metaphor of a coffee bean
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The document uses the metaphor of a coffee bean to illustrate how value increases at different stages: 1) A raw coffee bean has low value, like an untrained sales agent. Processing the bean into instant coffee powder, or an agent gaining skills, increases its initial value. 2) Using the powder to make coffee in a hotel adds services and environment that further increase value. Similarly, an agent providing customized solutions delivers more value. 3) Premium coffee shops extract even more value through luxury atmosphere and status. The highest value comes from exceeding customer expectations and creating an "aha experience." The goal is to transform agents into providers of these delightful surprises.
metaphor of a coffee bean
- 1. The metaphor of a coffee bean Takeout a coffee bean, which is available in kilograms in neelgiri hills or where ever coffee plantations are there, at the rate of kilo Rs.50. All human beings are like that with the same value at first. Experience one: If we grind the coffee beans and process them and make them ready to be used by coffee lovers as instant coffee, then it is called instant coffee powder and it costs around Rs.1500. Every person can increase his value by processing himself and making presentable. Then his value increases enormously for which one has to under go huge transformation process as there is lot of difference between a coffee bean and instant coffee powder. Experience two: If the same instant coffee powder is used to make a good cup of coffee, by using a mere 1 gram of coffee powder, in a normal hotel one can charge Rs.45 per cup including tip. Here, the charges include the services along with the cup of coffee, seating arrangement, atmosphere and service of the people. With all these added features, the entire cup of instant coffee can earn 45000/-. Here, along with transformation process, the product or the person has added many additional services and features to the core product to make himself or his service more valuable. Experience three: If the same instant coffee powder is used to prepare capachino in coffee day coffee shop or barishta, the experience is still more enchanting. Entering into a place like that is a status symbol. Drinking coffee there, and telling people that I have gone to drink coffee in that is a pleasant experience. There, the product doesnt matter much, but the experience matters. This is popularly called as aha experience. This adds value tremendously to the core product. In experience one, people go to hotel to drink coffee, and in experience three, people drink coffee to go to coffee day etc. This is how the core product gains value. The value increases by leaps and bounds by better service, better environment, feel good factor, rich experiences etc. This metaphor exactly applicable to the field force of our organization. At first, they are like the raw coffee beans before the experience one, all the 12 lakhs agents of the organization are like that. After getting some product knowledge and some selling skills, they become presentable to the public and they will transform themselves like the experience one product. They will be useful to the public, but the public has to show some initiative to use them or they should know how to use them. At this juncture, the agent will give what is available with him irrespective of what customer wants. After working some time in experience one stage, some people transforms themselves to stage two. They do some research, what customers want and tries to transform what is available with them in the form of what the customer wants. Here, an attempt has been done to know what the customer wants and an effort was initiated to give the same. This the experience two stage. After working some time in experience stage two, the agent thinks what is that may be given to the customer which he is also not expecting, but when such type of thing is offered, he will get the aha experience that as we have discussed about drinking a capachino in coffee day and when in reality agent is really able to give such type of aha experience to the customer, then experience three is achieved which the win win situation for all the three, organization, sales person and the customer. Come, lets us all strive for giving an aha experience to the customer.