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How to create products and services customers want.
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Value Proposition Design

strategyzer.com/vpd

Written by

Alex Osterwalder

Yves Pigneur

Greg Bernarda

Alan Smith

Designed by

Trish Papadakos

1: Canvas

You’ll love Value Proposition Design if you’ve been…

Overwhelmed by the task of true value creation

You have experienced teams that…

Get “From Failure to Success” poster

Value Proposition Design will help you successfully…

Our value proposition to you

The Tools and Process of Value Proposition Design

Canvas

Tools

Design / Test

Search

The heart of Value Proposition Design is about applying Tools to the messy Search for value propositions that customers want and then keeping them aligned with what customers want in Evolve.

Value Proposition Design shows you how to use the Value Proposition Canvas to Design and Test great value propositions in an iterative search for what customers want. Value proposition design is a never-ending process in which you need to Evolve your value proposition(s) constantly to keep it relevant to customers.

Progress

Manage the messy and nonlinear process of value proposition design and reduce risk by systematically applying adequate tools and processes.

Evolve

Postsearch

An integrated Suite of Tools

The value propositions visible and tangible and thus easier to discuss and manage. It perfectly integrates with the Business Model Canvas and the Environment Map, two tools that are discussed in detail in Business Model Generation,* the sister book to this one. Together, they shape the foundation of a suite of business tools.

The Value Proposition Canvas zooms into the details of two of the building blocks of the Business Model Canvas.

* Business Model Generation, Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010.

Refresher: The Business Model Canvas

Embed your value proposition in a viable business model to capture value for your organization. To do so, you can use the Business Model Canvas, a tool to describe how your organization creates, delivers, and captures value. The Business Model, and Value Proposition Canvas perfectly integrate, with the latter being like a plug-in to the former that allows you to zoom into the details of how you are creating value for customers.

The refresher of the Business Model Canvas on this spread is sufficient to work through this book and create great value propositions. Go to the online resources if you are interested in more or get Business Model Generation,* the sister publication to this book.

Customer Segments

are the groups of people and/or organizations a company or organization aims to reach and create value for with a dedicated Value Proposition.

Value Propositions

are based on a bundle of products and services that create value for a Customer Segment.

Channels

describe how a Value Proposition is communicated and delivered to a Customer Segment through communication, distribution, and sales Channels.

Customer Relationships

outline what type of relationship is established and maintained with each Customer Segment, and they explain how customers are acquired and retained.

Revenue Streams

result from a Value Proposition successfully offered to a Customer Segment. It is how an organization captures value with a price that customers are willing to pay.

Key Resources

are the most important assets required to offer and deliver the previously described elements.

Key Activities

are the most important activities an organization needs to perform well.

Key Partnerships

shows the network of suppliers and partners that bring in external resources and activities.

Cost Structure

describes all costs incurred to operate a business model.

Profit

is calculated by subtracting the total of all costs in the Cost Structure from the total of all Revenue Streams.

*Business Model Generation (2010), Osterwalder and Pigneur

Download detailed Business Model Canvas Explanation and the Business Model Canvas pdf

Value Proposition Design works for…

Are you creating something from scratch on your own or are you part of an existing organization? Some things will be easier and some harder depending on your strategic playground.

A start-up entrepreneur deals with different constraints than a project leader for a new venture within an existing organization. The tools presented in this book apply to both contexts. Depending on your starting point you will execute them in a different way to leverage different strengths and overcome different obstacles.

New Ventures

Individuals or teams setting out to create a great value proposition and business model from scratch

Main challenges

  • Produce proof that your ideas can work on a limited budget.
  • Manage involvement of investors (if you scale your ideas).
  • Risk running out of money before finding the right value proposition and business model.

Main opportunities

  • Build on existing value propositions and business models.
  • Leverage existing assets (sales, channels, brand, etc.).
  • Build portfolios of business models and value propositions.

Established Organizations

Teams within existing companies setting out to improve or invent value propositions and business models

Get “Innovating in Established Organizations” poster

Main opportunities

  • Build on existing value propositions and business models.
  • Leverage existing assets (sales, channels, brand, etc.).
  • Build portfolios of business models and value propositions.

Main challenges

  • Get buy-in from top management.
  • Get access to existing resources.
  • Manage cannibalization.
  • Overcome risk aversion.
  • Overcome rigid and slow processes.
  • Produce big wins to move the needle.
  • Manage career risk of innovators.

Use Value Proposition Design to…

Invent and improve value propositions. The tools we will study work for managing and renewing value propositions (and business models) just as much as for creating new ones. Put the Value Proposition and Business Model to work to create a shared language of value creation in your organization. Use them to continuously invent and improve value propositions that meet customer profiles, which is an undertaking that never ends.

Assess Your Value Proposition Design Skills

Complete our online test and assess whether you have the attitude and skills required to systematically be successful at value proposition design. Take the test before and after working through Value Proposition Design to measure your progress.

Take your skills test online

Sell Your Colleagues on Value Proposition Design

I am…

concerned that we don’t have a methodology to track our progress on the development of that new value proposition and business model.

worried that we focus too much on products and features instead of creating value for customers.

astonished at how poorly aligned product development, sales, and marketing are when it comes to developing new value propositions.

surprised at how often we make stuff nobody wants, despite our good ideas and good intentions.

really disappointed by how much we talked about value propositions and business models at our last meeting without really getting tangible results.

blown away by how unclear that last presentation on that new value proposition and business model was.

amazed by how many resources we wasted when that great idea in that last business plan turned out to be flop because we didn’t test it.

concerned that our product development process doesn’t use a more customer-focused methodology.

surprised that we invest so much in research and development (R&D), but fail to invest in developing the right value propositions and business models.

not sure if everybody in our team has a shared understanding of what a good value proposition actually is.

Get a slide deck with 10 arguments to use the Value Proposition and Business Model Canvas

Note to the Reader:

The print edition of this book is designed around large, four-color two-page spreads.

This digital version has been reformatted for smaller ebook readers and mobile devices.