In this 21st century, marketing has become the important tool in any business strategy. Today I am going to tell you one of the new marketing concepts that have been practised by various companies over the world: we call it value co-creation or consumer generated value. I believe most of the local or small business owners may not heard of this at all, I will try to make my explanation simple. Before I start, let me tell you a story of my own experience.
During my birthday last year, I received a birthday cake from my friend that full with my favourite cartoon character Winnie, The Pooh miniatures. It is designed in a way that you would not be able to find it in any stores out there. Out of curiosity, I browsed through their facebook page and found out the owner has used a very interesting slogan: You dream it, we bake it.
Unlike the traditional way of select and pay in most of the bakery shops, in this case where rather than rely on the creativity of bakery shop, my friend is able to share his idea, experience and expectation on how he wants the cake to be looked like. In other words, he has participated in a new product development and co-created value with the shop owner. The whole process is less about transaction and more about interaction.
A simple way of understanding it is value co-creation is the ability of the company and consumer to create additional value for each other. It is not about what you can provide to your customer but is about what your customer wants or wishes. Consumers are no longer satisfied in making ‘yes’ or ‘no’ about what companies offer to them as products or services. They want more – the freedom of choice to interact with companies through range of experiences.
How value co-creation can be done and its