Value Proposition Canvas
Overview
The Value Proposition Canvas is a tool to ensure your product or service is positioned around what the customer values and needs. It helps you design products that customers actually want by mapping customer jobs, pains, and gains to your product's features.
The Canvas
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ VALUE MAP CUSTOMER PROFILE │
│ (Your Offering) (Your Customer) │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────┐ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ PRODUCTS & │ │ JOBS TO BE │ │
│ │ SERVICES │ │ DONE │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ What you offer │ │ What they're │ │
│ │ │ │ trying to achieve │ │
│ └──────────┬──────────┘ └──────────┬──────────┘ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ ┌──────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ ┌──────────▼─────┐ │ FIT? │ ┌───────▼────────┐ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ PAIN │◄──┤ Does your ├──►│ PAINS │ │
│ │ RELIEVERS │ │ offering │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ address │ │ Frustrations, │ │
│ │ How you │ │ customer │ │ obstacles, │ │
│ │ eliminate │ │ needs? │ │ risks │ │
│ │ pains │ │ │ │ │ │
│ └──────────┬─────┘ └──────────────┘ └───────┬────────┘ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ ┌──────────▼─────┐ ┌───────▼────────┐ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ GAIN │◄───────────────────►│ GAINS │ │
│ │ CREATORS │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ Desired │ │
│ │ How you │ │ outcomes, │ │
│ │ create gains │ │ benefits │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ └────────────────┘ └────────────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Customer Profile (Right Side)
Jobs-to-be-Done
Definition: The tasks customers are trying to complete, problems they're trying to solve, or needs they're trying to satisfy.
Types of Jobs:
- Functional jobs: Practical tasks (e.g., "track my expenses")
- Social jobs: How they want to be perceived (e.g., "appear organized")
- Emotional jobs: How they want to feel (e.g., "feel in control")
Interview prompts:
- "What are you trying to get done?"
- "Walk me through your typical day/week..."
- "What task takes up too much of your time?"
Pains
Definition: Negative emotions, undesired costs/situations, and risks customers experience before, during, or after getting the job done.
Types of Pains:
- Functional: Something doesn't work or works badly
- Emotional: Negative feelings (frustration, anxiety)
- Ancillary: Annoyances, inconveniences
Interview prompts:
- "What's the most frustrating part of [job]?"
- "What do you dread about [task]?"
- "What risks worry you?"
Gains
Definition: The outcomes and benefits customers want, expect, desire, or would be surprised by.
Types of Gains:
- Required: Basic expectations (must have these)
- Expected: Standard expectations (should have these)
- Desired: Would love to have (beyond expectations)
- Unexpected: Beyond imagination (delighters)
Interview prompts:
- "What would make your life easier?"
- "What would success look like?"
- "What would delight you?"
Value Map (Left Side)
Products & Services
Definition: What you're offering—the bundle of products and services that helps customers get jobs done.
Consider:
- Physical/tangible products
- Digital products
- Intangible services
- Financial products
Pain Relievers
Definition: How your products and services alleviate specific customer pains.
Map each pain reliever to a specific pain:
- "Eliminates [frustration] by..."
- "Reduces [risk] through..."
- "Saves [time/money] by..."
Gain Creators
Definition: How your products and services create specific customer gains.
Map each gain creator to a specific gain:
- "Creates [outcome] by..."
- "Enables [capability] through..."
- "Delivers [benefit] by..."
Achieving Fit
Fit occurs when:
- Your pain relievers address significant customer pains
- Your gain creators produce outcomes customers care about
- Customers recognize and value your offering
Signs of Fit:
- Customers describe your product using their language (not yours)
- They immediately understand the value
- They're willing to pay/commit
Signs of No Fit:
- You have to explain why it's valuable
- They say "nice to have" not "must have"
- Features don't map to their stated pains/gains
Value Proposition Statement Template
Use the canvas to fill in this template:
Part 1: The Promise
For [target persona]
who [pain and/or gain]
[product/service name]
is [category / jobs it does]
that [key pain reliever / gain creator]
Part 2: The Differentiation
Unlike [old way & competitors]
[product/service name]
provides [your 10X improvement]
making it [the 10X result for them]
Workshop Usage
- Module 04: Full canvas walkthrough
- Exercise 02: Value Proposition Statement using canvas
Common Mistakes
- Starting with your product: Start with the customer profile first
- Vague pains/gains: "Save time" is too generic; "Reduce expense reporting from 2 hours to 10 minutes" is specific
- Assuming you know: Base it on interviews, not assumptions
- Too many items: Focus on the top 3-5 pains and gains
- No prioritization: Rank by importance and frequency
Visual Variants
Simplified (for quick reference)
CUSTOMER: Jobs → Pains → Gains
PRODUCT: Services → Pain Relievers → Gain Creators
↓ ↓
FIT?
Mapping View
Pain 1 ←────── Pain Reliever A
Pain 2 ←────── Pain Reliever B
Gain 1 ←────── Gain Creator X
Gain 2 ←────── Gain Creator Y