Expressing Customer Value in Euros: Value Arguments That Convince Buyers

Why good services fail on price in purchasing

Many businesses lose orders to cheaper providers even though their service would be worth more to the customer. The reason rarely lies in the service but in its presentation. The quote lists features and a price. The buyer can compare the price but cannot translate the features into money. So they compare what they can compare.

The central question, then: how does a small business express the value of its service in euros so that a buyer can follow the calculation and believe it? To answer it, we first clarify the concept of customer value and the mental model of the value equation, then what research shows about the effect of quantified value propositions, weigh two views, and finally set out a value calculation in five steps. The guide thus deepens one part of the five-part quote.

If you do not express your value in euros, you leave the buyer with the only number they know: the price.

What customer value means in B2B

Anderson, Kumar, and Narus (2007) define customer value in business markets as the worth in monetary terms of the technical, economic, service, and social benefits a customer firm receives in exchange for the price it pays. Kirchberger, Wouters, and Anderson (2020) adopt this definition. It has two consequences. First, value is measured in euros, not in enthusiasm. Second, it always applies to a specific customer in their situation.

In practice, four sources of value can be distinguished. Additional revenue: the customer sells more or at better prices. Cost reduction: they save materials, energy, or working time. Risk reduction: breakdowns, errors, or contractual penalties become rarer. Time gained: they reach a result faster, which is worth money to them. Risk reduction is the hardest to quantify and is therefore most often left out, although for many business customers it is the most important argument.

The next-best alternative is what the customer would do if they did not accept your offer: hire a competitor, do it themselves, or change nothing. Value is always a difference from this alternative. The guide quotes that win uses the same reference point.

The mental model: the value equation

The mental model of this guide is the value equation as described by James Anderson and James Narus for business markets. A customer chooses an offer if its value minus its price is greater than with their alternative. In words: what the service brings me, minus what it costs, must be more than what the alternative brings me, minus what the alternative costs.

The equation has an uncomfortable consequence. It shows that a higher price is only justified if the difference in value from the alternative is greater than the difference in price. And it shows that only differences count. What your offer has in common with the competitor’s does not belong in the calculation, even if it is a good service.

The figures take up the example from the guide quotes that win: two fewer downtime days at 3,000 euros each give 6,000 euros. Here the price is also deducted and the estimated repair savings added. The result is not a promise but a calculation with open assumptions that the customer can check for themselves.

What research shows about quantified value propositions

Kirchberger, Wouters, and Anderson (2020) surveyed 293 young German technology companies and used a structural equation model to test how value propositions contribute to winning pilot customers. Three steps proved essential: taking the customer’s perspective, expressing value in money, and substantiating the value proposition with evidence. Expressing value in money did not only work outward. It forced the companies to ask more precisely how the customer uses the service and to adapt the offer accordingly.

A distinction the authors derive from preparatory interviews is noteworthy. One-sided online value calculators that a provider fills in without the customer are often viewed skeptically by customers. What was convincing, by contrast, was a calculation whose assumptions were stated openly and checked together. One customer company interviewed described weak providers as those who make claims but cannot back them up. The study concerns technology start-ups and is based on self-reports. Its core, that a quantified and substantiated calculation convinces, can be transferred to established businesses.

Liu, Zhao, and Wang (2023) support this from the perspective of established companies. In their survey of 186 sales directors in China, described in the guide quotes that win, companies with a well-developed capability for value-based selling reported better sales performance, especially with complex customer needs and strong competition.

Two views: value price or fair price?

If you know the value in euros, you can use it for pricing. This is where the objection comes in. A price based on the customer’s value rather than on your own costs can be perceived as exploitation: the provider charges more because the customer gains more. Ebinger and Wouters (2025) examined this perception, drawing on the dual entitlement principle. According to it, customers consider a price fair if the provider keeps its usual profit and the customer its usual advantage.

Their findings show a way forward. Value-based prices were perceived as fairer when the provider said openly and consistently how it shares the value with the customer. This applied especially when the same sharing rule was used before the order for the promise and after the order for the value actually achieved, and when it was the same for all customers, even if this led to a higher price for the individual customer.

I consider this the convincing answer to the objection. A value calculation is not a lever to extract as much as possible, but a basis on which both sides see how much value is created and how it is shared. For a small business this means in practice: the price should be clearly below the calculated advantage so that the customer keeps a clear surplus, and the rule for this should be the same for all customers.

The value calculation in five steps

The following value calculation is the tool of this guide. It fits on one page and can be prepared in the first meeting and written up in the quote.

1. Name the alternative

   Ask in the conversation what the customer would do if they did not buy from you. Without a named alternative, there is no difference you can quantify.

2. Collect differences, not features

   List only the points in which your offer differs from the alternative and which matter to this customer. Assign them to the four sources: additional revenue, cost reduction, risk reduction, time gained.

3. Calculate with the customer’s numbers

   What does a downtime day, a working hour, a lost order cost them? Ask. A number the customer has given themselves is one they will defend in their own company.

4. Disclose assumptions and calculate cautiously

   Write each assumption down and calculate a cautious variant, for example with half the expected effect. If the advantage holds even then, the argument is strong.

5. Substantiate and verify

   Add evidence: measurements from comparable orders, a reference, a case study. Offer to recalculate the actual value together after a year.

The last step is the one that builds trust. Offering to check the value afterward shows that you believe in your calculation. The recalculation after a year is also a good occasion for the conversation about renewal or a price adjustment, as described in the guide raising prices without losing customers. References that prove value are best created as shown in the guide writing case studies.

• The customer’s alternative is named.
• Only differences from the alternative are in the calculation.
• At least one number comes from the customer.
• Every assumption is written out.
• There is a cautious variant.
• The customer keeps a clear surplus after price.
• A date for recalculation has been offered.

Value arguments in conversations with purchasing

In purchasing, the calculation often meets a person who did not attend the first meeting and is instructed to push the price down. For this person, the calculation must be understandable without explanation. A short summary at the top of the quote has proven effective: alternative, annual advantage, price, remaining advantage, and the two most important assumptions.

When the objection comes that the competitor is cheaper, the value equation shifts the conversation: the question is not who costs less but who leaves more after deducting the price. How to answer price objections otherwise is described in the guide handling objections. And if you know the value, you can also offer it in tiers, as shown in the guide good, better, best.

Conclusion: value that holds in purchasing

How does a small business express the value of its service in euros so that a buyer follows? It names the customer’s alternative, calculates only with the differences, uses the customer’s numbers, discloses the assumptions, calculates cautiously, and offers to check the value together afterward. Research confirms that quantified and substantiated value propositions help win customers, and that a value-based price is considered fair when it is open how the value is shared.

1. This week: Take your next larger quote and write down the customer’s alternative in one sentence.
2. Before sending: Add a value calculation with three differences, one number from the customer, and a cautious variant.
3. After the order: Agree on a date to recalculate the actual value together.

A good value calculation does not convince with big numbers but with numbers the customer recognizes.