10 Characteristics

of Great Value
Propositions

Use this checklist to design great value propositions or assess your own:

Are embedded in great business models

Focus on few pain relievers and gain creators, but do those extremely well

Focus on jobs, pains, or gains that a large number of customers have or for
which a small number is willing to pay a lot of money

Align with how customers measure success

Focus on the most significant jobs, most severe pains, and

most relevant gains

Differentiate from competition in a meaningful way

Address functional, emotional and social jobs all together

Outperform competition substantially on at least one dimension

Are difficult to copy

Focus on unsatisfied jobs, pains, and gains

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 10 Characteristics
of Great Value
Propositions
Stop for an instant and reflect on the characteristics of great
value propositions before reading about how to design them Are embedded in great
in this chapter. We offer 10 characteristics to get you started. business models

Don’t hesitate to add your own. Great Value Propositions…

Focus on the jobs, pains, Focus on unsatisfied jobs, Target few jobs, pains,
and gains that matter unresolved pains, and and gains, but do so
most to customers unrealized gains extremely well

Go beyond functional jobs Align with how customers Focus on jobs, pains, and
and address emotional and measure success gains that a lot of people
social jobs have or that some will pay
a lot of money for

SCORE
SCORE
SCORE

Differentiate from Outperform competition Are difficult to copy

competition on jobs, pains, substantially on at least
and gains that customers one dimension
care about
Written by Alex Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda, Alan Smith Designed by Trish Papadakos • Copyright Strategyzer AG The makers of Business Model Generation and Strategyzer www.strategyzer.com/vpd
The Value Proposition Canvas
Value Proposition: Customer Segment:

Gain Creators Gains

Products Customer
and Services Jobs

Pain Relievers Pains

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The makers of Business Model Generation and Strategyzer strategyzer.com
The Customer Profile
from The Value Proposition Canvas

Customer Segment:

Gains

Customer
Jobs

Pains

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The makers of Business Model Generation and Strategyzer strategyzer.com
Pull: Job Imagine your customers are chief information officers (CIOs) and
you have to understand which jobs matter most to them. Do this exercise
objective
Identify high-value customer
outcome
Ranking of customer jobs

Selection to prioritize their jobs or apply it to one of your own customer profiles. jobs that you could focus on from your perspective

Scoring Scale: Does failing the job Can you feel the pain? Are there unresolved pains? Are there many with Focus on the highest
lead to extreme pains? Can you see the gain? Are there unrealized gains? this job, pain, or gain? value jobs and related
• (Low) to • • • • (High)
Does failing the job Are there few willing pains and gains.
lead to missing out on to pay a lot?
essential gains?

Jobs Important Tangible Unsatisfied Lucrative High-Value jobs

Written by Alex Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda, Alan Smith

Designed by Trish Papadakos

Copyright Strategyzer AG
The makers of Business Model Generation and Strategyzer www.strategyzer.com/vpd
A Day in Dive deep into your (potential) customers’ worlds
to gain insights about their jobs, pains, and gains.
the Life What customers do on a daily basis in their real

Worksheet settings often differs from what they believe they

do or what they will tell you in an interview,
survey, or focus group.

objective
Understand your customer’s
world in more detail
outcome Capture the most important jobs, pains, and
Map of your customer’s day gains of the customer you shadowed

Time Activity (what I see) Notes (what I think)

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The makers of Business Model Generation and Strategyzer
www.strategyzer.com/vpd
Pain Relievers
Trigger Questions
Pain relievers describe how exactly your products and services alleviate specific
customer pains. They explicitly outline how you intend to eliminate or reduce some
of the things that annoy your customers before, during, or after they are trying
to complete a job or that prevent them from doing so.

Use the following trigger questions to ask yourself:

Could your products and services…

1. ... produce savings? In terms of time, money, or efforts.

2. ... make your customers feel better? By killing frustrations, annoyances,

and other things that give customers a headache.

3. ... fix under-performing solutions? By introducing new features, better

performance, or enhanced quality.

4. ... put an end to difficulties and challenges your customers encounter?

By making things easier or eliminating obstacles.

5. ... wipe out negative social consequences your customers encounter or

fear? In terms of loss of face or lost power, trust, or status.

