, not how many people value them.
Quantitative techniques to prioritize attributes
Once the relevant attributes have been identified, they must be quantified to determine their relative importance. For this, attribute rating is used, which consists of asking a sample of customers to rate different characteristics of the product or service.
When the number of attributes is high, an effective option is the MaxDiff technique. In this method, respondents receive groups of three or four attributes and must choose which is the most and least important in each group. Based on their responses, an algorithm calculates the relative importance of all attributes.
It is essential to remember that this type of analysis reveals the order of importance, not an absolute measure. For example, if “brand” is more important than “performance,” it does not mean it is worth twice as much.
Conclusion
Knowing how customers perceive the value of a product is essential for designing effective strategies. Qualitative techniques help uncover the attributes that matter, while quantitative ones help prioritize them. From there, it becomes possible to align the offer design and pricing strategy with the true expectations of the market.
In future stages, it will also be important to analyze price sensitivity to complement this understanding of value with each customer’s willingness to pay.