Method Business Model

Pain Relievers

Elements of the value proposition that relieve customer pains.

Pain Relievers are the specific elements of a value proposition that alleviate or eliminate existing customer problems. In the Value Proposition Canvas, they sit on the offering side and correspond directly to Customer Pains on the customer side. While Gain Creators generate new benefits, Pain Relievers aim to reduce existing frustrations, risks, and obstacles.

For example: if a Customer Pain is fear of bad purchases, a Pain Reliever can be a free return option (as with Zalando). If the pain is high time spent on tax returns, the Pain Reliever can be automatic categorization of receipts. Effective Pain Relievers address the pains that customers feel most intensely and that are currently solved most poorly. The point is not to address every small pain but to identify the few for which customers are willing to pay or switch providers.

The concept comes from the Value Proposition Canvas by Osterwalder. In practice, Pain Relievers often sell more convincingly than Gain Creators because the motivation to get rid of a concrete pain is stronger than the prospect of an additional benefit.

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