6. ... eliminate risks your customers fear? In terms of financial, social, techni-
cal risks, or things that could potentially go wrong.

7. ... help your customers better sleep at night? By addressing significant

issues, diminishing concerns, or eliminating worries.

8. ... limit or eradicate common mistakes customers make? By helping them

use a solution the right way.

9. ... eliminate barriers that are keeping your customer from adopting value
propositions? Introducing lower or no upfront investment costs, a flatter
learning curve, or eliminating other obstacles preventing adoption.

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Customer Pains
Trigger Questions
Pains describe anything that annoys your customers before, during, and after trying
to get a job done or simply prevents them from getting a job done. Pains also describe
risks, that is, potential bad outcomes, related to getting a job done badly or not at all.

Use the following trigger questions to help you think of

different potential customer pains:

1. How do your customers define too costly? Takes a lot of time, costs too
much money, or requires substantial efforts?

2. What makes your customers feel bad? What are their frustrations,
annoyances, or things that give them a headache?

3. How are current value propositions under performing for your customers?
Which features are they missing? Are there performance issues
that annoy them or malfunctions they cite?

4. What are the main difficulties and challenges your customers

encounter? Do they understand how things work, have difficulties
getting certain things done, or resist particular jobs for specific reasons?

5. What negative social consequences do your customers encounter

or fear? Are they afraid of a loss of face, power, trust, or status?

6. What risks do your customers fear? Are they afraid of financial, social,
or technical risks, or are they asking themselves what could go wrong?

7. What’s keeping your customers awake at night? What are their big issues,
concerns, and worries?

8. What common mistakes do your customers make? Are they using

a solution the wrong way?

9. What barriers are keeping your customers from adopting a value

proposition? Are there upfront investment costs, a steep learning curve,
or other obstacles preventing adoption?

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Gain Creators
Trigger Questions
Gain Creators describe how your products and services create customer gains.
They explicitly outline how you intend to produce outcomes and benefits that
your customer expects, desires, or would be surprised by, including functional
utility, social gains, positive emotions, and cost savings.

Use the following trigger questions to ask yourself:

Could your products and services…

1. ... create savings that please your customers? In terms of time,

money, and effort.

2. ... produce outcomes your customers expect or that exceed their

expectations? By offering quality levels, more of something,
or less of something.

3. ... outperform current value propositions and delight your customers?

Regarding specific features, performance, or quality.

4. ... make your customers’ work or life easier? Via better usability,
accessibility, more services, or lower cost of ownership.

5. ... create positive social consequences? By making them look good

or producing an increase in power or status.

6. ... do something specific that customers are looking for? In terms

of good design, guarantees, or specific or more features.

7. ... fulfill a desire customers dream about? By helping them achieve

their aspirations or getting relief from a hardship?

8. ... produce positive outcomes matching your customers’ success and

failure criteria? In terms of better performance or lower cost.

9. ... help make adoption easier? Through lower cost, fewer investments, lower
risk, better quality, improved performance, or better design.

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Customer Jobs
Trigger Questions
Jobs describe the things your customers are trying to get done in their work or in their
life. A customer job could be the tasks they are trying to perform and complete, the
problems they are trying to solve, or the needs they are trying to satisfy.

Use the following trigger questions to help you think of

different potential customer jobs:

1. What is the one thing that your customer couldn’t live without
accomplishing? What are the stepping stones that could help your
customer achieve this key job?

2. What are the different contexts that your customers might be in? How do
their activities and goals change depending on these different contexts?

3. What does your customer need to accomplish that involves interaction

with others?

4. What tasks are your customers trying to perform in their work or personal
life? What functional problems are your customers trying to solve?

5. Are there problems that you think customers have that they may not
even be aware of?

6. What emotional needs are your customers trying to satisfy?

What jobs, if completed, would give the user a sense of self-satisfaction?

7. How does your customer want to be perceived by others? What can your
customer do to help themselves be perceived this way?

8. How does your customer want to feel? What does your customer need to
do to feel this way?

9. Track your customer’s interaction with a product or service throughout

its lifespan. What supporting jobs surface throughout this life cycle?
Does the user switch roles throughout this process?

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