Value Proposition: The Promise of Value

A value proposition is a clear statement that captures the value your product is providing to the users. A well-articulated value prop explains how the product:

  1. Solves customers’ problems
  2. Delivers specific benefits, and
  3. Tells the ideal customer why they should buy from you instead of your competitors

It’s the primary reason why a prospect should purchase your product.

Consider Slack, the team communication platform. Their value proposition can be summarized as: “Make work life simpler, more pleasant, and more productive by bringing all team communication into one place.”

Slack Mission Statement

Slack's mission statement

This statement addresses multiple pain points:

  • It reduces the overload that email brings
  • Centralizes team conversations
  • Increases transparency - by providing an interface for users to interact more, information-sharing becomes easier
  • Intergrations with various apps the org uses, meaning that Slack becomes your Work OS
  • Makes remote work more manageable

Slack’s value prop clearly articulates tangible benefits that to workplace efficiency and team collaboration.

Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD): Understanding Customer Motivations

The Jobs-to-be-Done framework focuses on understanding the progress that a customer is trying to make in a particular circumstance - what “job” they are trying to get done. This approach goes beyond traditional demographic-based marketing to understand the causal driver behind a purchase.

Let’s examine Zoom’s success through the JTBD lens. While their product is video conferencing software, the real jobs their customers hire Zoom to do include:

  • Maintain human connection in remote work environments
  • Conduct professional meetings without technical friction
  • Share information and presentations effectively
  • Create engaging virtual events and webinars
  • Enable hybrid workplace collaboration

Zoom meetings bring teams together

Slack's mission statement

Zoom succeeded because they understood that customers weren’t just looking for video conferencing - they needed a reliable, user-friendly way to maintain professional relationships and conduct business remotely.

Value Propositions and Jobs-to-be-Done: 20 B2B SaaS Examples

1. Salesforce

  • Value Proposition: Provide a unified platform for managing all customer relationships and interactions
  • JTBD: Track and optimize sales pipeline, automate customer communication, make data-driven decisions

Salesforce

Salesforce home page highlights the try-for-free option

2. HubSpot

  • Value Proposition: All-in-one marketing, sales, and service platform that grows with your business
  • JTBD: Generate leads, nurture prospects, align marketing and sales efforts

HubSpot

HubSpot home page focuses on Growth with Hubspot

3. Monday.com

  • Value Proposition: Streamline team collaboration and project management in a visual, flexible platform
  • JTBD: Organize work processes, track project progress, improve team coordination

Monday.com

In the crowded Workplace productivity market, Monday.com adds an emotional element in their messaging

4. DocuSign

  • Value Proposition: Make agreement processes fast, simple, and secure
  • JTBD: Close deals faster, reduce paper waste, ensure legal compliance

DocuSign

Perfect messaging for DocuSign

5. Zendesk

  • Value Proposition: Deliver exceptional customer service across all channels
  • JTBD: Resolve customer issues efficiently, maintain customer satisfaction, scale support operations

Zendesk

Starting with "AI" doesn't feel promising. Customer service is included in paragraph

6. Asana

  • Value Proposition: Organize team projects, track work, and achieve goals
  • JTBD: Eliminate status meetings, reduce email updates, maintain project visibility

Asana

Asana

7. Dropbox Business

  • Value Proposition: Secure file sharing and collaboration for teams of all sizes
  • JTBD: Share large files easily, maintain version control, ensure data security

Dropbox Business

Dropbox Business

8. Adobe Creative Cloud

  • Value Proposition: Professional creative tools for teams and enterprises
  • JTBD: Create professional content, maintain brand consistency, collaborate on creative projects

Adobe Creative Cloud

On-point messaging for Creative Cloud, can be a bit more accessible for non-creatives

9. Mailchimp

  • Value Proposition: All-in-one marketing platform for growing businesses
  • JTBD: Build email lists, automate marketing campaigns, analyze customer behavior

Mailchimp

Mailchimp

10. GitHub

  • Value Proposition: The complete developer platform to build, scale, and deliver secure software
  • JTBD: Manage code versions, collaborate on development, maintain code security

GitHub

GitHub

11. Atlassian Jira

  • Value Proposition: Plan, track, and manage agile software development
  • JTBD: Track development progress, manage sprints, coordinate team efforts

Atlassian Jira

Atlassian Jira

12. Shopify Plus

  • Value Proposition: Enterprise ecommerce platform for high-volume merchants
  • JTBD: Scale online sales, automate operations, manage multiple stores

Shopify Plus

Shopify

13. QuickBooks

  • Value Proposition: Smart financial software to run your whole business
  • JTBD: Track expenses, manage payroll, prepare for tax season

14. Twilio

  • Value Proposition: Customer engagement platform for building personalized experiences
  • JTBD: Implement communication features, automate customer interactions

15. New Relic

  • Value Proposition: Observability platform to help engineers plan, build, and run software
  • JTBD: Monitor application performance, identify issues, optimize systems

16. Okta

  • Value Proposition: Secure identity management for your workforce and customers
  • JTBD: Manage user access, ensure security compliance, streamline authentication

17. Datadog

  • Value Proposition: Modern monitoring and analytics platform for cloud infrastructure
  • JTBD: Monitor system performance, detect security threats, optimize cloud costs

18. Workday

  • Value Proposition: Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR
  • JTBD: Streamline HR processes, manage financial planning, analyze workforce data

19. ServiceNow

  • Value Proposition: Digital workflows to promote productivity and efficiency
  • JTBD: Automate business processes, manage IT services, improve employee experience

20. Box

  • Value Proposition: Secure content management and collaboration platform
  • JTBD: Share files securely, manage content lifecycle, ensure compliance

Understanding both value propositions and jobs-to-be-done is crucial for B2B SaaS success. While value propositions communicate the unique benefits and advantages of your solution, JTBD helps you understand the fundamental progress your customers are trying to make. Together, these frameworks enable companies to develop products that truly resonate with their target market and communicate their value effectively.

Why Combining Value Propositions with JTBD Matters

Understanding both value propositions and JTBD enables businesses to:

  • Develop customer-centric products that resonate deeply with their target audience.
  • Communicate their unique advantages effectively in competitive markets.
  • Drive long-term customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Key Takeaway - Customers care about outcomes

  • Focus on benefits over features: Customers care about outcomes—how your product improves their lives or businesses.
  • Tailor messaging: Address specific pain points of your audience rather than generic claims.
  • Highlight differentiation: Make it clear why your solution is better than competitors’.
  • Leverage feedback loops: Continuously refine your proposition based on evolving customer needs.

By combining these frameworks strategically—articulating clear value propositions while addressing core jobs-to-be-done—companies can achieve sustainable growth in the competitive SaaS landscape.