become-itil-foundation-certified-abhinav-kaiser(www.ebook-dl.com)

Chapter 4 ■ Service Strategy
4. Ensuring that the customer makes a positive return on
investment on the IT services’ costs.
5. Opening a transparent communication channel between
the customer and the IT service provider to ensure that the
implicit requirements don’t fall through the cracks.
4.4 Value Creation
How do you know that you have created value for the customer through IT services?
There is no easy answer for this. Perhaps, if you were running a courier company, you
could have confidently claimed that you delivered the tendered papers to a government
organization, there were no delays, you charged economically, and you have quantified
value to your customer.
What if you are running a service whose value cannot be quantified, like an
insurance company where customers haven’t yet filed claims? How will the customer
know that you have created value? You could say that you have given your customers
peace of mind by covering all eventualities. But, the reality is, you don’t know if the
customer has perceived your definition of value.
So, in effect, whether value is created for the customer is judged and perceived by
the customer. The service provider, at best, can research his customers and come up with
possible solutions that can make the customer happy. And in the end, he still cannot be
sure that value was created for the customer. This is due to the fact that value is always
measured through the eyes of the customer. However, there are two other components
that define value apart from customer perception. They are illustrated in Figure 4-1.
Figure 4-1. Components of value
48