Study Experience: MSc and MBA Course “Customer Value Creation”
Linking economic success with solving social problems
Creating customer value is always a marketing challenge in competitive markets. Being tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and marketers, HHL’s students attending the course “Creating Customer Value” gain relevant theoretical as well as practical insights to successfully manage this challenge. customer value creation
Guest speakers address real-world problems
Invited guest speakers talk about their management experiences and new approaches to create customer value. Due to the combination of theory and practice, the marketing course is very popular. This is not just reflected in the high number of attending students but also in course evaluations from former years.
“Creating Customer Value” aims to prepare students successfully and extensively for their work in established companies or start-ups by using tools and frameworks for identifying and managing customer value-driven strategies.
How do firms break out of the commoditization trap?
While many established companies face the challenge of declining profits in increasingly competitive and commoditized industries, a few firms stand out as market value leaders. This raises a crucial question: How can companies break out of the commoditization trap?
Identifying new customer value dimensions
A strong customer focus is key to identifying new customer value dimensions and sources of new competitive advantages. These and other aspects are discussed and critically reflected with students based on a sound understanding of what customer value is, how it can be measured, created and delivered. Based on the analysis of customer value in traditional consumer goods markets, students gain insights into how customer value is created in the sharing economy.
“Shared Value” approach by Porter
An extended concept of value creation for customers and other stakeholders is the “shared value” approach promoted by Michael Porter. Prof. Porter holds an honorary doctorate from HHL and Prof. Manfred Kirchgeorg meets him once a year in Boston for an international network meeting to reflect on new concepts such as his shared value strategy. A connection between this strategy and the Leipzig Leadership Model will also be discussed in the course.
The course “Customer Value Creation” is part of the “Value Creation Management” module and strives to understand specific corporate situations in which redefining or identifying new customer value drivers are especially relevant. To achieve this, various teaching methods are integrated such as discussions with course participants and guest speakers, take-home exercises as well as group work, and presentations on real case examples. Overall, the course content is divided into five sections:
I. Specific corporate situations for defining or redefining customer value
II. Types of customer value and their measurement approaches
III. Tools for identifying and creating customer value
IV. Value-driven strategies in the sharing economy
V. Corporate value-driven strategies: Shared Value Approach
Knowledge transfer
The HHL Chair of Marketing Management and Sustainability is characterized by an excellent academic profile and international experience in business practice. To bridge the gap between science and business, guest speakers are regularly invited by Prof. Dr. Manfred Kirchgeorg. Students in the “Customer Value Creation” course also benefit from this knowledge transfer by the following guest speakers and external Ph.D. candidates:
Jeremy Schoenwaelder has held numerous executive positions in leading companies such as Ikea or Amazon in his career so far. Currently, he is the Head of the Global Digital Business Building at Henkel AG. In his presentation on Henkel dx Open Innovation & Incubation, Jeremy Schoenwaelder talked about innovation vehicles to accelerate digital innovations and the advantages and importance of venture building, among other things.
Florian Skwara works as a Business Manager at Credit Suisse. As his research focus is on the field of mental accounting, he enriches the course by introducing the students to mental accounting in purchase-decision processes. On his agenda were famous mental accounting problems, further examples regarding the focus on mental accounting as well as mental accounting considerations and their impact on the value perception of customers.
Practical value for HHL Students
The course provides HHL students with a solid and modern understanding of the customer value management process, its barriers, and implementation to get them ready for being effective and responsible entrepreneurs or marketing managers. “Creating Customer Value” aims to prepare HHL students successfully and extensively for later work in established companies or start-ups by using tools and frameworks for identifying and managing customer value-driven strategies.
Hello everyone! My name is Anja and I’m currently studying for a Master's degree in Communication and Media Studies at the University of Leipzig. On the side, I work as a student assistant at HHL and support the Chair of Marketing Management and Sustainability including research and design tasks, proofreading or general PR activities.
