According to Investopedia.com a value proposition refers to the value a company promises to deliver to customers should they choose to buy their product. A value proposition can be presented as a business or marketing statement that a company uses to summarise why a consumer should buy a product or use a service. At an even more basic level this could also be described in entrepreneurial terms as the answer to the question "What do you do?" or "What problem do you solve?". Easy right? Well, there are some points to keep in mind when developing this important cornerstone to the entrepreneurial journey.
When working with entrepreneurs we usually use a variety of tools to develop a value proposition. There are a number of frameworks in existence that will help you articulate this statement. A value proposition usually fits between the product or service you are offering and the market you intend on serving. In Bootstrap Academy we talk about what you offer to your customer segment (or segments). This exercise should be completed when refining or redefining an offering or when developing a new offering from scratch.
Defining the customer profile
When identifying the target market or customer segment, business coaches will usually tell you to get really specific in creating a very clear picture of your customer segment. We also make a point of creating a unique value proposition per customer segment as their needs and expectations (and thus also the messaging and communication channels we use to reach them) will change and be specifically aligned to them.
User Experience Designers typically design and develop customer personas or persona profiles to assist in creating a visual representation of these users. Marketers, UX Designers and founders need to ensure that these personas address the Gains, Pains and Customer Jobs a specific customer segment performs and that their value proposition addresses these needs in part or in full.
- Gains can be described as the benefits which the customer expects and needs, what would delight customers and the things which may increase likelihood of adopting a value proposition.
- Pains are the negative experiences, emotions and risks that the customer experiences in the process of getting the job done.
- Customer Jobs are the functional, social and emotional tasks customers are trying to perform, problems they are trying to solve and needs they wish to satisfy.
Gains
Gains include the positive experiences and desires that the customers wish to achieve. Gains can be ordinary or even existential. However, gains aren’t the opposite of pains. They are aspects that encourage users to adopt a product or service. Here are some questions you can use to help develop your own customer gains:
- What makes your customer happy? (Time, money, efforts, etc.)
- What results does your customer expect, and what can surpass these expectations?
- What would simplify the work or life of your customer? (More services, lower cost, new features, etc.)
- What positive social consequences does your customer want to get?
- What are they looking for? (A smart design, guarantees, specific features, etc.)
Pains
All factors which stop customers from completing a job are called pains. Imagine them as roadblocks that customers have to deal with. Pains also include negative outcomes that customers prefer to avoid. You can categorize pains as severe or light, which will help to prioritize in the coming steps. This step helps to identify problems from a customer perspective.
- What does your customer find too costly? (Something that requires a lot of time, costs too much money, it takes a lot of efforts, etc.)
- What makes him/her feel bad?
- What are the current solutions that do not suit your customers?
- What are the main challenges and problems your customer faces? (A lack of understanding of how things work, the difficulties with implementation, etc.)
- What negative social consequences does the customer face or fear to face? (Loss of reputation, credibility, trust, social status, and so on).
- What risks does your customer fear? (financial, social, technical, etc.)
Customer Jobs
Customer Jobs include all the tasks that customers are trying to solve. These jobs can include anything that a customer is trying to do. It can include a problem being solved, a task being achieved, or any other need they want to satisfy. The Value Proposition Canvas indicates that jobs can be social, emotional, and functional.
- Social jobs are motivated by our societal duty, optimism, fear, or aspiration – the things we feel we have to do as part of our role in relationships and society. For example, when buying a car a social job would be to represent your social status.
- Functional jobs are in simple words practical jobs. An example of this would be driving from point A to B.
- Emotional jobs come from our preferences, likes and dislikes, and insecurities. With buying a car it would be the feeling we want to get when driving the car.
- What functions does my customer(s) try to perform? (for example, execute specific problem, solve a specific issue, etc.)
- What social goals does my customer try to accomplish?
- What are my client’s emotional goals?
- What jobs make them feel satisfied?
- How do my customers want to be perceived by others? What can they do to achieve this?
- How does my customer want to feel? What does he/she need to do to get this?
- Track the interaction of the customer with your product throughout the cycle of consumption. What works should the customer do for this time?
The Value Map
The square on the canvas represents the value proposition map. Like the circle, this is also divided into three parts. Each part relates to the relevant customer profile section. The focus here is to map out the product features, functionality and benefits that attract customers and fulfill their needs from the circle. Now let’s discuss this in detail.
Gain creators: how the product or service creates customer gains and how it offers added value to the customer.
Pain relievers: a description of exactly how the product or service alleviates customer pains.
Products and services: the products and services which create gain and relieve pain, and which underpin the creation of value for the customer.
Products and Services
This is the place to list all the features, products and services you’ll provide. You can also list the version of the product you are producing, like freemium, trial. Focus on how the features and products will help customers get their job done.
Pain Relievers
Here the focus is on how your product will ease the customers’ pain. These relievers should be relevant to the pains mentioned in the customer profile. Different sort of pain relievers are made for different kinds of pain. However, it isn’t necessary to discuss the whole pain in detail here. Just a simple statement can do the task.
- Does your product or service provide savings? (This can either be savings in the form of time, money or effort required to complete a task)
- Does it improve the emotional state of your customer? (Decrease grief, irritation, things that bring a headache).
- Does it fix the defects of existing solutions?
- Does it remove the difficulties or problems that your customer faces?
- Does your product/ service exclude the negative social consequences that are encountered or which are afraid of your customers?
- Does it reduce the risks that your clients are afraid of?
- Does it help your customers sleep better at night?
- Does it limit or eradicate common mistakes that customers allow?
- Does it eliminate barriers that keep your customers from implementing the specific solution?
Gain Creators
This is where you show how your product adds value to customers. How does your product help customers achieve their goals? List everything that offers something new or improves the user experience.
- Does my product provide savings that makes my client happy?
- Does it ensure the results that my customer expects?
- Does it simplify the work or life of my customer?
- Does it give something that my customer wants to get?
- Does your product or service reflect some of the dreams of my customer?
- Does it give positive results that meet the criteria for success and failure of the customer?
