Maybe we've been getting it wrong from the start.

Think about it: how much revenue is lost globally because we're only focused on what we currently do? What if the real key was always in considering what else we could be doing? It's like one action, but dual benefits.

This idea is more important today than ever. It was even critical yesterday. When we only look at what's already there, progress is slow. But, when you're always exploring what's possible, you're juggling both what you do now and what you could do in the future. If these align, you're on track towards your goals. And even when they don't, it's not a bad thing. It just means you need to dig deeper, because it might be a sign of a bigger shift in either your current operations or future possibilities. Using agile methods, feedback loops, or newer approaches like feedback spirals can help you make sense of these differences, balancing what you're doing now with what you could be doing next.

In a business context, this is huge. We've been talking about changing customer needs for decades. So, are we really paying attention to how these needs are evolving? The shift in mindset needs to happen in how we approach customer centricity. Usually, we enhance our customer understanding based on what we offer them, which is quite a static view from the perspective of this blog. Instead, we need to start understanding them from the angle of what we could be offering. This helps not just in understanding them better now, but also in uncovering new possibilities in the future. The best value proposition we can deliver now is probably in this sweet spot, somewhere in the middle. Who said you can’t sell potential as well? We often make the mistake of explaining to customers what we do and linking that to their needs when we should be figuring out what are the customer needs and what we could do for them. Immediately, just a simple shift in perspective, can release the illusions we have in what we are doing and what we could do. Engaging in customer co-creation or what I like to call – crafting stories together with customers – is a powerful way to do this.

According to modern business strategies and customer-centric approaches, this mindset, or a way of thinking aligns with concepts like learning organizations and continuous improvement. However, what I intend to say is not just about solving problems or improving our processes. It's about what we're using as our reference point when we are doing that. Are we learning and improving based on what we're doing, or what we could be doing?

This crucial mindset shift can open up new opportunities and transform your value system so that it produces value propositions that resonate more with customer needs and market trends, maybe even throw in some incremental and why not disruptive innovations as well. Overall, it leads to a dynamic approach to customer-centricity. Instead of a static understanding based on what we offer, we explore what we could do alongside our customers to find the perfect value proposition. This approach leads to deeper engagement, stronger relationships, and a more solid and appealing value proposition.

I do have a secret though, in reality, what you do might not change for you, but it will change for your customer. Who would have thought that value propositions can be dynamic as well?

Thank you for reading our blog! Are you keen on exploring what we can do to help you to adopt this dual approach?