Step 2: Describe Your Customer’s Costs

Your brainstorming assignment is easier if you spend some time describing the steps or costs your customer incurs with the current products over the entire life of the product. Your brainstorming assignment is to identify customer segments whose characteristics result from the customer's reaction to each cost.

The needs of Intermediary customers and those of the Final customers differ. Both customers, though, incur four typical costs in connection with the product or service. Each of these costs represent steps a customer must take in connection with the product.

Click on a link below to view typical costs in more detail:

CUSTOMER COST STEPS

INTERMEDIARY CUSTOMERS		FINAL CUSTOMERS
Obtain Steps preceding the resale of the product.		Acquire Steps preceding use of the product.
Sell Steps taken to sell and deliver the product to customers.		Use Costs the customer incurs in order to use the product.
Guarantee Steps to keep the product or service in working order for the final customer.		Maintain Steps required to keep the product in working order.
Return Steps required to return a defective product to the supplier.		Dispose Steps to remove the product from the premises and dispose of it.

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