Creating value that cannot be copied

One of the greatest challenges for the industrial marketing manager is to incorporate the "voice of the customer" into the design of new products and sen,ices. In this paper, it,e suggest a three-step approach to fine-tune the product and service offerings of the company. We illustrate how to use a conjoint analysis to bridge the information gap between the company, and its customers-by confronting the value the company intends to offer with the value desired by its customers. The illustration is based on a case study in business-to-business marketing, conducted at a technology-based multinational company of office equipment. Different sen,ice offerings were presented to customers and prospects, as in a real-life purchasing situation. Based on the results, different uses of newly designed services that increase the value for the customer could be developed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.