Video
Eric Almquist, a partner in Bain's Customer Strategy & Marketing practice, discusses why the key tenets of Bain's research on the Elements of Value—what matters most to customers—apply to the annual World Economic Forum in Davos. Eric explains how the meeting provides benefits to its constituents on an individual level, while also contributing to a broader social impact.
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Read the transcript below.
ERIC ALMQUIST: We've been doing a lot of work on what we call the B2B elements of value—that is business to business or organization to organization, which is different than consumer. And that caused me to think: what are the elements of value delivered by the World Economic Forum?
And I realized that, this organization is playing pretty high up on the hierarchy. It is serving its constituencies with individual needs for their careers, as well as social impact needs. And if you look at WEF's mission, it basically says, we exist to improve the world. Which is a lofty ambition, but it clearly motivates people to come a long way, and to travel through a lot of snow, to get here and to hear about that mission.
This event is attended by some of the world's largest organizations, both businesses as well as governments and nonprofits. All of those organizations have customers in one way or another. It could be business customers or they could be constituencies, in the case of nonprofits or government organizations.
They need to understand what those customers and constituencies value, and we believe the elements of value will help them do that.
The work has been in the public domain, published by Harvard Business Review for now a year and a half. We've gotten very positive feedback. We have new research coming out that I'll unveil briefly at the forum. And we hope to hear feedback and ways to improve it.
At WEF, we're hoping to hear both positive and constructive feedback on the elements of value. And since we present mostly to businesses in our normal life, It will be good to hear from government and nonprofit organizations as well.
Elements of Value® Insights
What do customers want? Bain's Elements of Value® represent the deeper aspirations behind the purchasing decisions of B2B and B2C customers. Our insights explore the ways companies can go beyond price to offer more value.