Exercises: Value proposition and customer segment

Explain what a business's value proposition is and draft the value proposition for a driving school that only gives lessons in the afternoons and at weekends, designed for working people.

State which customer segment is the most logical for each offer and justify your answer: trendy designer sunglasses for 25 €, a set lunch menu next to an office park, and travel insurance covering extreme sports.

The figure represents the fit between the value proposition and the customer segment, as shown in the diagram. Explain what it means for both pieces to "fit", and reason what happens to a business whose value proposition does not fit its segment.

Explain what a buyer persona is and describe the one for a coffee shop located next to a university: approximate age, routines, what they look for and what bothers them.

Segmentation divides the market into groups with similar needs using criteria such as age, income level, location or lifestyle. State which criterion each of these businesses mainly uses: a nappy brand, a luxury car dealership, a chain of 24-hour gyms and a country hotel.

Every value proposition starts from a customer problem or need. Identify the problem each product solves: an app that brings all the electricity, water and mobile phone bills together in a single panel, and noise-cancelling headphones designed for shared offices.

Compare the value proposition of a supermarket own-brand coffee and that of a fair trade speciality coffee that costs three times as much: what each one promises and what type of customer it targets.

Explain what a market niche is and why starting in a small one can be a good idea, using as examples a brand of food for dogs with allergies and a plus-size sportswear brand.

A start-up sells boxes of "wonky" fruit, rejected for its appearance but in perfect condition, with home delivery 30% cheaper than in supermarkets. a) Write its value proposition in one or two sentences. b) Define its most likely customer segment and justify your answer.

An artisanal clothing brand must choose sales channels: its own town-centre shop, online marketplaces, or social media sales with home delivery. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of each channel and recommend a combination to start with.

Customer relationships can be self-service, personal assistance, or user communities. Give an example of a business (real or fictitious) for each type, and explain which type of relationship best fits a language-learning app and why.

A bakery wants to launch a breakfast service for offices with orders placed via WhatsApp the afternoon before. a) Define the customer segment it targets. b) Write its value proposition in one or two sentences. c) Point out one possible misfit between the problem and the solution that it should check before launching.

A veterinary practice offers home visits booked by app, designed for pets that get stressed at the clinic and owners without a car. a) Describe its buyer persona. b) Write the value proposition in one or two sentences. c) Reason what the customer gives up compared to a traditional clinic (operating theatre, emergencies) and how it could be compensated.

A city bicycle shop wants to organise its offer. Propose three customer segments (for example, people who use their bike to commute to work, families, sport cyclists) and for each one state a suitable product feature and sales message.

A shop sells refillable detergents in bulk with reusable containers, $15\ \%$ more expensive than the supermarket own-brand ones. a) Define the segment that values that proposition. b) Analyse two barriers the customer may have (price, convenience) and propose how to overcome them without lowering the price.

A ready-meals company thought it sold to "people who cannot cook", but discovers that its real customers are parents with little time. Explain how the value proposition and the communication change when the segment is redefined in this way, with two specific examples.

A boutique gym (small classes with a trainer, 70 € per month) and a low-cost gym (minimal staff, 20 € per month) coexist in the same city. Compare the value proposition, segment, channels and customer relationship for each, and explain why both can be profitable at the same time.

Design the value proposition of an online academic tutoring service for ESO students who experience exam anxiety and concentration difficulties.

1. a) Develop the customer profile by deducing two common pains in this segment and two gains they hope to achieve.
2. b) Design the value map of the service: define the characteristics of the solution, two pain relievers, and two gain creators that directly fit the analyzed profile.

"A good value proposition guarantees success." Argue why this is not enough: what can go wrong even if the proposition is excellent if the segment is poorly chosen or too small, providing a fully developed example.

Two courier companies compete in the same city: one is the cheapest on the market and the other delivers in under two hours charging three times as much. a) Formulate the value proposition and segment of each one. b) Explain why trying to be "cheap and super-fast" at the same time can leave a company stuck in the middle, with no clear fit with any segment.

“A good product or service sells itself: if the value proposition is excellent, it does not matter which audience you target because any customer will appreciate its quality.”

1. a) Critically refute this statement by relying on the concept of product-market fit and the relativity of perceived value.
2. b) Illustrate your argument by comparing how a casual hobbyist versus a specialist professional would perceive the same high-performance technical product, and deduce a strategic lesson for an entrepreneurial project.

A traditional bookstore expands its business model by opening an integrated café and scheduling book clubs and presentations in the same room. A few months in, book buyers complain about ambient noise and the loss of tranquility, while café customers occupy tables with laptops for hours with minimal consumption.

1. a) Analyze the mismatch between the value propositions and the customer segments that coincide in the establishment.
2. b) Design three specific measures (organizational, space layout, or commercial) to resolve this conflict and ensure that both activities coexist profitably and coherently.

A startup wants to launch a personalized digital training and assistance service (via continuous telephone support and hands-on workshops) so that elderly people can gain autonomy in using smartphones and banking or healthcare applications.

1. a) Deduce two key pains (frustrations) and two key gains (joys) that characterize elderly users regarding the digital environment.
2. b) In this model, there is often a discrepancy between the end user (the elderly person) and the paying customer (their adult children). Explain how this duality influences the value proposition and write two distinct sales pitches: one aimed at convincing the person paying for the service and another aimed at motivating the person using it.

An online language academy is considering two mutually exclusive growth strategies:

• Option A (University Students Segment): potential market of 2 000 students with a fee of 15,0 € per month. The average customer acquisition cost is 45,0 €, and the estimated average retention is 4 months.

• Option B (Corporate Segment): potential market of 100 companies with a subscription of 250,0 € per month for workforce training. The commercial acquisition cost per company is 500,0 €, and the estimated average retention is 18 months.

1. a) Calculate the total revenue generated by a representative customer over their entire relationship with the academy (customer lifetime value) in each option and compare it with its respective acquisition cost.
2. b) Provide a reasoned justification of which of the two segments offers a more sustainable long-term value proposition for the academy, assessing revenue stability, commercial risk, and customer loyalty.