Value Proposition: The Promise of Value

A value proposition is a clear statement that captures the value your product is providing to the users. A well-articulated value prop explains how the product:

  1. Solves customers’ problems
  2. Delivers specific benefits, and
  3. Tells the ideal customer why they should buy from you instead of your competitors

It’s the primary reason why a prospect should purchase your product.

Consider Slack, the team communication platform. Their value proposition can be summarized as: “Make work life simpler, more pleasant, and more productive by bringing all team communication into one place.”

This statement addresses multiple pain points:

  • It reduces the overload that email brings
  • Centralizes team conversations
  • Increases transparency - by providing an interface for users to interact more, information-sharing becomes easier
  • Intergrations with various apps the org uses, meaning that Slack becomes your Work OS
  • Makes remote work more manageable

Slack’s value prop clearly articulates tangible benefits that to workplace efficiency and team collaboration.

Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD): Understanding Customer Motivations

The Jobs-to-be-Done framework focuses on understanding the progress that a customer is trying to make in a particular circumstance - what “job” they are trying to get done. This approach goes beyond traditional demographic-based marketing to understand the causal driver behind a purchase.

Let’s examine Zoom’s success through the JTBD lens. While their product is video conferencing software, the real jobs their customers hire Zoom to do include:

  • Maintain human connection in remote work environments
  • Conduct professional meetings without technical friction
  • Share information and presentations effectively
  • Create engaging virtual events and webinars
  • Enable hybrid workplace collaboration

Zoom succeeded because they understood that customers weren’t just looking for video conferencing - they needed a reliable, user-friendly way to maintain professional relationships and conduct business remotely.

Value Propositions and Jobs-to-be-Done: 20 B2B SaaS Examples

  1. Salesforce
    • Value Proposition: Provide a unified platform for managing all customer relationships and interactions
    • JTBD: Track and optimize sales pipeline, automate customer communication, make data-driven decisions
  2. HubSpot
    • Value Proposition: All-in-one marketing, sales, and service platform that grows with your business
    • JTBD: Generate leads, nurture prospects, align marketing and sales efforts
  3. Monday.com
    • Value Proposition: Streamline team collaboration and project management in a visual, flexible platform
    • JTBD: Organize work processes, track project progress, improve team coordination
  4. DocuSign
    • Value Proposition: Make agreement processes fast, simple, and secure
    • JTBD: Close deals faster, reduce paper waste, ensure legal compliance
  5. Zendesk
    • Value Proposition: Deliver exceptional customer service across all channels
    • JTBD: Resolve customer issues efficiently, maintain customer satisfaction, scale support operations
  6. Asana
    • Value Proposition: Organize team projects, track work, and achieve goals
    • JTBD: Eliminate status meetings, reduce email updates, maintain project visibility
  7. Dropbox Business
    • Value Proposition: Secure file sharing and collaboration for teams of all sizes
    • JTBD: Share large files easily, maintain version control, ensure data security
  8. Adobe Creative Cloud
    • Value Proposition: Professional creative tools for teams and enterprises
    • JTBD: Create professional content, maintain brand consistency, collaborate on creative projects
  9. Mailchimp
    • Value Proposition: All-in-one marketing platform for growing businesses
    • JTBD: Build email lists, automate marketing campaigns, analyze customer behavior
  10. GitHub
    • Value Proposition: The complete developer platform to build, scale, and deliver secure software
    • JTBD: Manage code versions, collaborate on development, maintain code security
  11. Atlassian Jira
    • Value Proposition: Plan, track, and manage agile software development
    • JTBD: Track development progress, manage sprints, coordinate team efforts
  12. Shopify Plus
    • Value Proposition: Enterprise ecommerce platform for high-volume merchants
    • JTBD: Scale online sales, automate operations, manage multiple stores
  13. QuickBooks
    • Value Proposition: Smart financial software to run your whole business
    • JTBD: Track expenses, manage payroll, prepare for tax season
  14. Twilio
    • Value Proposition: Customer engagement platform for building personalized experiences
    • JTBD: Implement communication features, automate customer interactions
  15. New Relic
    • Value Proposition: Observability platform to help engineers plan, build, and run software
    • JTBD: Monitor application performance, identify issues, optimize systems
  16. Okta
    • Value Proposition: Secure identity management for your workforce and customers
    • JTBD: Manage user access, ensure security compliance, streamline authentication
  17. Datadog
    • Value Proposition: Modern monitoring and analytics platform for cloud infrastructure
    • JTBD: Monitor system performance, detect security threats, optimize cloud costs
  18. Workday
    • Value Proposition: Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR
    • JTBD: Streamline HR processes, manage financial planning, analyze workforce data
  19. ServiceNow
    • Value Proposition: Digital workflows to promote productivity and efficiency
    • JTBD: Automate business processes, manage IT services, improve employee experience
  20. Box
    • Value Proposition: Secure content management and collaboration platform
    • JTBD: Share files securely, manage content lifecycle, ensure compliance

Understanding both value propositions and jobs-to-be-done is crucial for B2B SaaS success. While value propositions communicate the unique benefits and advantages of your solution, JTBD helps you understand the fundamental progress your customers are trying to make. Together, these frameworks enable companies to develop products that truly resonate with their target market and communicate their value effectively.