Abstract
This paper examines the importance of customer value as a strategic approach to doing business in the 21st century hypercompetitive marketplace and marketspace. The author examines the customer value theory of Professor Art Weinstein as a valid and plausible conceptual framework for strategically positioning an organization through market orientation to design and deliver superior customer value as a competitive advantage. Citing examples of new economy companies that have effectively propelled themselves to the forefront of the competition through the delivery of superior customer value, the author argues that customers are not simply just consumers or buyers of goods and services, but must be seen more like business partners. Furthermore, the author examines the role that customer service and value creation play in the development of competitive advantage and market positions by examining the differences between market driving and market driven companies relative to the customer value concept and theory. Two important frameworks proposed by Weinstein in his customer value theory are used as the framework for this paper to communicate the strategic importance of customer value: the Customer Value Funnel (CVF) and the SQIP (Service, Quality, Image, Price) Approach.