32 Ways to Create Value
What is value? How is it created?
We know it when it happens to us. The best evidence that value has (or will be) provided is when you make a payment. Still, there are many times when value is created where payment isn’t involved.
Here are all the ways I know of to create value. There is a lot of overlap between these, so by no means is this list mutually exclusive.
Save time
It’s only logical to spend money on things that save you time, so you can spend more time on things you’d rather be doing.
Save money
Providing a similar (enough) product or service and charging less is a sure way to create value.
Improve the experience
It’s hard to precisely state this one. There are so many elements to an experience of a product or service.
My favorite example of improving an experience is perhaps from Rory Sutherland.
Tasked with reducing complaints about train delays, a purely rational approach would be improving the speed of the train. Instead, his solution was to improve the experience by providing waiting passengers with estimated wait times and improving the inside of the train itself.
This way, waiting for or on the train wouldn’t feel as long.
Improve the product
Great products grow themselves. For the most part, getting to a great product takes many, many improvements.
Knowing what to improve is the key here, and that depends on how well you understand your customer.
Add functions/features
More isn’t always better, it depends on the context. Once a customer can appreciate the existing features of your product or service, it makes sense to add on more functions/features.
This falls under the “jobs to be done” framework. Basically, if a customer can get more jobs done with your product or service, you’ve created more value and perhaps have a more loyal customer.
Remove the unnecessary (filter or curate)
Most consumers are faced with the problem of too many options, not too few.
Filtering and curating help save the customer time and also the regret of decision-making (as studies show that the more options someone has, the more regret they have after their decision).
This is essentially what small retailers do, and how they can compete against a giant retailer like Amazon.
The same goes for producing content. The counter-intuitive piece here is that it’s easier to create without restrictions, and afterwards remove the unnecessary. Because trying to edit and create at the same time can cause you to get stuck.
Elevate someone’s perception of themselves
Gym apparel is a good example. Buying gym clothes sends a message to the buyer “I’m the type of person that is fit and exercises”.
Good haircuts are another example. As are high-quality, well-fitted clothes.
Elevate someone’s status (perception by others)
Luxury goods mainly serve this purpose.
Educate (help someone feel more powerful)
As humans, we love control.
The way we gain more control of our environment is through learning new skills. With more control, we can reach and maintain flow much easier.
Be funny/absurd
What makes something funny? The formula will always be a mystery, and I hope it stays that way. But the joy and laughter that something humorous brings is tough to beat in terms of value created.
Attention to detail (think of everything)
On my first trip to Japan, I remember thinking multiple times “they thought of everything”.
The average person there just has a higher attention to detail than what I was accustomed to. Kaizen, or continuous improvement, is ingrained in their society.
Providing attention to the small details that most others miss, and improving those is a great way to create value. Not all customers will notice, but you will, and the customers that do will be enchanted and loyal to your brand.
“When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”
― Steve Jobs
Go deep, be thorough (take ideas seriously, take them far)
Most analysis is surface level and doesn’t go deep enough. Many books and movies start with a promising idea but they don’t take the idea far enough. Instead, they repeat the same idea in different ways.
What separates great works that create a lot of value is that they take a great idea far. They fully explore it, in ways that the audience couldn’t have thought of themselves.
So a great way to create value is to just go further, go deeper, and be more thorough with whatever is at the core of what you’re doing.
Offer a different perspective
We are shaped by our environment and genetics to see the world a certain way. Developing blind spots is only natural.
Providing a different perspective provides value since it’s generally hard for most people.
Communicate clearly
We tend to not think about how our words might be interpreted by others. If something makes sense to us, we write it or speak it out loud.
Being precise in your speech creates value since it sets expectations appropriately and reduces the potential for errors. It also shows thoughtfulness towards your audience or customer.
But most importantly, it ensures your intention or your idea is well understood.
Surpass or meet expectations consistently
The key word here is consistently. Once your product or service can surpass or meet expectations consistently, you’ve created value for your customers, since they can rely on you to meet their needs.
Be consistent (reduce uncertainty)
Brands and franchises are essentially companies that have achieved consistency at scale, which is hard to do.
If customers know what to expect from your product or service, and they enjoy it, then you’ve created value for them, as they don’t need to wade through all the other options and can depend on you for some level of satisfaction.
