Identifying customer value : A case study in underground drilling devices
Nilkku, Katariina (2024)
2024
Konetekniikan DI-ohjelma - Master's Programme in Mechanical Engineering
Tekniikan ja luonnontieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2024-09-02
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202408298435
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202408298435
Tiivistelmä
This study discusses customer value through two different perspectives. First, if offers a theoretical discussion on how customer value can be effectively researched and used in a company. Secondly, the study analyses interview and observation data collected in Sandvik Mining and Construction company. The interviews are used to map the current situation and identify critical areas for development.
The theoretical framework of the thesis deals with the concept of customer value and its importance in business, especially in a business-to-business (B2B) environment. Customer value is defined as the benefits experienced by the customer in relation to the sacrifices of a product or service. Its importance is increasing as the global competition intensifies. The literature review also discusses the different methods and metrics that can be used to identify and assess customer value. The literature identified customer interviews as the most common and most used method for researching customer value. Interviews provide a lot of useful information about the value experienced by the customer. In particular, interviews that take place in the customer's own environment emerge as a profitable tool.
The empirical part of the thesis consists of semi-structured interviews within Sandvik, which focus on identifying and addressing customer value in the target company. In the interviews, the questions were limited to long-hole drilling equipment. This allowed for a limited number of interviewees and targeted questions. In addition to the interviews, participant observation was used. Information on customer value research methods was obtained by talking to different people and reviewing company files. These provided a picture of how customer value is studied at Sandvik currently. The interviews revealed that although Sandvik has a wide range of methods and approaches to customer value research, there are differences in their application between departments.
The study makes suggestions to improve the way customer value is studied at Sandvik. Cooperation and knowledge sharing between departments could be strengthened to ensure that customer value is taken into account more consistently in decision-making. Secondly, the use of existing tools and procedures should be systematized and harmonized in order to make more effective use of the information they provide. Thirdly, the importance of customer value could be more widely promoted within the organization, for example through training and awareness-raising.
The theoretical framework of the thesis deals with the concept of customer value and its importance in business, especially in a business-to-business (B2B) environment. Customer value is defined as the benefits experienced by the customer in relation to the sacrifices of a product or service. Its importance is increasing as the global competition intensifies. The literature review also discusses the different methods and metrics that can be used to identify and assess customer value. The literature identified customer interviews as the most common and most used method for researching customer value. Interviews provide a lot of useful information about the value experienced by the customer. In particular, interviews that take place in the customer's own environment emerge as a profitable tool.
The empirical part of the thesis consists of semi-structured interviews within Sandvik, which focus on identifying and addressing customer value in the target company. In the interviews, the questions were limited to long-hole drilling equipment. This allowed for a limited number of interviewees and targeted questions. In addition to the interviews, participant observation was used. Information on customer value research methods was obtained by talking to different people and reviewing company files. These provided a picture of how customer value is studied at Sandvik currently. The interviews revealed that although Sandvik has a wide range of methods and approaches to customer value research, there are differences in their application between departments.
The study makes suggestions to improve the way customer value is studied at Sandvik. Cooperation and knowledge sharing between departments could be strengthened to ensure that customer value is taken into account more consistently in decision-making. Secondly, the use of existing tools and procedures should be systematized and harmonized in order to make more effective use of the information they provide. Thirdly, the importance of customer value could be more widely promoted within the organization, for example through training and awareness-raising.