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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Value Proposition Design summary
How to Create Products and Services Customers Want
15 mins
Brief summary
Value Proposition Design by Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda, Alan Smith & Trish Papadakos is a practical guide for designing successful products and services using value proposition canvases and customer profiles.
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Value Proposition Design
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To identify value, put yourself in your customers’ shoes and recognize the pains and gains of their jobs.
If you want to sell something, be it cupcakes, computers or cars, you have to ask yourself one important question: What makes my product valuable to a customer?
To figure this out, you first need to understand the jobs your potential customers need help with.
A “job” is any task a customer performs on a regular basis. There are two kinds: functional jobs and social jobs.
Functional jobs are specific things customers need to get done, such as tending to the garden or buying groceries.
Social jobs are the things customers want to do in order to impress others, such as buying a trendy outfit or wowing their boss with an amazing presentation.
The next step in identifying value is understanding customer pains: the things in life that stand in the way of a customer performing a functional or social job.
The first customer pain is unwanted outcomes, which is when a customer doesn’t get the outcome he was after.
Maybe the customer bought a garden sprinkler that turned out to be useless or worked on a presentation that put everyone to sleep – both examples are unwanted outcomes.
The second customer pain is obstacles, which prevent the customer from even starting a job.
Maybe that coveted sprinkler system is just too expensive; or maybe the customer simply doesn’t have the time to prepare a satisfactory presentation.
The last customer pain is risks – the unpleasant things that happen when a job goes unperformed.
Without a sprinkler system, for instance, your customer’s garden might die; and if that customer doesn’t nail the presentation, she won’t get a promotion.
The final step in determining value is recognizing the three types of customer gains: the things customers are hoping to get.
The first is required gains, which is the basic function of a product. The required gain of a sprinkler is that the plants get watered.
The second is expected gains. Customers expect a sprinkler to be well made and reliable.
The third is desired gains, which is when a product goes beyond expectations – such as a sprinkler system that can be operated with a smartphone app.
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What is Value Proposition Design about?
Value Proposition Design (2014) is a comprehensive guide to designing compelling products and services. Real value comes from empathizing with customers to find out what everyday jobs and tasks they need help with. However, coming up a product that helps customers complete these jobs and tasks is only the beginning.
Value Proposition Design Review
Value Proposition Design (2014) is a resourceful guide for entrepreneurs and product creators who want to build innovative and successful businesses. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- It breaks down the process of developing compelling value propositions into practical steps, ensuring readers can effectively communicate their product's unique benefits.
- Through real-life case studies and examples, the book provides valuable insights into how successful companies have created and refined their value propositions.
- Its clear and concise framework, combined with beautifully designed visual tools, makes the learning experience enjoyable and helps readers apply the concepts to their own projects.
Who should read Value Proposition Design?
- Aspiring or current entrepreneurs
- Anyone interested in innovation and value creation
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Value Proposition Design FAQs
What is the main message of Value Proposition Design?
Value Proposition Design helps you create products and services that customers truly want and need.
How long does it take to read Value Proposition Design?
The reading time for Value Proposition Design varies depending on the reader, but it typically takes several hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is Value Proposition Design a good book? Is it worth reading?
Value Proposition Design is a must-read for anyone looking to create successful products and services. It offers practical strategies and tools to make your ideas stand out.
Who is the author of Value Proposition Design?
The authors of Value Proposition Design are Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda, Alan Smith, and Trish Papadakos.
How many chapters are in Value Proposition Design?
Value Proposition Design has several chapters. Here is the list:
- Introduction
- Canvas and Research
- Value Map
- Gains
- Customer Jobs
- Pains
- Customer Gains and Pains
- Profile Map
- Customer Segments
- Completing the Profile Map
- Value Proposition Creation
- Value Proposition Improvements
- Building Blocks of Value Propositions
- Design and Testing
- XR Desirability Experiment
- Fit Experiment
- Test Zooming in on the Solution
- Pilot, Launch, and Scale
How many pages are in Value Proposition Design?
Value Proposition Design contains 320 pages.
When was Value Proposition Design published?
Value Proposition Design was published in 2014.
What to read after Value Proposition Design?
If you're wondering what to read next after Value Proposition Design, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur
- This is Service Design Thinking by Marc Stickdorn and Jakob Schneider
- Inspired by Marty Cagan
- The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank
- Hooked by Nir Eyal
- Testing Business Ideas by David J. Bland and Alexander Osterwalder
- Well-Designed by Jon Kolko
- Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull with Amy Wallace
- Moore’s Law by Arnold Thackray
- Reinventing the Product by Eric Schaeffer and David Sovie