1. Crafting Your Unique Value Proposition
Carlos E. Peña
Senior Loan Officer
3/1/2017

2. What is a Unique Value Proposition (UVP)?
UVP is a clear statement that describes the benefit of your offer, how you solve your customer's needs and what distinguishes you from the competition
A value proposition is a business or marketing statement that a company uses to summarize why a consumer should buy a product or use a service. This statement convinces a potential consumer that one particular product or service will add more value or better solve a problem than other similar offerings
A short statement that encompasses the services you provide and how you differentiate yourself from your competitors.

3. A Few Examples
Small Business Accounting Software Designed For You, The Non-Accountant (FreshBooks)
A Great Shave For a Few Bucks a Month (Dollar Shave Club)
We Help The World’s Biggest Brands Scale And Secure WordPress (Pagely)
The Easiest Way To Make a Website (Weebly)
Bring Everything You Need Without Checking a Bag (Tortuga Backpacks)
Send Better (Mailchimp)

4. Why should I have a UVP?
Engage your consumers and deliver your message
Explain your business model to investors in a concise way
Understand what key activities drive your company’s growth
Effectively articulate your mission to potential partners
Formulate business strategy with a clear mission

5. Business Model Canvas

6. Template Canvas

7. Example Canvas

8. Exercise Take 10 minutes and create a canvas for your business.
Create your canvas based on what you envision the business to be at its full potential (as opposed to in its startup phase)
Start from either the Value Proposition or Customer Segments boxes and then branch out (however you see fit)
Understand your customer segment. Ideally you identify your segment broadly but also identify early adopters (EA). Examples:
Pregnant couples (EA: first time parents)
Immigrants (EA: immigrants from a specific region/background)
Econ Development Institutions (EA: early-stage enterprise incubators)
If you can’t think of what to populate certain boxes with just leave the box blank.

9. Canvas Exercise Continued
Which box did you start from?
What were the easiest boxes to populate?
Any blank boxes? It’s ok.
Canvas Exchange (optional)

10. Creating a UVP Where to start? End-User Driven
Specify consumer, identify pain point, ideate product/service
Activity Driven
Select skill/role, determine pain point, narrow down user
Mission Driven
Commit to goal (which counters pain point), explain theory of change, highlight beneficiary
Components
Activity
Delivery
Target

11. Value Proposition Canvas
Jobs that customers are trying to get done in their work/lives
Functional, Social or Emotional intent. 3 types:
Issue are trying to solve (complicated immigration process, violent relationship, business certifications)
Tasks trying to perform (perform business transactions cost-effectively)
Problems trying to solve (better manage employee compensation and benefits)
Needs trying to satisfy (feel safe about being insured)
Pains outlines negative aspects customers would like to avoid. Canvas should indicate which specific items the “Pain Relievers” on the opposite side of the canvas MATCHES with.
Undesired costs
Negative emotions
Risks
Gains describe positive outcomes or benefits customers would like to have. Canvas should indicate which specific items the “Gain Creators” on the opposite side of the canvas MATCHES with.
Functional Utility
Cost savings
Social gains

12. Takeaways Which method did you take? What insights have you gained?
Which (if any) of your assumptions has changed?

13. Carlos E. Peña
Senior Loan Officer