Craft a Value Proposition that wins in 2025

When procurement teams ask "Why not just use Microsoft's version?", most founders panic. They list features faster, pile on benefits, mention their AI capabilities. But the customer has already mentally checked out. The problem isn't that your product is inferior—it's that you haven't articulated the unique value you deliver.

In 2025, features are commodities. AI can replicate most functionality in weeks. Your only defensible position comes from understanding exactly which customers you serve, what job they're hiring you to do, and how you uniquely deliver value at the right price point.

The Outcome

After this lesson, you will:

• Apply three interconnected frameworks to define your unique value proposition
• Make strategic choices about customers, problems, and positioning before diving into details
• Create a systematic approach that moves from strategy to execution

What is a Value Proposition?

A value proposition is a short statement that explains the unique benefit your product delivers to a specific customer segment. It answers the question: Why should I choose your solution over others?

How to craft a winning Value Proposition?

Creating a winning value proposition requires three key elements that build on each other:

1. Clear market focus:  define exactly which customers and problems you'll target (Porter's Triangle)
2. Deep customer understanding: understand what you're solving (Jobs to Be Done)
3. Solution alignment: connect solutions to problems (Value Proposition Canvas)

Framework 1: Value Proposition Triangle (by Michael Porter)

Michael Porter, Harvard's strategy guru, developed the Value Proposition Triangle in the 1980s to help businesses find their unique position. This framework remains essential today because it forces you to make clear trade-offs instead of trying to please everyone.

Start here because you cannot effectively understand customer jobs without first deciding which customers you're serving. According to Porter, a winning value proposition answers three fundamental questions that, when aligned, create a compelling reason for customers to choose you over alternatives:

QuestionFocus AreaKey DecisionWhich customers?Target segmentWho specifically will you serve?Which needs?Problem focusWhat key problem will you solve?What relative price?Market positionPremium, parity, or disruptive pricing?

Framework

Case Study

Quizz

To create your strategic foundation, complete this sentence: "We serve [target customer segment X], fulfilling [specific needs Y], at [strategic price point Z]."

Note

Case Study

Quizz

IKEA has dominated the furniture market through perfect alignment:

• Target: They precisely target young families and professionals who need to furnish their homes on a budget
• Needs: They meet exact needs with modern designs that maximize small living spaces
• Price: Their revolutionary business model (flat-pack, self-assembly, warehouse shopping) delivers prices competitors cannot match

Framework 2: Jobs to Be Done (by Clayton Christensen)

Now that you've chosen which customers to serve, dive deep into understanding what they're trying to accomplish. Customers don't buy products—they hire them to get a job done. Every purchase has a context and motivation behind it: a problem to solve, a goal to achieve, or a pain to alleviate.

This framework helps you identify the progress that your specific customer segment is trying to make in their lives.

The "job" has three dimensions:

• Functional: The practical task to accomplish
• Social: How the customer wants to be perceived
• Emotional: How the customer wants to feel

Framework

Case Study

Quizz

To identify the job for your chosen segment, complete this sentence (use customer interviews when possible): When __ (situation), I want to __ (job to be done) so I can _ (desired outcome).

Framework

Case Study

Quizz

Consider how UiPath, the Romanian RPA company, effectively applied this framework after choosing to serve enterprise IT departments. Their tagline "We make software robots, so people don't have to be robots" clearly addresses all three dimensions:

• Functional job: Automate repetitive tasks that waste human potential
• Social job: Position the company as forward-thinking by freeing employees for higher-value work
• Emotional job: Eliminate the frustration and boredom of performing robotic tasks

Framework 3: Strategyzer's Value Proposition Canvas (Alexander Osterwalder)

Strategyzer's Value Proposition Canvas brings together your strategic choices from Porter's Triangle and customer insights from Jobs to Be Done into a visual execution framework. It creates a practical mapping between customer needs and your solutions, visualizing the perfect "fit" that creates market winners.

Customer Profile:

• Jobs-to-be-Done: tasks, problems, or goals your target customers are trying to accomplish
• Pains: frustrations, obstacles, and risks they encounter along the way
• Gains: positive outcomes and benefits they hope to achieve

Value Map:

• Products & Services: your specific offerings that address the jobs
• Pain Relievers: how your solution specifically eliminates customer frustrations
• Gain Creators: how your offerings deliver the outcomes customers desire

Framework

Case Study

Quizz

Create a visual map connecting your customer's needs with your solutions. For each customer pain, identify a specific pain reliever. For each desired gain, develop a corresponding gain creator.

