City Unrulyversity Value Proposition Ben Mumby-Croft

1. First Things First:
Getting Your Value
Proposition Right
@benmumbycroft / @oneltd
1. Define what we mean by the term
“Value Proposition”
2. Look at some templates for crafting a
clear and compelling VP
3. Get you apply these to your own
business/startup/crazy idea etc.
4. Explore how you can test your VP in
the real-world
Tonight’s session

2. Enterprise
Educator
Marketer

3. Today’s session
2 Parts
Part 1 =
Articulating your
value proposition

4. AKA
Elevator Pitch,
High Concept
Pitch, USP,
Positioning
Statement etc.

5. 00:01:00
Quick exercise:
What’s your value
proposition?

6. Value
Proposition #1 =
A promise of
value to be
delivered.
See wikipedia.com for full details
See typeform.com for full details

7. See typeform.com for full details
See typeform.com for full details

8. See typeform.com for full details
Add one more
example here…
See typeform.com for full details
Add one more
example here…

9. Internally
It gives the team
purpose and
direction
Externally
It forms the basis
of how you
market to and
interact with
customers

10. Your value
proposition is
the crunch point
between
business
strategy and
brand strategy
See peterjthomson.com for full details
Between
What you make &
Why people buy it
See peterjthomson.com for full details

11. In a world where
everyone is after
your business you
must supply your
customers with a
compelling reason
to buy you instead
of your
competitor.
Jack Trout

12. Value
Proposition #2 =
where your
company’s
product offer
intersects with
your customer’s
desires
See peterjthomson.com for full details
Value to Customer of the Product/Service
Ability to
Provide a
Unique
Product/
Service X
See guykawasaki.com for full details

13. Product offer
Customer?

14. Customer + Desire
Key VP elements
What you do
Who you do it for
Why it’s different/
compelling
What the benefit is

15. Value Proposition
TEMPLATES
GEOFF MOORE’S VALUE POSITIONING
STATEMENT
Part 1 Value of the Offering
FOR… ___________________________________ (Target Customer)
WHO… __________________________________ (Statement of the Need)
OUR (PRODUCT NAME) IS… ________________ (Product/Service Category)
THAT… __________________________________ (Statement of Benefit)
Part 2 Positioning the Value
UNLIKE… ________________________________ (Primary Competitive Alternative)
OUR PRODUCT/SERVICE… _________________ (Primary Differentiator)
BECAUSE OF OUR… _______________________ (Proof that Benefits can be Delivered)
See torgronsund.com for full details

16. GEOFF MOORE’S VALUE POSITIONING
STATEMENT EXAMPLE
Part 1 Value of the Offering
FOR… non-technical marketers (Target Customer)
WHO… who struggle to find ROI in social media (Statement of the Need)
OUR (PRODUCT NAME) IS… a web-based analytics software (Product Category)
THAT… translates engagement metrics into actionable revenue metrics (Benefit)
Part 2 Positioning the Value
UNLIKE… traditional specialist software (Primary Competitive Alternative)
OUR PRODUCT/SERVICE… is super simple and easy to use (Primary Differentiator)
BECAUSE OF OUR… commitment to Interface Design & UX (Proof Benefits Delivered)
See torgronsund.com for full details

17. VENTURE HACKS’ HIGH CONCEPT PITCH
[Proven industry example] for/of [new domain]
Examples
Google Analytics for Social Media
Flickr for Video
Uber for Hairdressers
Bloomberg for Crowdfunding
See venturehacks.com/pitching for full details
STEVE BLANK’S XYZ
We help X do Y doing Z
Example
We help non-technical marketers discover return on investment in
social media by turning engagement metrics into revenue metrics
See steveblank.com for full details

18. VLASKOVITS & COOPER’S CPS
Customer: ______________________________ (Who your customer is)
Problem: _____________________________ (What problem you’re solving for them)
Solution: ________________________________ (What your solution is)
Example
We help non-technical marketers discover return on investment in
social media by turning engagement metrics into revenue metrics
See custdev.com for full details
DAVE MCCLURE’S ELEVATOR RIDE
• Short, simple, memorable; what, how, why
• 3 keywords or phrases
• No expert jargon
Examples
HubSpot is the easy way to turn social media engagement into
revenue
Mint.com is the free, easy way to manage your money online
See @DaveMcClure for full details

19. GUY KAWASAKI’S VAD APPROACH
[verb; application; differentiator]
Examples
Discover social media engagement and convert into revenue
Share Powerpoint and Keynote slides including audio (Slideshare)
See guykawasaki.com for full details
Bonus Level

20. MARTY NEUMEIER’S ONLINESS STATEMENT
The ONLY… _________________________________ (Product Category)
That… ______________________________________ (Differentiation)
For… ________________________________________ (Target Customer)
Who… _______________________________________ (Customer Desire/Need)
In… _________________________________________ (Target Market)
In an era of/when… ____________________________ (Trend)
See liquidagency.com/marty-books/ for full details
TThhee OONNLLYY…… motorcycle manufacturer
TThhaatt…… makes big, loud motorcycles
FFoorr…… macho guys (and macho “wannabees”)
WWhhoo…… want to join a gang of cowboys
IInn…… the United States (mostly)
IInn aann eerraa ooff…… decreasing personal freedom

