I was thinking about the value of intangibles and the "knowing where to tap" story came to mind. If you don't know it, it goes something like this:
A jet engine manufacturer was experiencing failures in one of their large turbine engines. After trying everything they called in an expert turbine engineer to consult on the problem. After studying the situation for a few minutes, the engineer asked for someone to bring him a ladder and a hammer. He then positioned the ladder up against a section of the turbine, climbed to the top, and tapped the turbine several times with the hammer. He then instructed them to turn on the turbine, and it ran smoothly.
A week later, the manufacturer received the invoice for the work, and was shocked that the total came to $5000. He called the engineer and asked if he could break down the costs, as $5000 seemed like a large amount of money to pay for a task as simple as climbing a ladder and tapping with a hammer.
Another week later, the manufacturer received a new invoice. It said, "For observing the situation, climbing the ladder, and tapping with the hammer – $5. For knowing where to tap – $4995. The manufacturer then got the point, and paid the invoice immediately.
What is valued at your organization? Does it reward the real value regardless of whether it is tangible or intangible? The same can be asked of your consumers. Do you know what they truly value? Are your products and services representative of that value?