It's ALL about the Value Proposition
Adapting & creating the modern SaaS Value Proposition
I’m writing this piece as a love letter to the Value Proposition, something I think is too often ignored, and which IMHO could always have time spent on it to create better marketing, laser-sharp sales teams, and more readily engaged prospects.
In short - SaaS companies must start to shift from self-focused pitches to customer-centric value propositions which clearly solve real problems. I’m sure we all agree with this, but please… stop and think for a moment.
All that energy goes into the machine of demand gen, whilst only a few hours or days goes into the VP - ‘cos what you have to sell - you sell - right?
Wrong. As someone now deeply embedded in customers and their attitudes to vendors, agencies and “being sold to”... the process and message needs to change. They can smell bullshit a mile away, they hate salespeople who don’t know the platform inside out, but they really enjoy being sold to properly by informed, engaged experts.
What have you got to lose? There’s no money to build a massive machine now anyway - so how about perfectly matching with your perfect customer’s issues?
The Basics of a Value Proposition
A strong value proposition starts with problems described in simple, customer-native phrasing, distinguishing known issues from emerging ones influenced by new factors like regulations or tech shifts.
It avoids company jargon, focusing instead on historical pains or novel disruptions customers face daily. This foundation ensures relevance in a market where buyers evaluate ongoing evolution, not just current features.
Next year’s challenge is that you need to re-built without knowing the problems customers are going to have - BUT YOU COULD ASK THEM!!! FFS…. ASK THEM
And guess what? They’d tell you - especially if you had an advisory board - but that’s too hard right?
Don’t get me started.
Framework for Problems You Solve
Break down customer challenges systematically:
Customer’s language and simplicity: Phrase issues as they do — “We lose 20% of leads monthly” over “AI-powered lead scoring.” Ask them, again.
Known vs. emerging: Identify longstanding frustrations versus new hurdles from market changes. This is trickier as you are possibly identifying problems that are unknown or new - but test your understanding with them… please.
Historical or new influences: Factor in evolving elements like AI tools or economic pressures.
Who experiences these problems spans myriad roles — shared across teams or owned solo — including all affected parties, from daily sufferers to P&L owners. Do you know which problems are faced by which teams?
High-impact problems rate 8-10 on urgency (mission-critical vs. inconvenient), with ££ quantified losses determining if they are “must-fix” priorities.
Create a matrix of problems and roles who experience them - or ask me to - it’ll help you in so many ways I promise.
Quantifying Impact
Assess every problem’s weight: emotional toll, financial hit, economic upside (e.g., £50K annual leakage), and P&L ownership.
Distinguish nice-to-haves from deal-breakers that halt growth. In 2026, with faster releases blurring today’s product from tomorrow’s, reinforce roadmap credibility through value-based selling — using ROI calculators and case studies to show future outcomes tied to customer goals. Prove you built what you said you would last year!!
That’ll take a while - but it will also force your product marketers and sales teams to really understand the product, something that I know clients are always skeptical about in the process.
(For example, Salesforce were pitching “Agentforce” in early 2025, and a prospect asked them how they used it internally… they didn’t. Game Over).
Don’t rush it - Do it Properly
This work should span months, not an away day or two, and needs to unite sales, CEO, marketing, and product teams — “alignment innit.” It’s actually the role of the CRO to truly get this going…
A little bit like ABM (remember that?) - Sales alone miss context; so please exclude them from solo efforts.
Instead get some clients in the room every 3 months, minimum, I guarantee you won’t regret it. Yes - they’ll complain the first time you do it - about the functionality and support you offer.
They’ll only do it the first time, then you’ll get nuggets of gold every session…
Roadmap as the New Value Anchor
Finally, and this is already too long, remember that your roadmap is not an afterthought, but instead the anchor that your value proposition should be built around. It’s the proof that you’re taking customer insight and using it to improve the product.
That means you really do need to deliver on it - or at least manage the way in which it is communicated. I wonder how many marketing teams own the roadmap comms, even product marketing?
That’s it - I’ll come back and edit this occasionally, but I thought I’d get it up while it’s fresh. I’ll remember what I missed out in a few hours.