Personalize (make someone feel seen and understood)
People yearn to feel seen and heard. If your product can make someone feel seen, and not just another anonymous customer, then you’ve unlocked a form of value creation.
This is what luxury hospitality businesses do well.
The problem is personalizing at scale is tough (perhaps not anymore with AI, but that will take a little time to play out).
Be different
The nature of things is for a few brands, or a few people, to dominate a field (especially Extremistan fields).
Newer entrants to a market would rather play it safe and copy the dominant force since that’s what customers seem to like. And so we see more and more of the same style.
Once every option seems the same, and the customer recognizes it and has grown tired of it, being different can set you apart and thereby create value.
Be better
Sometimes, you just need to be better.
Being better is not necessarily a ‘moat’, but it can be. It will force other competitors to also be better, so in the end, the market and consumer will benefit.
Which will cause the market to grow.
This is the underlying function of capitalism.
Create competition
Why be better? Just create an environment for others to compete, and you’ve created value since they will keep making better products.
This is the role of governments in capitalism essentially. But it happens on smaller scales all the time. For example, a restaurant hires 2 chefs and lets them compete for the head chef position. Which leads to better food for customers, and thereby more value created than otherwise.
Improve aesthetics
ASMR is becoming big. The small, sometimes imperceptible details can create a pleasant feeling, which is highly valuable.
Tweaking the design of your product or service, and seeing what ‘feels’ right or ‘looks’ right is perhaps the best way to create value by improving aesthetics.
Provide a story
Humans love stories. We’re attracted to meaning, and stories provide that.
If your product or service has a story behind it, you’ve created value since your customers can relate to it more easily, and they now feel a part of that story.
Provide context/direction
Whether we’re in a new city, trying a new sport, or pursuing a new hobby, we often find ourselves in situations where we aren’t sure what to do or where to focus our attention.
Providing context and direction is a sure way to create value, as it lets people bring control back to themselves, and perhaps offers them a new perspective on the world.
Allow customization
Once we know what we’re doing, we like to choose. Which is why allowing customization is a great way to create value. The only problem is that it’s tough to do at scale for physical products and services.
Gamify
Games are enjoyable because they so easily get us into that flow state we crave, where things are optimally difficult. They can also provide a story and an escape from everyday life.
Incorporating gaming into your product or service is a great way to create value. The key is that the reward of the game must be variable, it cannot be easily predictable. The variable reward is what keeps people playing the game and what causes excitement.
Make it an experience
Much of Japan feels like an experience. Which is why so many people love traveling there (maybe too many people).
Even the convenience stores (specifically the 7–11’s) in Japan have an interesting, unique curation of products and are well-lit and clean. By doing this, they elevated a convenience store purchase into an experience.
Whole Foods is another example. They turned grocery shopping into a much better experience, with better lighting and aesthetics, and a premium/organic product offering.
Structure and organize
People love well-organized and structured content. It’s easier to consume and to remember.
Music is essentially well-structured sounds and words. And we derive much value from it.
Provide more
Once you understand the core of your product or service, the next step is just to provide more of it.
Be quick
Quick service can feel magical. An easy way to create value is to just be quicker than what’s expected.
You can also be quick by improving your product or service at a faster rate than others. Or providing a result for your customer quicker than the competition.
Of course, being quick risks a loss of quality. So it’s important to know where you can afford to be quick.
Be transparent & authentic
Music, podcasts, and art appeal to so many of us because the artists are often transparent about their situations and feelings.
We also see it with companies though. One company starts to be transparent about its pricing, or its supply chain, or whatever else, and customers appreciate it and reward them with loyalty.
Make it easy
Many things have unnecessary hurdles or obstacles. If people want to do something, you can just make it easy, and you’ve created a lot of value.
Most of what successful tech companies do is make something easier. Uber made getting a cab easier. Airbnb made it easy to rent someone’s home. Google made it easy to find relevant information. But you don’t need to be a tech entrepreneur to make something easy.
Combine unexpected elements
Great artists can take elements that normally don’t belong together, and combine them to produce something unique.
Apple became so popular because it took two very separate worlds, design and technology, and created products that embrace both to the fullest.
Since most people will not think to combine unexpected elements, doing so can create something unique that intrigues others and stands out.
Conclusion
There are many ways to create value, and this list is by no means exhaustive. In fact, some of these will definitely conflict with each other.
I hope it sparks some ideas on how you can add or create value for others in your field of work.
Thanks for reading!
