Value Proposition Canvas — match what customers need with what you offer
You can feel you have built a good product, yet customers will not choose it if it does not answer what they really struggle with and want. The Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) places a customer profile, which describes what customers are trying to do and what they struggle with, next to a value map, which describes what you offer, so that you can check whether the two fit together. This guide covers what goes into the two halves, how to check the fit, how the VPC relates to the BMC, Jobs to Be Done and 3C, and the common mistakes, using a small made-up example.
In one line — put customers' problems and your value side by side
The Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) is a framework that places a customer profile, which describes what customers are trying to do and what they struggle with, next to a value map, which describes the value you offer, and checks whether the two fit. It is used as a tool to zoom in on the customer segments and value propositions on the right-hand side of the Business Model Canvas (BMC).
It was devised by Alexander Osterwalder and systematized in the 2014 book Value Proposition Design, written with Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda and Alan Smith. The canvas is © Strategyzer AG (strategyzer.com). It is free to use for your own work; adapting it or building it into software requires Strategyzer's permission.
The explanations and the example in this guide are written in our own words; we have not reproduced the original diagram. If you want to use the original diagram itself, follow Strategyzer's usage guidelines.
The customer profile — jobs, pains and gains
The customer profile is where you write down three things about one specific customer segment. First narrow down "who is this customer?" to one, and then write.
- Customer jobs: what customers are trying to get done day to day, and the problems they want to solve (including jobs tied to feelings and to how others see them, not just functional ones)
- Pains: what gets in the way as they do the job — annoyances, worries, failures and obstacles
- Gains: the results customers want and what would delight them (not only the outcomes they require, but also pleasant surprises beyond their expectations)
A natural order is jobs first, then pains and gains. Sorting each list with the most important item on top makes it easier to see where to place value. The Jobs to Be Done way of thinking helps you dig into these customer jobs.
The value map — products, pain relievers and gain creators
The value map is where you write down what you offer in three parts. Write with the aim of answering the items of the customer profile one by one.
- Products and services: what you actually provide (things, services, bundles of features)
- Pain relievers: how you reduce or remove the customer's pains
- Gain creators: how you produce or increase the gains the customer wants
If you start from a list of products and services, it tends to turn into a list of features. The value map becomes more useful when you look at the customer's pains and gains first and write in answer to them.
Fit — check that the two sides connect
Fit is the state in which the pain relievers and gain creators in the value map actually answer the important pains and gains in the customer profile.
To check it, go through the pains and gains one by one and draw a line to the pain reliever or gain creator that answers each. Items you cannot connect are pains or gains you have not answered yet. Conversely, relievers or creators that connect to nothing may be things the customer does not ask for.
Being able to draw a line, however, does not mean customers will actually feel it that way. What you draw is a hypothesis, so you need to test it against what customers say.
A small example — mobile bicycle repair (made up)
This example is invented for illustration. Imagine a small bicycle shop considering a repair service that comes to the customer. The customer segment is "people who cycle to work or school every day".
- Customer jobs: keep using a bicycle for daily travel; get it fixed when it breaks
- Pains: no time to bring it to a shop; trouble getting around until it is fixed; worry because the cost is not known in advance
- Gains: it gets fixed without much effort; they can ride with peace of mind afterwards
- Products and services: a repair service that comes to their home or workplace; a message with an estimate before the work
- Pain relievers: no need to bring the bicycle in; tell the price before starting
- Gain creators: hand over a note of the inspection results after the repair, so they can set off with confidence
In this example you can draw a line from "no time to bring it in" to the visiting service, and from "worried about the cost" to the estimate before the work. For "trouble getting around until it is fixed", however, there is no answer yet. Finding items you cannot draw a line for like this is exactly what the VPC is for.
The example is invented for illustration; it is not a real shop and contains no real figures. In practice, redraw it in the words of your own customers.
How it relates to the BMC, Jobs to Be Done and 3C
The VPC is a tool for zooming in on one part of the BMC, which draws the whole shape of a business: the customer segments and value propositions on its right-hand side. The other analyses play different roles.
- VPC: for one customer segment, check whether the customer's pains and gains and your offer fit together
- Business Model Canvas (BMC): the whole shape of the business in nine blocks on one page (the VPC digs into its customer segments and value propositions)
- Jobs to Be Done (JTBD): a way of thinking for finding the "job" the customer wants done (material for the customer jobs in the VPC)
- 3C analysis: study customer, competitor and company to read the environment (material for the customer profile and for how you differ from competitors)
To combine them, a natural flow is: understand the customer with 3C and Jobs to Be Done, match the customer profile and value map with the VPC, and take the settled result back into the BMC to draw the whole shape of the business.
