Value proposition

The “so what, for the customer” of your unique attributes: the benefit a capability enables, stated in the buyer’s terms rather than yours. In Dunford’s method it is derived by mapping each attribute the alternatives lack to the outcome it creates (a 15-minute SLA becomes “your campaign page is never the bottleneck on launch day”), which clusters into two or three value themes that only you can claim.

Source: Term coined by Michael Lanning at McKinsey (1988); operationalized for positioning by April Dunford in Obviously Awesome (2019): value is what your unique attributes enable for the customer, stated in their terms.

First used in: 1.3 · Positioning mechanics