From Nowhere to Now Here

By Gregory Ronczewski, Director of Product Design at Ibbaka. His skill profile.

It's funny how small changes can affect everything—nowhere transformed into now here. Just add a space, not even a letter, and suddenly undescribed, becomes very present not only location-wise but also placing a definitive mark on the timeline - from endless possibilities to a specific moment in time and space.

The other day, I watched a demo that Steven Forth presented, showing a result of his collaboration with Lee Iverson on a stand-alone (at this moment) value calculator, which is destined to become a part of Ibbaka Valio - our value pricing platform. A minor adjustment of one digit can result in a massive change in how the price of the offer changes. It is a part of some consulting work we are currently doing for one of our clients—an interesting problem of how to price a complex offer with multiple value dimensions. We often assume that the number of units sold determines the price. But there is another way of looking at this. Let's look at what changes (litres, kilograms, tonnes, or any other measurement) through a typical unit a company sells to determine the price per unit. Or, from another point of view, how about the electricity used by each of these units? So from a straightforward calculation based on the number of units sold, we move towards a more realistic scenario that measures either the outcome of using the product or the cost to operate each unit. A minor adjustment to the value ratio results in a significant change in the recommended price.

Ibbaka Valio is a software platform for managing value models, creating value stories and connecting price to value. Ibbaka's professional services support the configuration and use of Valio. Value model development and Pricing model design are the key services. The models are implemented and managed on the Valio platform. Value Stories are customer-branded and used by sales and customer success to tell a story about value and connect value to price. Finally, Value and Pricing Insights are collected into an easy-to-understand Dashboard. I am visually oriented. I appreciate how value and pricing models come to life in Valio. The best part comes in the form of Value Stories. Albert Einstein said, 

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

Ibbaka Valio Value Stories are far from fairy tales, but the magic of storytelling makes them compelling. The numbers embedded in a Value Story can be edited during the presentation. Any change will affect both the Value Model and Pricing Model, making the story interactive and true to the insights of the buyer.

As with many SaaS products, everyone asks: does it really work? The answer is yes, Ibbaka Valio works. And it's not just my opinion, which obviously is a bit biased. It is the opinion shared by many who trust us and are having a blast playing with numbers, creating multiple here-now moments to test different scenarios. Pricing is not something that, once set, should remain constant. Pricing should change to reflect the other changes that we experience. Ibbaka Valio is flexible. It changes with your business, adapting to the changes to value that are key to your business. Let's not forget that, without value, there is nothing to price and that pricing is central to how companies communicate the value and position of their offer.

It's a phenomenal feeling to witness the transformation of a few thoughts or ideas tossed around a kitchen table into a product that works and brings a smile to the faces of its users. There is a well-known adage, "seeing is believing," but in this case, it's the opposite - "believe it to see it." So kudos to the team for persistence, patience and vision.

I wrote many times - never underestimate the power of thought. Any invention, any gadget we can't live without, started as a thought. So let's finish with another quote from Einstein - "Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

Value Story, anyone? Hit "get in touch," and we will ensure you experience Ibbaka Valio. Don't delay. Just imagine - we are only one click away - create another here-now moment.