If you have any knowledge of Business Model Canvas you will know that it is a powerful tool that helps you to structure the backbone of your business, it teaches you to build solid and robust foundations for its construction to be successful.
By “zooming in” on each of the blocks that make it up, you can work on and improve them individually. This allows you to refine channels, revenue streams, key activities, and the rest of the structure in a very systematic way. However, what you may not know is that the same authors who created the Business Model Canvas also developed a complementary, highly practical tool that lets you design and improve a product or service by “zooming in” on two of these blocks simultaneously: the customer segment and the value proposition.
This framework is known as the Value Proposition Canvas. In this blog, we are going to explore what it is, how it works, and why it has become essential for organizations that want to compete on customer experience, not just on price or operational efficiency. With the Value Proposition Canvas you can significantly enhance the results of your Business Model Canvas by focusing your efforts on systematically generating value for your customers: understanding what they are trying to achieve, what frustrates them, and what they truly value in a solution.
When you use it correctly, the Value Proposition Canvas helps you design offers that are more relevant, more differentiated, and easier to communicate to the market. This, in turn, makes your business more attractive compared to your competitors, because you are not only improving your internal model—you are aligning it with the real pains and expectations of your customers. And since not everyone knows about this tool or applies it rigorously, it can become a powerful competitive advantage for your organization.
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First of all, I recommend you review what a Business Model Canvas is, as it is composed of the nine blocks of a business model, and you will get a better idea of where the Value Proposition Canvas comes from. The latter uses as main inputs the market segment and the value proposition, with which it forms its two components:
I invite you to read this blog to get a better understanding of the Business Model Canvas: Business Model Fundamentals: What do you need to know?
So, what is the Value Proposition Canvas? We are talking about a tool that will help you compare a value proposition against a market segment, with the aim of instructing you in the design of a product or service that not only works for your potential customers, but also solves their problems and generates additional benefits that make them prefer you over your competition.
The way it works is simple, first the Value Map is placed on one side and the Customer Profile on the other, then these are divided into three, then each division is completed with the respective characteristics of each component, and finally it is a matter of looking at the big picture to combine the two parts. The idea is that the product or service performs the tasks the customer requires, that the pain relievers eliminate or reduce their discomfort and that the profit generators create extra benefits that will let them know you see beyond their needs. The result is a canvas that allows you to visualize the diagram in a simple and orderly way.
Read more: What is the Value Proposition Canvas and what is it for?
The creators of the tool themselves mention its uses, which you can find in the book "Value Proposition Design". Its essence is to help you design a product or service that is functional, comfortable and with added value that attracts your potential customers. But how do you achieve this goal? Well, it's simple, through three basic functions.
I recommend this blog to learn how to create a Value Proposition Canvas as soon as possible: How To Fill In A Value Proposition Canvas
The Value Proposition Canvas can be used either to create a value proposition from scratch or to improve an existing one. In fact, it is a good practice to review it periodically to keep improving and adapting it, as customers' consumption habits tend to change over time.
The creators of the tool also mention situations in which it will be useful for you. Below, I summarize some of them so that you can decide for yourself if it is a good idea to implement it in your business model.
As you can see more than a complement to your business, it could even serve you as a tool for prevention, which also helps you to start off on the right foot. For that reason, there are few and specific occasions in which it will be of little use to you, perhaps in those products or services that are black holes, that is, that are produced or provided by so many companies that it is difficult for any differentiator to make them stand out from the rest (such as a new toilet paper, toothbrushes, mobile phones, pens, room cleaning or haircuts). In these cases, it might be worth trying other tools such as Blue Ocean or TRIZ to identify how an innovative idea could make an impact in these markets.
I think that, once you have reached this point, you already have an idea of the benefits for your team, for your product or service or for your customers that the simple fact of implementing this tool can bring you. However, here are three benefits that you may not have thought of and are important to take into consideration.
In conclusion, the Value Proposition Canvas is much more than a complementary diagram to the Business Model Canvas; it is a practical, action-oriented tool that forces you to confront the essence of your offer: who you serve, what they truly need, and how your product or service creates tangible value in their lives. By systematically breaking down customer jobs, pains, and gains, and explicitly mapping them against your products, pain relievers, and gain creators, you move from abstract ideas about “value” to concrete hypotheses that can be discussed, tested, and refined. This discipline is especially relevant in environments where competition is high, customer expectations are evolving quickly, and differentiation depends on how well you understand and respond to real customer problems.
At the same time, the Value Proposition Canvas acts as a powerful alignment mechanism within your organization. It provides a shared language that marketing, sales, operations, product, and even finance teams can use to discuss what “value” actually means for your target segments. Instead of scattered opinions and isolated initiatives, you get a unified view of the customer and a clearer narrative about why your value proposition should matter to them. This internal coherence translates into more consistent experiences across the entire customer journey—from the first interaction with your brand to post-sale support—and reinforces your positioning in the market.
Another key lesson from using the Value Proposition Canvas is the importance of iteration. Customer habits, expectations, and contexts change over time, and what today represents an attractive value proposition may be insufficient tomorrow. Treating the canvas as a living document—one that you review regularly, feed with new insights, and adjust based on evidence—helps you reduce the risk of strategic blind spots. It also encourages a culture of experimentation, where ideas are not only generated but validated through prototypes, pilots, and measurable tests. This iterative approach allows you to correct course early, before misaligned proposals consume significant time and resources.
Finally, embracing the Value Proposition Canvas is an invitation to place the customer at the center of your growth strategy in a concrete, operational way. It pushes you to go beyond generic promises and to design offerings that truly fit the context, motivations, and constraints of the segments you want to win. When combined with the Business Model Canvas, it gives you an integrated view: you not only define how your business creates and captures value, but also how that value is perceived and experienced by the people who ultimately decide your success—your customers. Organizations that adopt this mindset are better prepared to innovate, to compete on customer experience, and to build value propositions that are not only desirable and feasible, but also sustainable over time.