Little Glossary · Go-to-market
Value Proposition Canvas
The Value Proposition Canvas is a tool to design and test a product's value proposition: it maps what a customer segment needs against what the product offers, to see whether they fit.
Origin
It was created by Alexander Osterwalder, author of the Business Model Canvas, and developed with Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda and Alan Smith in the book Value Proposition Design (2014).
The two sides
Customer profile (the circle):
- Customer jobs: what customers are trying to get done, whether functional, social or emotional.
- Pains: obstacles, risks and negative outcomes they want to avoid.
- Gains: outcomes and benefits they expect or would be delighted by.
Value map (the square):
- Products and services on offer.
- Pain relievers: how the product removes or reduces each pain.
- Gain creators: how it produces the benefits the customer is after.
There's fit when the value map addresses the most important jobs, pains and gains in the profile.
How to use it
- Pick a single customer segment per canvas.
- Fill in the customer profile first, from interviews and data, not assumptions.
- Prioritize which pains are most severe and which gains most wanted.
- Complete the value map and mark which element addresses what.
- Validate the most uncertain points with real customers.
From tool to message
A well-worked value proposition can be written in one sentence: who it's for, what problem it solves and how it differs from the alternatives. That sentence is the basis for the homepage headline, the hero section of landing pages and the opening of a demo.
Common mistakes
- Mixing several segments on the same canvas.
- Listing features as if they were customer gains.
- Filling it in during an internal meeting and never testing it.
Related terms
Sources
- Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda and Alan Smith, Value Proposition Design (Wiley, 2014).
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