Image via Wikipedia All customers buy on perceived value. Unfortunately, Walmart’s advertising has led us to define value as lowest price. We’ve forgotten that there are value promises beyond lowest price in today’s recession. Value is a mental scale with benefits on one side and costs on the other. Both sides contain tangible and intangible, emotional, functional and/or social factors. More benefits, more value, a formula Target exploited and Sears forgot. We stay in business if the customer exchange (benefits for price customers pay) is consistently profitable for us or, if we’re a venture-financed start up, promises profitability. Value promise and profit potential are interrelated. Understanding this interrelationship explains how to win. Way #1.  Build the lowest cost structure for delivering required benefits. Your higher margins can be channeled back into the business to create further advantage. McDonalds dominates Wendy’s. Way #2.  Offer…