This is lesson seven. This is towards one of our missions. Education. You’ll learn everything about marketing — from the basics to the most advanced strategies — for free, thanks to VellumWorks.
Every great organisation, whether a global brand or a small charity, exists to create value.
But “value” means different things to different people: comfort, time saved, impact, or even a sense of belonging.
To truly connect with supporters, you have to understand what they value most and how your organisation or charity delivers it. That’s where Customer Value Frameworks come in.
What Are Customer Value Frameworks?
A Customer Value Framework helps you see your organisation and charity through your audience’s eyes. It maps where and how you create value, not just in what you sell, but in the entire experience surrounding it.
Two of the most influential frameworks are:
Philip Kotler’s Value Model (Marketing perspective)
Michael Porter’s Value Chain (Operations perspective)
Kotler’s Customer Value Model
Marketing expert Philip Kotler defined value as the balance between what a customer gets and what they give.
Customer Value = Perceived Benefits − Total Costs
For charities, this looks a little different. Donors and supporters don’t buy products; they invest emotionally, financially, or with their time. Their “return” is impact, trust, and meaning.
How to apply Kotler’s model
Ask yourself these questions:
What benefits do we create for our supporters? (e.g. impact, transparency, connection)
What costs do they experience? (e.g. time, uncertainty, lack of clarity)
Are we making the value exchange clear and emotionally rewarding?
Example: A clean water charity makes value tangible by saying:
“£20 provides safe drinking water for one child for an entire year.”
It’s simple, measurable, and meaningful — high perceived benefit, low perceived cost.
Porter’s Value Chain
While Kotler focused on perception, Michael Porter looked inside the organisation and how value is actually created and delivered.
The Value Chain breaks an organisation or a charity into activities that either:
Directly create value (e.g. service delivery, fundraising, communication)
Support value creation (e.g. HR, technology, partnerships)
The Two Sides of the Value Chain
Primary Activities
Inbound operations (gathering resources or donations)
Operations (delivering programmes or services)
Outbound activities (distribution, reporting, communication)
Marketing & fundraising
Service (support, follow-up, impact reports)
Support Activities
Infrastructure (systems, governance, leadership)
HR (training staff & volunteers)
Technology (databases, websites, automation)
Partnerships (collaborations that amplify impact)
Every link in the chain either creates or destroys value. Strengthen the weak links, and your impact multiplies.
Example:
A food bank invests in automating its donor thank-you emails (technology). The result? Faster gratitude, stronger relationships, more repeat donations — all from one improvement in the chain.
Why These Frameworks Matter for Charities
Charities often think value is only created when money changes hands. Still, real value is built at every touchpoint: a welcome email, a volunteer experience, a thank-you message, or a story that makes someone feel part of the mission.
By mapping your value chain and understanding your value equation, you can:
Find the moments that matter most to supporters.
Fix leaks where value is lost (slow responses, unclear messaging).
Reinforce trust and long-term loyalty.
When supporters feel genuine value, emotional, social, or practical, they don’t just give once. They stay.
10-Minute Exercise: Map Your Value
Draw two columns: What supporters give vs What they get.
List everything: time, attention, data, emotion, money.
Then, sketch your own value chain:
What happens before, during, and after a donation or engagement
Where can you add a little extra value (a faster response, a story, a thank-you, a personal note)?
Quick Takeaway
You don’t define value. It’s defined by the people you serve.
When you build your strategy around their experience, you don’t just create value — you create trust, loyalty, and advocacy.
Why is this important to know?
This is the ground floor. If you can’t clearly define the value you create, for whom, and why, every other model, from the 4Ps to AI, turns into disconnected tactics.
Seeing marketing as mutual value shifts the goal from “sell more” to serving better. That mindset improves what you offer, the journeys you design, and how you speak to supporters.
For charities and communities, it’s the difference between requests and relationships. When you centre people and prove impact, you earn trust, repeat support, and word-of-mouth that multiplies your mission.
At VellumWorks, we believe knowledge should be free. That’s why this series will guide you, step by step, through everything from the basics to the most advanced strategies in marketing: no jargon, no gatekeeping, just education that empowers.