Common mistakes
With a VPC it is easy to feel you have "drawn it" just by filling in sticky notes. Here are the usual stumbling blocks.
- Not narrowing the customer segment, and writing a profile for "everyone"
- Writing pains and gains from your own imagination without checking them with customers
- Thinking about customer jobs only in functional terms and missing feelings and how others see them
- Turning the value map into a list of product features that are not tied to the customer's pains
- Not ranking the items, so everything sits with the same weight
- Filling in both sides without connecting them by lines
The remedy is to narrow to one customer segment, write in the words customers used, rank the items, and connect the two sides with lines to find the gaps. What you draw is a hypothesis, so redraw it as often as needed.
Using it on our site — there is no dedicated VPC screen
Our site has no dedicated VPC screen. As material for thinking about the customer profile, the closest is the 3C screen (customer, competitor, company). Write down the customer's problems, competitors and your own strengths there first, then carry that over onto your own canvas.
After that, check the weak points and outside changes of what you drew with SWOT, split the issues with MECE, and turn them into goals you can execute with OKRs. That flow is what our strategy cockpit chains on a single screen. Everything you type is stored on your device only (nothing is sent to our servers). You can try AI drafting for free on SWOT using your own API key (BYOK); a one-time $9.90 purchase unlocks AI across every framework.
FAQ
What is the Value Proposition Canvas (VPC)?
It is a framework that places a customer profile (customer jobs, pains and gains) next to a value map (products and services, pain relievers and gain creators) and checks whether the two fit together.
Should I fill in the customer profile or the value map first?
Start with the customer profile. If you first write the customer's jobs, pains and gains, and then write the value map in answer to them, it is less likely to become a list of features.
How does the VPC differ from the Business Model Canvas (BMC)?
The BMC draws the whole shape of a business in nine blocks, while the VPC is a tool for zooming in on its customer segments and value propositions. You take what you settle in the VPC back into the BMC.
How do I use the VPC alongside Jobs to Be Done (JTBD)?
Jobs to Be Done is a way of thinking for finding the job the customer wants done, and it supplies material for the customer jobs in the VPC. The VPC is the framework for checking whether the result fits your offer.
Who proposed the Value Proposition Canvas?
Alexander Osterwalder (Strategyzer) devised it, and it was systematized in the 2014 book Value Proposition Design by Osterwalder, Pigneur, Bernarda and Smith. The canvas is © Strategyzer AG; it is free to use for your own work, but adapting it or building it into software requires permission.
Other guides
- How to Do a SWOT Analysis — Complete Guide with Cross-SWOT (TOWS)
- How to Write OKRs — A Practical Guide with Examples
- How to Do a 3C Analysis — Customer, Competitor, Company
- What Is MECE? — Decompose Any Problem Without Gaps or Overlaps
- How to Use the TOWS Matrix (Cross-SWOT) — Turn Four Quadrants into Strategy
- Strategy Frameworks Explained — Use 3C, SWOT, TOWS, MECE and OKRs Together
- KPI vs OKR — the difference, when to use each, and how to connect them
- Turn Strategy into Execution — Running PDCA and Tracking the Daily Numbers (with Baton Board)
- Strategy Frameworks by Industry — 3C→SWOT→OKR Worked Examples for Four Business Types
- The Limits of SWOT Analysis — and How to Complement Them
- What Is PEST Analysis? Read the Macro-Environment and Feed SWOT
- What Is Porter's Five Forces? Read an Industry's Profit Structure
- What Is Value Chain Analysis? Break Down Internal Activities and Feed SWOT
- What Is the Ansoff Matrix? Choose a Growth Path by Product × Market and Feed OKR
- What Is a Logic Tree? — Break a Problem Down Branch by Branch (What/Why/How)
- What Is VRIO Analysis? Evaluate Internal Resources with Four Questions and Pick SWOT's Strengths
- What Is STP Marketing? Narrow the Market in Three Steps to Decide Who to Serve
- How to Choose a Strategy Framework — Which One, and When
- What Is the BCG Matrix (PPM)? Allocate Resources Across Businesses in Four Quadrants
- What Is Jobs to Be Done (JTBD)? Finding the "Job" Your Customer Needs Done
- Balanced Scorecard (BSC): four perspectives and a strategy map
- Business Model Canvas (BMC): nine building blocks on one page
Try it right in your browser (free, no sign-up)
3C → SWOT → Cross-SWOT → MECE → OKR on one screen. There is no dedicated VPC screen, but you can start from the 3C screen where you write down customers, competitors and your own strengths, check what you drew, and carry it through to goals with measurable results. Strategy data stays on your device; AI drafting on SWOT is free (your own API key — BYOK).
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