21. Value Proposition
YOUR TURN!
Geoff Moore’s VP Statement
Part 1 Value of the Offering
FOR… __________________________________________________
WHO… _________________________________________________
(OUR PRODUCT/SERVICE NAME) IS________________________
THAT… _________________________________________________
Part 2 Positioning the Value
UNLIKE… _______________________________________________
OUR PRODUCT/SERVICE… _________________________________
BECAUSE OF OUR… _______________________________________
(Target Customer)
(Statement of Need)
(Product/Service Category)
(Statement of Benefit)
(Primary Competitive Alternative)
(Key Differentiator)
(Proof Benefits Can Be Delivered)

22. GEOFF MOORE’S VALUE POSITIONING
STATEMENT EXAMPLE
Part 1 Value of the Offering
FOR… non-technical marketers (Target Customer)
WHO… who struggle to find ROI in social media (Statement of the Need)
(OUR PRODUCT NAME) IS… a web-based analytics software (Product Category)
THAT… translates engagement metrics into actionable revenue metrics (Benefit)
Part 2 Positioning the Value
UNLIKE… traditional specialist software (Primary Competitive Alternative)
OUR PRODUCT/SERVICE… is super simple and easy to use (Primary Differentiator)
BECAUSE OF OUR… commitment to Interface Design & UX (Proof Benefits Delivered)
See torgronsund.com for full details
1. Keep it short 2 sentences
max
2. Keep it simple no
complicated business jargon
3. Be bold & specific not
bland and generic
TOP TIPS

23. AAnndd rreemmeemmbbeerr::
The Pub Test
Part 2 =
Getting it right

24. TEMPLATES
Your customers are the judge, jury and
executioner of your value proposition!

25. IInnttrroodduucciinngg
Steve Blank

27. Concept Dev Testing Launch Customer
Concept Dev Testing Launch Customer
II’’mm ssoorrrryy,, wwhhyy ddoo
II nneeeedd tthhiiss
aaggaaiinn??

28. customer
Customer
Discovery
Customer
Validation
PPrroobblleemm
SSoolluuttiioonn ffiitt
PPrroobblleemm
MMaarrkkeett ffiitt

29. Customer
Discovery
Customer
Validation
PPrroobblleemm
SSoolluuttiioonn ffiitt
PPrroobblleemm
MMaarrkkeett ffiitt
This is
awesome!
customer

30. IInnttrroodduucciinngg
Alexander
Osterwalder

32. Value
Proposition #3 =
A description of
the benefits
customers can
expect from
your products &
services
See businessmodelgeneration.com for full details

33. TEMPLATES

34. The
Business Model Canvas
Helps you create value for your
business
The
Value Proposition Canvas
Helps you create value for your
customer
See businessmodelgeneration.com for full details

35. 1. CUSTOMER
PROFILE
2. VALUE MAP
See businessmodelgeneration.com for full details
GGaaiinnss describe the outcomes
customers want to achieve or
the concrete benefits they are
seeking
CCuussttoommeerr JJoobbss describe what
customers are trying to get done
in their work and their lives, as
expressed in their own words
PPaaiinnss describe bad
outcomes. Risks, and
obstacles related to
customer jobs
See businessmodelgeneration.com for full details

36. GGaaiinn CCrreeaattoorrss describe how your
products and services create
customer gains
PPaaiinn RReelliieevveerrss describe how
your products and services
alleviate customer pains
This is a list of all the
PPrroodduuccttss aanndd SSeerrvviicceess
a value proposition is
built around
See businessmodelgeneration.com for full details
The set of value proposition
benefits you design to attract
customers
The set of customer
characteristics that you
assume, observe, and verify
in the market
See businessmodelgeneration.com for full details

37. Testing is key!

38. Business people are looking for methods to help
them design better value propositions
Launch a Google Adwords campaign around the
search term “value proposition”
How the campaign performs in terms of clicks
We can achieve a click-through-rate (CTR) of at least
2%
1. Extract
Hypotheses
2. Prioritise
Hypotheses
3. Design Tests
THE TESTING PROCESS
See businessmodelgeneration.com for full details

39. 4. Prioritise
Tests
5. Run Tests 6. Capture
Learnings
THE TESTING PROCESS
See businessmodelgeneration.com for full details
7. Make Progress(One foothold at a time)

40. 1. Capture your Value Proposition
hypothesis (use one of the templates
provided)
2. Use the Value Proposition canvas to
‘dig deeper’ and work out if you have
a fit
3. List and prioritise key value
assumptions
4. Design simple tests and learn by
doing
4-key steps

41. www.oneltd.co.uk
@OneLtd
Agency to Rule Them All !
We are the ONLY______________________________
That _____________________________________________
For ______________________________________________
Who _____________________________________________
In _______________________________________________
In an era when __________________________________
Marty Neumeier’s Onliness Statement
(Product Category)
(Primary Differentiation)
(Target Customer)
(Customer Desire/Need)
(Target Market)
(Background Trend)