ENT 101 : Introduction to Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Problem Definition & Customer Value Proposition

22nd & 23rd Aug 2023

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Desai-Sethi School of Entrepreneurship
Process for Start up Creation

Continuous Learning & Iterative Process

Opportunity Customer Product Finance &

Marketing /
/ Problem / Value Design & Business Pitch Deck
Go to Market
Idea Proposition Development Planning

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Building the Customer Value Proposition
Technology Market
Push Pull
Solution Available Problem Discoverable
(invention, innovation, technology) (jobs, pains, gains)

learn build learn build

FIND A PROBLEM FIND A SOLUTION

Jobs, Pains, Gains Idea, POC, Prototype

3. Customer 2. Value 2. Adjust

2. Value
Insights Proposition Technology
Proposition
Prototype (and resource )
Prototype
needs
measure measure

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Technology Push & Market Pull

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Customer Needs – Unmet, underserved

Offerings
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( Product / Services ) – Value or Worth
Uncovering Unmet Needs or Problems
• Becoming the Customer : Discovering problems
• Anthropological Excursions : Live with and observe customers
• Talking to customers to learn the voice of the customer
• Indirect questions to discover wants and needs by leading customers through the
ways they currently solve problems
• Questions about functions rather than products

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Analysis of the Need
• How is this need being satisfied ?
• Is the present method inefficient ? Ineffective ? Can it be improved ?
How
• What is good about the current method of satisfying the need?
• Why will the new method be better and succeed ?
• What is the relative cost of the current and the proposed methods ?
• Has an Unmet Need been discovered ?

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Defining the Problem , Identifying Opportunities
• Has an Unmet Need been discovered ?
• Is this Problem worth solving ?

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Defining Target Markets & Customers

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Market Segmentation
• Mass Market : Focus on one large group; e.g. consumer electronics
• Niche Market : Specific segments; i.e., supplier-buyer relationships like auto
parts manufacturers
• Segmented : Different needs and problems
• banks and professional services (engineering, consultants)
• Lifestyle consumer products
• Multi-sided platforms:
• credit card companies; i.e., card holders and merchants
• e-commerce platforms

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Customer Segmentation
• Demographic
• Age, Gender, Income, Occupation, Family Status
• Geographical (Often included in Demographic)
• Global, National, Regional, State, City/Town/Village, Locality
• Psychographic
• Psychology, Lifestyle, Personality, Social Status

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What is the customer’s persona ?

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Elements of Value
• Value : worth, importance/relevance or usefulness
• Value and Price: Value (what you get) = worth of the
social and economic benefits a customer pays (price; in
monetary terms) for an offering

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How do we create our value proposition?

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Value Proposition : A Reference
Trusted Zero time
Rating Navigate Driver for
System Trip on payment
Map GAINS
Passenger One Click Contact a
Mobile Order/ good taxi
Automatic Card Tracking
App Cancel service
Payment
Variety of Pay for trip
Cabs Bad Need to Control
ETA for Drivers book in TO BE
Cost for
Ride advance DONE
Discounts Ride
Low cab
Driver PAINS availability
24/7 Rating
Payment
Availability issues-cash or
card

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How do we create our value proposition?

Customers
What they want

Company/
Competitors
Startup
What they
provide What you can
provide

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Google Proposition : Which one resonates ?

“Google is the “Google uses a

world’s largest patented page-
search engine that
ranking algorithm
allows Internet
users to find to make money
relevant through ad
information quickly placement.”
and easily.”
What is it?
Who is it for?
Why is it valuable?
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What therefore are Value Propositions
• Is a bundle of products and services that create value
• Describes why a customer should buy the product / service
• Targets a well-defined customer segment
• Convinces prospective customers that a particular product or service
• will add MORE VALUE or BETTER solve a problem than competitive products
or services
• Value Propositions can be Quantitative ( Price, Speed, Efficiency ..)
• Value Propositions can also be Qualitative ( Design, Customer Experience ..)

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Writing a Winning Concept

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Product Definition
• What will it do ?
• Who will buy it ?
• What is the context in which this product will be bought ?
• What are the major competitors ? Or replacements
• What are its rough dimensions ?
• What functional features should it have ?
• What are the psychological descriptors of the product ?

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Product or Service or Solution or Offering
Product Design: Design Thinking: User Empathy

Goal: Understand user journey

Observe:
● Watch people doing the activities. Go to the place where they do those tasks
● Listen more, ask less.
● Do not ask leading questions.

Fall in love with the problem, not the solution:

● Go with an open mind.
● Do not show them the solution.
● People will tell you their solutions, not their problems.

Understand holistic journey:

● Ask what they did before and what they will do after the task
● Ask what they typical day looks like.
● What are the most time consuming tasks during their day.
● What are the biggest barriers in completing the task
Credit : Milind Kopikare
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Ground Rules for Customer Interviews
• Explore customer pains and gains with Fresh Ears
• Listen more than you talk

• Look for non-verbal cues

• Ask Why’s. A set of Why’s.
• You are not there to sell, you are there for Learning
• Do not jump to your solution eg our prototype does this
• Cut short failed interviews
• Follow up, seek permission, send a thank you message
• Keep doors open

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Good and Bad Questions

● Ask open ended questions:

○ Answers should not be a simple yes or no.
○ E.g: Do you use a CX product? v/s How do you manage the customer
experience?
● Do NOT ask binary questions
● Do NOT ask hypothetical questions:
○ If you were a product manager, what would you do about CX?
○ Reason is people get overly fictitious and imaginative without any
grounding to reality
● Do NOT ask leading questions:
○ “If you could increase your CX NPS by 10%, would you be interested?”

Credit : Milind Kopikare

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