Participatory Methods
Value Proposition Canvas
Value Proposition Canvas gives teams a repeatable qualitative research practice. It keeps everyone aligned around visualization & communication by helping you understanding customer needs, prioritizing target group problems, and validating service offerings. Grounded in participatory methods, the method turns insight into tangible next steps.
Goal
Visualization & Communication
Group
Qualitative Research
Users
Indirect User Involvement
Overview
The Value Proposition Canvas is a strategic tool that helps businesses understand their customers' needs and design products or services that meet those needs. It's divided into two sections: the Customer Profile, outlining customer jobs, pains, and gains; and the Value Map, detailing how the offering addresses those aspects. The Value Proposition Canvas is widely used in product development, marketing, and entrepreneurship, where aligning value creation with customer desires guides successful innovation and competitive differentiation.
Step-by-Step Procedure
10 steps to complete
1
1. Understand the Customer Profile
Begin by understanding the target customer segment. Identify their needs, challenges, and preferences. Create a customer persona that represents the target audience, including demographics, motivations, and preferences.
2
2. Identify Customer Jobs
List the tasks and activities that customers want to perform, such as functional or professional tasks, personal goals, or social interactions. These jobs should be relevant to the product or service being offered.
3
3. Define Customer Pains
Identify the problems or frustrations customers face while performing their jobs. Consider factors like required time, effort, cost, risks, and other barriers that arise during the process.
4
4. Outline Customer Gains
Determine the potential benefits or outcomes that customers expect from performing their jobs. Consider factors like convenience, efficiency, cost savings, improved experience, and increased enjoyment.
5
5. Define the Value Map
Outline the product or service that is being offered, focusing on key features, capabilities, and functionalities. This will represent the solution to the customer's jobs, pains, and gains.
6
6. Match Your Products and Services
List your products and services that directly address the identified customer jobs, pains, and gains. This will demonstrate how your offerings can create value for your customers.
7
7. Identify Pain Relievers
Define how your products or services can eliminate or reduce customer frustrations, barriers, or difficulties. These are the features that specifically target and solve the customer's pain points.
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8. Determine Gain Creators
Identify aspects of your offerings that are designed to deliver added value, positive outcomes, and benefits to the customer. These are the features that go beyond the basic functionalities and can differentiate your product or service in the market.
9
9. Validate Your Value Proposition
Test the developed value proposition with your target audience, gather feedback, and refine accordingly. This may involve conducting focus groups, surveys, or interviews to ensure that your value proposition is accurate and relevant to the market.
10
10. Communicate Your Value Proposition
Once your value proposition canvas is complete, use it to effectively communicate the unique benefits of your offerings to customers, stakeholders, and other key players. This can be done through marketing materials, sales presentations, and product documentation.
Method Complete
Real-World Examples
See how this method is applied in practice
Deal Search Relevance Issues
Investigation into why Groupon users report difficulty finding relevant deals in their area. The research examined search behavior, filtering usage, and result satisfaction across different categories. Analysis revealed that location detection was sometimes inaccurate and that category filters didn't align with how users conceptualized their needs (e.g., searching for "date night" vs. "restaurants").
Merchant Dashboard Adoption Problem
Research into why merchants weren't regularly using the Merchant Center analytics dashboard despite having access. The study uncovered that merchants found the metrics overwhelming and didn't understand how to act on the data. Root causes included lack of benchmarking context, unclear metric definitions, and missing actionable recommendations.
Deliverables
What you'll produce from this method
Customer Segments
Identification and description of the target audience and user groups that the product or service is intended for.
Customer Jobs
A comprehensive list of tasks, needs, and objectives that customers try to accomplish while using the product or service.
Customer Pains
Challenges, frustrations, and obstacles faced by customers when trying to complete their jobs.
Customer Gains
Positive outcomes, benefits, and satisfaction that customers expect to achieve while using the product or service.
Value Propositions
Unique offerings or solutions that the product or service provides to address the customer's jobs, pains, and gains.
Pain Relievers
Specific features or functionalities of the product or service that alleviate customer pains.
Gain Creators
Elements of the product or service that create additional value and positive outcomes for customers.
Value Proposition Canvas Summary
A visual representation and summary of the findings from the Value Proposition Canvas, highlighting the key elements to take into consideration during the product or service development process.
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