Craft Your Value Proposition and Identify Your Competitive Advantage

Describe what makes your offering compelling to your ICP. Highlight the real benefit (not just features) and what makes it better or faster than alternatives. Competitive advantage must be credible, not theoretical.

Why it's Matters

If you can’t clearly explain what makes your solution valuable and distinct, neither can your team, your customers, or your investors. A strong value proposition is more than a tagline: it’s a shared understanding of why you exist, what you solve, and why customers should choose you over the rest. This is the foundation of all alignment.

What You Need to Do

Define the core job your product solves from your customer’s perspective
Pinpoint the real value you create: outcomes, not features
Articulate what makes you differentiated and defensible — your competitive advantage
Make sure this connects back to your ICP and target market

How to Approach It

Use a simple “Why Us” formula:

For [ICP] who struggle with [problem],
We offer [solution] that delivers [outcome],
Unlike [alternative], we [differentiator].

→ Example: “For product teams in scale-ups who struggle to align roadmaps with strategy, we offer a collaborative planning tool that connects OKRs to backlog priorities. Unlike generic PM software, we’re purpose-built for cross-functional strategic alignment.”

Clarify competitive advantage:

Consider 3 types:

Cost advantage: Can you do it cheaper or more efficiently?
Differentiation: Is your approach meaningfully better, faster, or easier?
Focus/Niche: Do you serve a tightly defined segment better than anyone else?

Ground this in evidence in data:

What are users/customers telling you?
Where do you see fastest conversion or highest retention?
What do customers choose you for when they have options?

Deliverables

Clear 1-2 sentence value proposition
One-liner (for pitch decks and team use)
List of your core differentiators
Brief articulation of competitive advantage

How to Tell if You Got It Right

Your team can repeat it clearly and consistently
Prospects respond to it with “That’s exactly what we need”
It guides messaging, sales enablement, product prioritization
It reinforces your position in the market (not just feature parity)

What to Watch Out For

A value proposition that talks about you, not your customer
Differentiation that’s not meaningful (e.g., “We have a modern UI”)
Trying to compete on everything instead of one strong wedge
Using buzzwords instead of plain language