Value demand
What is value demand?
Customer contact the organization exists to serve — a genuine first request, as opposed to failure demand. Examples include a first order, a new question or a request for a service the customer actually wants.
The distinction between value demand and failure demand comes from the systems thinking work of John Seddon and Vanguard Consulting. Value demand is what customers want from the organization: a first request to buy something, ask a new question, change a service or report a genuinely new problem. Failure demand is caused by a failure to do something, or to do something right, such as chasing a late order or correcting an error. Seddon and Vanguard Consulting estimate that 40–60% of contact-center volume is failure demand.
Classifying contacts this way helps leaders see which work adds value and which is avoidable. Value demand should be served well and made easy, while failure demand should be traced to its cause and removed. Reducing failure demand frees capacity for value demand.
Related: Failure demand, Contact reason (CR), First contact resolution (FCR).