Keeping on mind the Value Proposition Canvas that is focused on customers and their requirements, let's define the key questions that can be useful in working with this methodology.
VPC helps to design, test and build the company's value proposition in a visual, structured and meaningful way. It surely helps in the process of developing the company's business model. The canvas offers several working blocks. There are quick questions that will help you work more efficiently with each block. Here are these questions:
Customer Jobs
Customer jobs describe what consumers are trying to do at work or in their life: tasks they try to accomplish, problems want to solve, needs they try to satisfy and so on.
What functions does your customer try to perform? (for example, execute specific problem, solve a specific issue, etc.)
What social goals does your customer try to accomplish?
What are your client's emotional goals?
What are your customers' basic needs?
What are the main things your customer cannot live without?
What different contexts can the customer be in? How goals and actions depend on different situations?
What jobs make them feel satisfied?
How do your customers want to be perceived by others? What can they do to achieve this?
How does your customer want to feel? What does he/she need to do to get this?
Track the interaction of the customer with your product throughout the cycle of consumption. What works should the customer do for this time?
Does the consumer change his/her role throughout the consumption cycle?
Customer Gains
The gains describe the results or desires that customers want to get. Some gains are needed, expected or desired, others can surprise the client.
What should be saved to make your customer happy? (Time, money, efforts, etc.)
What results does your customer expect, and what can surpass these expectations?
What do your customers like about current solutions? (Specific features, performance, quality, etc.)
What would simplify the work or life of your customer? (More services, lower cost, new features, etc.)
What positive social consequences does your customer want to get?
What are they looking for? (A smart design, guarantees, specific features, etc.)
What do your clients dream about?
How does your customer measure success and failure?
What aspects would increase the likelihood of implementation of the specific solution? (Decrease of the price, investments, improvement of quality, productivity, etc.)
Pains
Pains describe everything that irritates the customer before, during and after trying to do the work. Pains also describe risks that are potential undesirable outcomes resulting in poor performance or failure to perform in principle.
What does your customer find too costly? (Something that requires a lot of time, costs too much money, it takes a lot of efforts, etc.)
What makes him/her feel bad?
What are the current solutions that do not suit your customers?
What are the main challenges and problems your customer faces? (A lack of understanding of how things work, the difficulties with implementation, etc.)
What negative social consequences does the customer face or fear to face? (Loss of reputation, credibility, trust, social status, and so on).
What risks does your customer fear? (financial, social, technical, etc.)
What are the reasons disturb your client sleep well at night? (Private problems, feelings, anxiety, etc.)
What common mistakes does your customer allow?
What barriers keep your customers from implementing the specific solution?
Gains Creators
The sources of benefits describe how your products and services create benefits for the customer. They clearly indicate how you are going to produce the results and benefits that your customers expect, wish or are surprised about, including functional and social benefits, as well as positive emotions and cost savings.
Ask yourself about your product (service) using the following questions:
Does your product provide savings that make your client happy?
Does it ensure the results that the customer expects, or which to get?
Does your product copy or exceed the current solutions that satisfy your customer?
Does it simplify the work or life of the customer?
Does it provide positive social consequences that your customer want to get?
Does it give something that your customer wants to get?
Does your product/ service reflect some of the dreams of your customer?
Does it give positive results that meet the criteria for success and failure of the customer?
Does it simplify the implementation process?
Pain Relievers
Pain relievers describe how your products and services "fight against the pain" of the consumer, how they exclude or reduce negative emotions, undesirable costs or situations, risks that your consumer bears or can bear before, during and after tasks are completed.
The helpful questions are:
Does your product/ service provide savings? (Regarding time, money, efforts, etc.)
Does it improve the emotional state of your customer? (Decrease grief, irritation, things that bring a headache).
Does it fix the defects of existing solutions?
Does it remove the difficulties or problems that your customer faces?
Does your product/ service exclude the negative social consequences that are encountered or which are afraid of your customers?
Does it reduce the risks that your clients are afraid of?
Does it help your customers sleep better at night?
Does it limit or eradicate common mistakes that customers allow?
Does it eliminate barriers that keep your customers from implementing the specific solution?