The article below is geared towards e-commerce specifically and perhaps doesn’t really fit our application needs, however I still found it useful (particularly in differentiating what a value proposition is and isn’t). While I might structure my value propositions much differently in the upcoming A3, there were perhaps some good points in terms of presentation with regard to clarity, brevity, jargon/hype etc.?
Perhaps David & David might have some helpful tips to add on to this?
http://conversionxl.com/value-proposition-examples-how-to-create/
It occurred to me that there aren’t many resources here to help us understand the different facets of the assignments. Rather than each of us doing individual research that doesn’t enrich the community, how about we resource pool here?
Maybe we could have a new forum for sharing/pooling resources (+discussion) to help us better understand and complete the assignments? There’s a lot of conflicting “advice” on the internet regarding what makes a “good” or “bad” pitch/venture/value proposition; perhaps vetting, discussing and rating these as a group might be enlightening?
The article you’ve posted Bobbi is one treatment of how to put value propositions together, but it is very much a process built from the perspective of the seller or a product or service proponent.
Time after I time I get people in my office at BCcampus pitching me on their product or service. Almost every time it’s about what they think the value is. My most oft repeated response is that “I’m not buying what you’re selling. Have you considered what I might need?”
A nice treatment of aspects of value propositions can be found in this article from the Harvard Business Review that I’ve found posted on a university site –> I have the actual copy of HBR on my shelf.
http://www.xavier.edu/williams/undergraduate/marketing/documents/readings/CustomerValue.pdf
In my view the better approach to value proposition creation is to consider value from the customer side, and in particular the “resonant value” proposition in the customer’s life. That is, what in the proposition would resonate with a need that the potential customer may have. It’s about understanding the market and positioning a product or service to meet an emergent, latent, or critical need from the customer’s perspective. It’s not about pushing your good idea because you think it’s cool, which is what I’m most often pushing back on from naive vendors or start-ups.
Hope this helps.
That is a very helpful resource, thank you! Would you say then, that in our A3 it would be prudent to identify who the intended target audience for the pitch is (in the pitch itself or in the “launch” post for it)? If we are supposed to demonstrate our strategical approach and relevant experience in relation to audience needs, then this seems like it might be necessary? The description is a bit confusing as it makes me think that our pitch is supposed to appeal to a wider (MET) audience, who may not share the same vantage point of our intended buyer/seller. If strategic positioning of solutions is important, composing/evaluating a pitch in relation may be equally important?
Also, perhaps in order for us to be successful, resources as valuable as this could be integrated into the course materials somewhere? It’s probably just me having a hard time wrapping my head around the notion of ventures in general, but I feel as though I am woefully lacking tools/resources to understand assignment objectives (not for a lack of searching, but rather sheer inexperience to sort the many different resources out there on the web).
I think it’s always essential to consider the market and the value of your product or service within it. From an investor perspective, the kinds of questions they might ask at pitch sessions would be:
Who’s the intended audience?
How big is the audience?
What differentiates your product / service from what is available now to that audience?
Are there barriers to entry for competitors?
How quickly will you see cash flow from your sales?
How much will you need to launch?