Framework

Case Study

Quizz

Slack transformed workplace communication by first choosing to serve knowledge workers in technology companies, then mapping their canvas perfectly:

• Customer Jobs: Coordinate projects, share information quickly, reduce email overload
• Pains: Email overload, lost information, fragmented tools, too many meetings
• Pain Relievers: Centralized communications, searchable history, integrated apps
• Gains: Faster decisions, better collaboration, reduced meetings
• Gain Creators: Real-time messaging, channels by topic, friendly UI that people actually want to use

How to apply it?

Step 1: Decide who you serve and how

• Choose a specific customer segment (such as "accounting firms with 10-50 employees" rather than "small businesses")
• Identify the core problem you'll solve better than anyone (refine this using the jobs to be done framework later)
• Decide on your price positioning (premium, parity, or disruptive)
• Write these three choices in one clear sentence

Step 2: Try to better understand your customers

• Interview 8-10 people from your chosen segment to understand their needs
• Map how they currently handle the problem you solve
• Document key demographics, firmographics, and behaviors
• Build a customer persona using real data

Step 3: Identify Jobs

Use Jobs to Be Done methodology to understand what your segment needs.

Key interview questions:

• "Walk me through the last time you dealt with [problem]"
• "What's the hardest part about [current solution]?"
• "What would make this 10x better for you?"
• "What does success look like in this area?"

Document these elements:

• Primary functional, social, and emotional jobs
• Current pain points and frustrations
• Outcomes they value most

Step 4: Create Your Value Proposition Canvas

Use Strategyzer's framework to connect customer needs with your solution.

Map these key elements:

• Transfer customer jobs, pains, and gains from Steps 2-3
• List your products and services
• Connect each pain to a specific pain reliever
• Connect each gain to a specific gain creator

Step 5: Craft Your Value Proposition Statement

Synthesize everything into clear messaging. For this crucial step, consider Geoffrey Moore's proven positioning framework. As the author of "Crossing the Chasm," Moore's template provides a structured approach that transforms your strategic insights into compelling messaging that resonates with customers, clearly articulates your unique value, and directly addresses competitive alternatives.

Framework

Case Study

Quizz

"For [target customer from Step 1] who [specific job to be done from Step 3], [product] is a [category] that [key benefit].

Create three distinct versions of your value proposition:

• Detailed version (2-3 sentences) for sales conversations
• Standard version (1 sentence) for marketing materials
• Elevator pitch (10 words or less) for networking

Step 6: Test, Measure, and Iterate

Test your value proposition with specific success metrics rather than general feedback. Testing methods with clear success criteria:

• Customer interviews: 80% should be able to repeat back your value proposition correctly
• Landing page tests: measure conversion rates above 5% for B2B, 2% for B2C
• Sales pitch testing: track where prospects ask clarifying questions vs. nod in understanding
• Competitive win/loss analysis: document why you win or lose deals

Templates to Steal

Customer Interview Guide

Opening: "I'm trying to understand how [customer segment] currently handles [problem area]."

Discovery questions:

1. "Describe your role and typical day"
2. "What were you trying to accomplish the last time you dealt with this?"
3. "Walk me through your current process step-by-step"
4. "What's most frustrating about your current approach?"
5. "What would the perfect solution look like?"
6. "What would have to change for this to become your top priority?"
7. "How do you measure success in this area?"
8. "Who else is involved in this decision?"

Value Proposition Testing Scorecard

Test with 10 potential customers and score each area:

1. Clarity (can they repeat it back?): ___/10
2. Relevance (does it matter to them?): ___/10
3. Credibility (do they believe it?): ___/10
4. Differentiation (is it unique?): ___/10
5. Urgency (do they need it now?): ___/10

Target score: 35+ out of 50 indicates a strong value proposition

Tools That Make This Easier

• For customer interviews: Gong.io or Otter.ai for recording and analysis
• For canvas mapping: Strategyzer.com provides official templates, or use Miro/Figma
• For competitive analysis: Create a simple spreadsheet with the positioning template
• For testing: Use Typeform for customer feedback surveys with scoring