123: Value Proposition Considered Problematic?

Is the Value Proposition problematic?

Shreyas Doshi wrote in a post on LinkedIn a few months ago:

In product management, it is easy to BS yourself (and others) when framing a proposal in terms of “Value Proposition”. Any proposal with the right business speak can be made to sound compelling that way. This happens all the time, in nearly every company. It is much harder to BS yourself (and others) when you are forced to frame a proposal in terms of “Customer Motivation”.

If you’ve listened to the podcast much, you know that I am a BIG FAN of the value proposition. I have written about the value prop, I’ve had podcast episodes about it. So, naturally, I had some thoughts. And in this episode, I share them.

Fundamentally, the value prop serves two major purposes:

* It’s a litmus test for your ability to articulate “the value” of your product – the important problem it solves, the marekt segment for whom you solve it, and why your solution is their best choice amongst all the alternatives.

* If it’s good, it serves as a North Star for all your go-to-market efforts (as well as much of your development effort as well, to be honest).

The value proposition for your product is one of the four main components of the Minimum Viable Product Knowledge. That’s the information you must provide to marketing and sales if you want them to be successful in finding and closing customers for your product.

Articles and books mentioned in the episode and some related links

* Crossing The Chasm, by Geoffrey Moore. The Value Proposition template I suggest is from this book.

* My article on the importance of being able to articulate your product’s value proposition.

* My (very simple) spreadsheet where you can model out the impact on revenues of getting higher quality leads into your funnel, even if they are more expensive. (Copy the Google sheet to your own Google drive to make changes.)

I’d love to hear from you

As always, I look forward to your comments and feedback on this episode.

Have you struggled with value propositions? Do you feel they are helpful or a hindrance?

What other topics should I cover in the podcast?

Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below, or drop me a line directly at [email protected], or on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Is the Value Proposition problematic?

Shreyas Doshi wrote in a post on LinkedIn a few months ago:

In product management, it is easy to BS yourself (and others) when framing a proposal in terms of “Value Proposition”. Any proposal with the right business speak can be made to sound compelling that way. This happens all the time,