Value Proposition · Differentiation · Component
The alternative set
What the customer would do instead — including doing nothing, which is the most common competitor and the least often listed.
The deliverable
What it is
Competitor sets are usually drawn from the same industry, while customers draw theirs from whatever would get the job done. The two lists overlap less than anyone expects.
Doing nothing wins more deals than any named rival. Excluding it from the set means the proposition is never tested against its actual competition.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The alternatives
Every route the customer could take, defined by the job rather than by the industry.
3 attributes: Alternative · Alternative type · Share of losses
LearnThe comparison
How each alternative performs on the criteria the customer actually uses.
3 attributes: Criterion · Relative position · Source
LearnThe do-nothing case
Why a customer would reasonably continue as they are.
3 attributes: Reason to stay · Switching cost · Who carries the risk
Learn
Include doing nothing in the set and write out its honest case. It wins more deals than any named competitor.
The other components in differentiation
The difference statement
What is true of your offer and not of the alternatives, stated so plainly that a rival could not use the same sentence.
LearnThe deliberate weaknesses
What the offer is consciously not good at, chosen so that it can be excellent elsewhere.
Learn