Value Proposition Assessment Strategies

How do you and your teams synthesise and select which customer needs or pains to progress in your #product, #design, or #innovation projects? Imagine you've just completed some great customer discovery research, including observing, interviewing and being the customer. You've built some good empathy for who your customers are, what is important to them, what pains them, and what delights them. Then you unpack your findings into some form of empathy map, and you've got 100s of sticky notes everywhere. You've then started to narrow them down to the most promising and interesting observations, but this still leaves you with a sizeable collection and you want to add some rigour to your intuition on which ones to take forward first. Well, here are 3 different methods that I’ve used and iterated over the years: Number One – The Opportunity Scale This first one is the simplest and is inspired by how Alexander Osterwalder et al rank jobs, pains and gains in their book Value Proposition Design, 2014. As a team, you take your short list of observations from your empathy map and rank them from how insignificant/moderate to how important/extreme the need/pain is for the customer with the most important/extreme being prioritised to explore further first. Number two – The Opportunity Matrix A The opportunity matrix increases the rigour and confidence of your prioritizing by adding ‘strength of evidence’ as another dimension. Strength of evidence at this stage of journey can be determined by the number and type of data points. For example, if you heard from several customers that a pain point was extremely painful then you could be more confident this was worth solving than one highlighted by only one customer. Likewise, observing customers do something provides stronger evidence than customers saying they do something. Here you prioritise the most important needs with the strongest evidence first. Something to watch out for is when your team selects an observation that has strong evidence but isn’t that important of a need or pain to customers. Teams can be blinkered by numbers and end up over-investing in time wasting-opportunities. Number three – The Opportunity Matrix B The third method swaps out evidence for fulfilment of the need - how satisfied are customers with their ability to fulfil the need/solve the pain with the solutions they use today? By matching this with the importance of the need/pain we can select those observations that we understand to be the most important and unmet for our customers. You can then overlay the strength of evidence across this ranking to make your final selection even more robust. And to take it to a whole new level and really de-risk your selection you can test your prioritised observations, written as need statements, in quantitative research with customers. This is something that Antony Ulwick shares in his book Jobs To Be Done, 2016. I hope you find these methods useful. #designthinking #humancentreddesign

𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.   Here’s how to make your value proposition truly investor-ready in five clear steps:   1/ Define the Problem. ↳ Be laser-focused on the pain point your target niche audience faces. Why is this problem urgent, and why hasn’t anyone solved it effectively yet?   2/ Stand Out. ↳ Show what makes your solution unique. Can competitors easily replicate it? If not, make that your edge. Remember: clarity beats buzzwords every time.   3/ Show the Numbers. ↳ Investors trust measurable outcomes. Demonstrate your solution’s impact using real metrics (e.g., “reduces onboarding costs by 40%”). Even projections are better than vague promises.   4/ Prove Scalability. ↳ Investors want growth. Explain how your product will move from early adopters to larger markets. Use case studies or industry benchmarks to back your claims.   5/ Test and Refine: ↳ Pitch your value proposition to mentors, advisors, or even peers. Adapt based on their feedback before stepping into an investor meeting.   By refining your value proposition, you can: ▪️ Instantly capture investor interest with a clear and compelling pitch. ▪️ Build trust and credibility, showing you’ve thought deeply about the market. ▪️ Position your business for faster funding and a stronger go-to-market strategy.   "Your customers are the judge, jury, and executioner of your value proposition. They will be merciless if you don't find fit!" -  Alexander Osterwalder, Business Model Generation.   Clarity made the difference!   What’s your value proposition’s one-liner? Share it in the comments, and I’ll provide feedback to help you stand out in your next investor meeting! -------------------------------- 📢 Stay ahead in fundraising, entrepreneurship, and VC strategies! Follow Leon Eisen, PhD for actionable insights, tips, and expert guidance.

What makes a strategy truly stand the test of time? Joan Magretta’s Understanding Michael Porter simplifies this by distilling Porter’s insights into five robust tests. These practical checklists evaluate whether a strategy is built for long-term success. Here’s a breakdown of the five tests: 1. A distinctive value proposition ↳ Who are your customers? ↳ What specific needs are you addressing? ↳ What relative price are you offering? Success isn’t about being the best. It’s about being unique in ways that matter to your customers. 2. A tailored value chain ↳ How do you deliver that unique value? ↳ Are you performing activities differently—or doing different activities altogether? A strategy should align your activities to the value proposition in a way that competitors struggle to imitate. 3. Trade-offs are made ↳ Have you made clear decisions about what not to do? ↳ Trade-offs protect your position and create clarity. Without them, you risk straddling multiple strategies and losing focus. 4. Fit across activities ↳ Do your activities reinforce one another? ↳ Strategic fit amplifies competitive advantage. It makes the entire system more robust and harder for rivals to replicate. 5. Continuity over time ↳ Are you staying consistent in your strategy over the long term? ↳ Continuity builds deep capabilities, reinforces trade-offs, and strengthens fit.  It also prevents distractions from every new trend. These five tests help ensure your strategy isn’t just a plan—it’s a defensible system that sustains advantage. Which of these tests do you think most companies overlook? P.S. If you like content like this, please follow me.

Creating a compelling value proposition message is essential for converting prospects into clients. Here are seven proven steps to develop and execute a value proposition that resonates and drives results: 1. Understand Your Target Audience: Start by deeply understanding the needs, pain points, and desires of your target audience. Conduct market research, surveys, and interviews to gather insights into what motivates your potential clients and what challenges they face. This will help tailor your value proposition to address their specific concerns. 2. Analyze Your Competitors: Research your competitors to understand their value propositions and how they position themselves in the market. Identify gaps or weaknesses in their offerings that you can address. Your value proposition should highlight what makes you unique and how you stand out from the competition. 3. Define Your Unique Selling Points (USPs): Clearly articulate what sets your product or service apart. Focus on the key benefits and features that provide value to your clients. Your USPs should address the specific problems of your target audience and showcase the advantages of choosing your solution over others. 4. Craft a Clear and Concise Message: Develop a value proposition statement that is straightforward and easy to understand. Avoid jargon and complex language. Your message should quickly communicate the core benefits of your offering and why it is the best choice for your target audience. 5. Test and Refine Your Message: Before fully launching your value proposition, test it with a small segment of your audience. Gather feedback on clarity, relevance, and impact. Use this feedback to refine your message and ensure it resonates effectively with your broader audience. 6. Integrate Your Value Proposition Across Channels: Ensure that your value proposition is consistently communicated across all marketing channels and touchpoints. This includes your website, social media, email campaigns, and sales materials. Consistency helps reinforce your message and builds trust with potential clients 7. Monitor and Adapt: Continuously monitor the performance of your value proposition by tracking key metrics such as conversion rates and customer feedback. Be prepared to adapt and refine your message based on changing market conditions and evolving client needs. #ValueProposition #MarketingStrategy #ClientConversion #BusinessGrowth #UniqueSellingPoints #MarketResearch #BrandMessaging