The Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) is a widely used tool in the entrepreneur community for mapping out new ideas, from the customer perspective. The tools are designed by Strategyzer but are developing in conjunction with Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and Growth Hacking methodologies. The VPC is the starting point of that process and will feed into the Business Model Canvas module. Please review the material below on VPC.
Customer Discovery
Read and discuss the articles on Customer Discovery Pay close attention to the process in Brant Cooper’s article, as you will be employing it in reaching out to customers.
Steve Blank provides some valuable lessons in the next two videos on customer discovery and segments.
- Assignment – Define the customer
Often entrepreneurs will develop an idea without a specific customer in mind other than themselves. As Seen On TV see thousands of these product ideas that an entrepreneur develops because they like it. However, when the product is tested there is not a market for it. Before you develop the value proposition, it is important to define who the potential customer may be.
Prepare a one-page summary of who your potential customers are and why your product or service idea would matter to them. Provide as much detail and at least two cited sources to support your assumptions. Students will need to find at least 3 sources of supporting data and include those sources (in-text citation and reference list) in the assignment.
(MY INTENT IS TO START A BUSINESS BY SELLING BUILDING MATERIAL BUT THE MAJOR FOCUS IS ON CEMENT, MY POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS WILL BE EVERYONE WILLING TO BUILD A HOUSE, CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, ROAD INFACTRUCTURE ETC.)
- Assignment – Value Proposition Presentation
Using the customer information in your first assignment, you will build your first Value Proposition Canvas and Presentation.
Watch:
Value Proposition Canvas Explained
Step 1
Build the first draft of your Value Proposition Canvas. You can use the value proposition template. to complete the assignment. Be sure to review the template details for use in your canvas.
Step 2
Build your first Value Proposition Presentation. Find HEREa past presentation for example and to use as your template. It should include 5 slides.
(1) A statement of the problem to be solved along with the most important 3 each (9 in total) jobs/gains/pains the target customer experiences.
(2) 4 key job/pains/gains trigger questions you have identified. Either you have taken them from the lists provided or you came up with your own.
(3) A brief description of your hypothetical target customer including i) age, ii) general demographics, and most importantly iii) the problem they are facing
(4) A brief description of your 3 primary competitors (e.g. current solutions). Include limiting aspects of their features.
(5) A chart of the Initial Product/Service concept where you link product concept features and the TOP 2 (in total) jobs/gains/pains you are solving. Include the transformative business model element.
Step 3
Submit to Canvas. You can submit more than one file at a time.
The most common error made with the value proposition is to start from the product and service side of the canvas. The goal is to first understand the customer’s perspective before you finalize your product or service ideas. Another common error is including your product or service idea or concepts on the customer side of the canvas. Students will need to find at least 3 sources of supporting data and include those sources (in-text citation and reference list) in the assignment.
3) Discussion – Defining your Target Market
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In order for your business venture to be successful, you have to have a true understanding of your target audience. For this discussion, you are to read How to Define Your Target Audience .and watch the videos in the learning resources. Using the questions mentioned in the article, define your target audience for your chosen product/service. How would you market your product to your target audience?
This assignment requires that you will do research on your market and provide supporting evidence. Please use the Library websiteLinks to an external site.to access databases to support your research. All databases require you to log in using your credentials to access the information for free. If you get stuck, please use the chat function to talk to the librarians for help.
Your initial post should contain at least two cited sources that support your thoughts. After your initial post, you must respond to at least 2 of your colleagues’ posts two days after the initial post’s due date. The replies must be substantive and not just “great post.” Try to offer additional thoughts or ideas that connect with the module’s content.
(MY TARGET MARKET SHOULD BE ANYONE THAT USES CEMENT AND OTHER BUILDING MATERIALS)
4) Discussion – Customer first
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When building a value proposition for your business idea, you must start with the customer side first. Prepare an initial post supporting one of the following prompts:
- What can you learn about your potential customers by starting on the customer side of the value proposition canvas?
- What challenges do you see with starting with the customer side first?
- If the product or service is the most important, is it better to build the product and service and then find a customer?
This assignment requires that you will do research on your market and provide supporting evidence. Please use the Library websiteLinks to an external site. to access databases to support your research. All databases require you to log in using your Lynn credentials to access the information for free. If you get stuck, please use the chat function to talk to the librarians for help.
Your initial post should contain at least two cited sources that support your thoughts. After your initial post, you must respond to at least 2 of your colleagues’ posts two days after the initial post’s due date. The replies must be substantive and not just “great post.” Try to offer additional thoughts or ideas that connect with the module’s content.
