It’s been close to a month since I have been back from my maternity leave. The past few weeks have been somewhat of a blur as I adjusted to the new normal of being a working mom navigating the murky waters of a global pandemic. Today, as I reflect back on the past 14 months I wonder, how has it shaped me as a person? How does it impact what I bring to the table as a pricing consultant? 

2020 has been a year like no other. We have been mired in fear, uncertainty and lockdowns. But we have also seen resilience in the face of fear and uncertainty, the value of empathy, and folks coming together to carve out a path forward. With some economies emerging out of the COVID slump, individuals and businesses are starting to dust themselves off and get back on the proverbial horse. But is there such a thing as business as usual? Or rather, should we aspire to go back to business as usual?

A year ago while researching daycare options, I would complain to anyone who would listen, just how preposterously expensive I found daycares to be. I had not quite bought into their value proposition. Four weeks ago, as I dropped my toddler off at her daycare, I realized that to me now the safety, security and assurance that this particular institution provided was worth every penny and more. They had adopted new business processes and gone above and beyond to deliver on their value proposition. But it was more than that. As a customer during the pandemic, my values had changed. For me, my child’s security, happiness and ability to safely socialize is paramount, and my willingness to pay is now directly proportional to the trust I am able to place in her caregivers and the services that they provide.

The same applies to businesses across all industries. There have been unprecedented disruptions in how business is conducted, how we work, how we sell and customer values within both B2C and  B2B have shifted. But this forced disruption also provides opportunity for change and growth. It is an opportunity to break out of corporate inertia and reevaluate how organizations can create differentiated value, build trust with their customers and weave social consciousness into their business practices. At Ibbaka, we have always believed trust to be a foundational part of our pricing consulting work.  Without trust, it is almost impossible to execute on value-based pricing. We are also strong advocates of emotional value drivers and social consciousness or community value drivers being critical components of pricing decisions even within the B2B sphere. 

Going forward, I aspire to make trust and social consciousness a crucial part of every client engagement. I would like to not only support our clients in delivering on their value propositions, but also undertake value-based market research and  segmentation work to better understand shifting customer values and how it could enable positive business and social outcomes beyond the pandemic.