A gift is the value proposition you create for those you care.

A gift or a commodity?

What’s the true identity of a value proposition?

Value proposition as a commodity. 

If it is perceived as a commodity, standardization and scalability is the rule of the game because industrialization is the ultimate answer for this kind of value proposition. The whole idea is to minimize cost so to optimize profit. Through quantification and exact measurement, errors and variations are precisely captured and thoroughly eliminated.

For this kind of value proposition, humanity is really not that important. 

Why bother to figure out who customers are, where they live, what they want, and how they carry out their life and work? They are one of the same after all! Standardize their needs and provide them with uniform value propositions – that should be the way to go.

Value proposition as a gift

When a value proposition is perceived as a gift, however, that’s a whole new story. 

A gift has that connotation of care, thoughtfulness, humanity, and one of a kind. It is something for someone special. And that has to start with knowing who your customers are, what’s special about them, what specific customer needs they are experiencing, and what kind of gift would make them tick.

Among all human beings on earth, this group of customers is special to you. You care about them and you want to do something special for them. You don’t want to sell them things, but you want to bless them with a gift – a gift of your value proposition.

But what is a gift?

A gift means two things: good and relevant. 

‘Good’ means this is something genuinely good for the recipients. It is for their wellbeing the gift is offered. 

‘Relevant’ means this gift is what the recipients need – something made just for their needs, not someone else’s needs. Indeed, this gift can be so special that the recipients cannot find it anywhere else, but here. 

Wrap the ‘goodness’ and ‘relevancy’ in passion and care – that’s the gift you offer to your customers. 

The distinction between a commodity and a gift

The distinction between a commodity and a gift can be sharp. 

Let me illustrate. 

If you gift someone a commodity, it begets that notion of social exchange. Social exchange engages people’s minds and wallets, but not their hearts, for the most part. 

If you gift someone a gift instead, it touches people’s hearts. Appreciation overflows and trust becomes the currency of exchange.

You might ask, what’s the relationship between the two?

Are they either/or choices or two ends of the same continuum? 

If you ask me, my answer leans toward the latter.

An either/or choice means exclusivity. You offer either a commodity or a gift. There is nothing in between. 

But life is more complicated than that. A business can swing back and forth from time to time. It is up to you to decide how much care you would like to weave into your value proposition.

After all, a gift is always a work in progress. The key is to never cease the endeavor of making gifts. 

That’s what a value proposition should be and what it is ultimately about.