Markus Kirchberger

2014

The following paper describes the process of crafting a customer value proposition (CVP) in a high-tech B2B start-up developing software solutions for freight forwarders and the impact this may have on potential customers. Hereby, the focus is on the interaction between a start-up and a potential pilot customer and on how the need to get data from the customer in order to craft the CVP enforces the cooperation. The analysis is based on a case study in a start-up founded by three students of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and was conducted between October 2013 and August 2014. The result is that the CVP is a useful way to get in contact with one or more pilot customers. It is possible for the start-up to communicate with these customers on a different level when requesting cooperation to determine the value of a product than it would be the case in a normal selling situation. Furthermore, the cooperation brings some additional value for the customer as well as for the start-up such as infrastructure, lower prices or other development deals.