Making Engagement Worth It: Measuring and Managing How Entrepreneurs Exchange Value with Their Community

Abstract

While business leaders use the tools of Customer Value Management to understand and improve the value they offer to customers, the potential for these tools to explain and improve decision-making expands beyond the business–customer relationship. This is because the cornerstone framework of measuring and improving a value exchange applies to all sorts of decisions. We present a case study in which Customer Value Management techniques were used to analyze the value of a particular community through the perspective of entrepreneurs themselves, allowing us to uncover how entrepreneurs decide whether it is ‘worth it’ to start a business in their community. We also demonstrate a strong link between the value perceived by entrepreneurs and their loyalty to the community, showing ‘how good is good’ when it comes to enticing entrepreneurs to engage with and promote the local startup ecosystem.

This case study offers a framework that can be used by community leaders to manage the value exchange with members and constituents in the community. Once leaders better understand the value proposition that drives decisions among community members, they are empowered to maximize that value by focusing scarce resources on the greatest opportunities for improvement. By doing this, they help foster genuine loyalty and deeper engagement among community members, which helps generate growth and development that creates even more value for the region.