The first thing you will want to make is a list of all the items you offer. Altogether, they help your customers complete either functional, social, or emotional jobs. Also, remember that products alone don’t create value — they only do it in relation to a specific customer segment and their jobs, pain, and gains.
Ask yourself, how to do (all) your products and services alleviate customer pains. Also, do you have any supporting services or ways to help customers compare offers, help them decide which products or services to buy?
Your value proposition will include various types of products and services:
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Physical or tangible products (manufactured products)
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Intangible (copyrights, after-purchase services, etc.)
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Digital (downloadable products and services)
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Financial (financing of the purchase)
But not all products and services have the same relevance to the buyer. Look at each one, is it a must-have or a nice to have? The following are some suggestions from Alexander Osterwalder’s Business Canvas.
Pain Relievers
How do your products and services alleviate specific customer pains? Focus only on a few and on those that matter most. Which one solves problems quickly or entirely?
Ask these questions. Can your product or service:
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Does product or service produce savings (time, money, effort)?
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Make your customers feel better (get rid of annoyances, headaches, etc.)?
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Fix underperforming solutions (new features, better performance, better quality)?
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Eliminate negative social consequences your customer might face (lost of trust, stature, etc.)?
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Eliminate risks customer fear (financial, social, technical)?
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Help your customers sleep at night (eliminate worries)?
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Limit or eliminate common mistakes and help them use your solution in the right way?
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Eliminate barriers that keep customers from adopting your value proposition (lower-cost financing, shorter learning time, etc.)?
Again, make sure you are talking about those that are relevant and relieve pain.
Gain Creators
Here you want to describe how your products and services create customer gains. How you will produce outcomes and benefits, your customer expects or would be surprised to see.
As with pain relievers, gain creators don’t need to address every gain identified in the customer profile. Focus on the ones that are relevant and where you can make a difference. Ask if your product and services can:
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Create saving that will matter to your customers (time, money and effort)
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Produce outcomes that exceed expectations (e.g., quality)
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Outperform current value propositions
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Make customers work life easier
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Create positive social consequences
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Do something customer did not expect
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Help make adaption easier
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Help customers get better performance
Again, make sure each one is relevant. Great value propositions focus on jobs, pains, and gains that matter to customers and exceed their expectations.
