Marketing Strategy

Value Proposition Canvas

A strategic tool for designing, testing, and building value propositions by mapping customer jobs, pains, and gains against product features, pain relievers, and gain creators.

value-propositioncustomer-researchproduct-strategybusiness-modelcanvas

Components

1

Customer Profile

Right side: Map customer jobs, pains, and gains to understand what customers need

Jobs: Tasks customers try to complete Pains: Frustrations and obstacles Gains: Desired outcomes and benefits

2

Value Map

Left side: Design products/services, pain relievers, and gain creators

Products & Services: What you offer Pain Relievers: How you eliminate customer pains Gain Creators: How you create customer gains

3

Fit Assessment

Evaluate alignment between customer profile and value map

Problem-Solution Fit: Do pain relievers address real pains? Product-Market Fit: Do customers want what you're building?

When to Use

  • Designing new products based on customer needs
  • Refining existing value propositions for better market fit
  • Testing assumptions about customer problems and solutions
  • Aligning teams on customer-centric value creation

Benefits

  • +Ensures customer-centric product design
  • +Reveals gaps between what you offer and what customers need
  • +Provides structured approach to value proposition design
  • +Facilitates team alignment on value creation

Limitations

  • !Requires deep customer understanding to complete accurately
  • !Can be oversimplified if not used with real customer research
  • !Static snapshot - needs regular updating as market evolves
  • !Doesn't address pricing or business model directly

Real-World Examples

Airbnb's Canvas

Industry: Travel

Customer Job: Find affordable, authentic accommodation. Pain: Hotels expensive and impersonal. Gain: Local experience. Solution: Platform connecting travelers with local hosts

Outcome: Achieved product-market fit by addressing real traveler pains

Resources

book

Value Proposition Design