Value proposition
Create offers in line with your market’s needs and expectations
For more than 30 years, our specialized team has been supporting companies in defining the value proposition of their project, their structure, or their innovation (product or service) in order to meet the expectations and needs of their targets and build a solid business model.
They trust us
The key success factors of a value proposition
The value proposition lies at the heart of the business model and is an essential element of successful marketing. Whether it’s a new product or service, or a strategic repositioning, the value proposition is the promise that will highlight the advantages and reasons for choosing one company, product or service over another.
To ensure that it is put into practice, it is important to pay attention to a few key success factors:
The value proposition is addressed to the customer and must be clear and immediately understandable. So, to make sure you’re really “talking” to them, the first step is to clearly identify them – or them, since there can be several types of customers. Then you need to understand their needs, expectations, dreams and areas of dissatisfaction. Methods such as the empathy map, observation, ethnography and social listening can help at this stage. Only then can these insights be compared with the characteristics of the proposed offering, and its usefulness and benefits for the customer defined.
How can we optimize the identification of needs? What approach should be adopted to understand the behavior of your target audience?
Highlighting the unique, differentiating advantage(s) of the offering is one of the VP’s objectives. In many cases, however, we find that seeking too much consensus among the teams in charge of developing the value proposition leads to a lukewarm, even timid statement. The result is likely to be the opposite of what was intended: by trying to convince as many people as possible, you end up seducing nobody. Daring to make a strong, original difference is a better way of capturing the heart of your target customers.
What approach should you adopt to identify a unique advantage? How do you highlight the differentiating aspects of your offer?
Building a coherent business model around the value proposition is essential to delivering the expected value. It is not enough to define a convincing value proposition; you also need to take care in its execution, i.e. align the company’s functions, its messages, its distribution channels, its revenue model, its partnerships and so on.
Consistency is also crucial from the customer’s point of view: the company must be seen to be true to its values and overall strategy, while maintaining consistency within its range of products or services.
How are the company’s global strategy and values reflected in the defined value proposition? Are the existing distribution channels (or partnerships, working methods) adapted to the execution of the value proposition?
How we support you in your value propositions
An essential component of a complete business model, the value proposition is at the heart of a business. It must be built in such a way that it corresponds to the expectations and needs of the target audiences. Thus, the first key issue is to align with the target audience for this “value-based offer”: value for customers, prescribers, patients, payers, employees, citizens, …?
Alcimed’s approach can range from market research to a complete Design Thinking methodology, which includes the target user in the process to ensure greater relevance.
What they say
"Alcimed made it easy for us to the search for clients and helped us adapt our concept, our value propositions and verify the viability of the proposed solution in terms of business."
Hervé DUJARDIN
Innovation & technology Director
Examples of recent value propositions carried out for our clients
Supporting the transition to a new value proposition
A player in the pharmaceutical industry was looking to transition to a new value proposition that could lead to profound changes in its business functions.
We supported them to broaden and challenge his current vision by exploring the models of other companies, through benchmarking and experience sharing, and by analyzing the needs and expectations of his customers.
Our team organized several workshops with our client’s teams in order to come up with a complete set of specifications for future business lines and the associated roadmap for the upcoming transition.
Definition of a pharmaceutical company’s value proposition for hospital services
The “specialty medicine” branch of a pharmaceutical laboratory, which includes all the products intended for hospitals, wanted to develop its “beyond the pill” service offer for doctors.
We interviewed a panel of potential customers to understand their expectations of the services being considered, prioritized them to select the three most relevant in terms of value to customers but also in terms of the legitimacy of the pharmaceutical company.
For each selected service, we defined a strong value proposition, which allowed us to align the development of the new service with our client’s product and to give meaning to its field teams.
Prototyping, testing and refining a new value proposition
We worked with an aeronautics leader who wanted to develop a digital platform (services and apps) for the aircraft cockpit, both for pilots and flight crew via a single platform.
Our team challenged the value proposition established by our client, tested it with a large panel of ecosystem players (airlines, service providers, data providers, aircraft manufacturers…) to gather their needs and expectations, as well as their level of interest in this platform.
Finally, we have defined the key functional bricks needed, the services and apps to be developed, the partners and beta testers to rely on and the priority activities to target. This work allowed our client to orient the development of its platform in line with market needs.
Evolution of the business model and value proposition of an industrial seed treatment player
We worked in immersion within the Brazilian subsidiary of a leading agribusiness company which, for two years, had been successfully developing the market for industrial soybean seed treatment.
At the end of these 2 years, it proved necessary to revisit its business model: new value proposition to differentiate itself more from the competition, new margin sharing model with partners, implementation of new KPIs, and formalization of an action plan for operational deployment.
Through a market study combining benchmarks and field exchanges, and several workshops with our client’s teams, the Alcimed team has enabled the reinvention of the business model and the associated value proposition, and thus the preservation of a leading market position for the years to come.
Definition of the value proposition of a biopharmaceutical player for its new treatment
A leading healthcare company that had developed an innovative product to treat a chronic disease wanted to define a value proposition that would position its product as a replacement for the standard of care.
We began by analyzing the way in which patients suffering from this disease were treated. We then deciphered the needs of care center’s, their level of satisfaction with current treatment and their expectations. Finally, we assessed the receptiveness of these center’s to our client’s product and identified the most relevant arguments to put forward.
As a result of this work, we were able to build a strong value proposition that could be applied at different levels, depending on the type of care center and the profile of the patients targeted.
Definition of an animal health player's value proposition for microalgae-based medicinal products
An animal health company was wondering whether it would be appropriate to develop medicinal products based on microalgae, and what the value proposition would be.
To answer this question, our team carried out an in-depth analysis of the state of development of vaccines and recombinant proteins produced from microalgae and specifically intended for animal health, as well as the key players in these technologies. The receptiveness of prescribers to these new medicines was then assessed, and their expectations deciphered and compared with the advertised product characteristics.
These investigations enabled us to assess the technological capabilities available and the potential commercial interest in this new range of products, providing a clear vision of the added value that these innovations could bring to our client. On this basis, we formulated precise and strategic recommendations to build a suitable value proposition.
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Founded in 1993, Alcimed is an innovation and new business consulting firm, specializing in innovation driven sectors: life sciences (healthcare, biotech, agrifood), energy, environment, mobility, chemicals, materials, cosmetics, aeronautics, space and defence.
Our purpose? Helping both private and public decision-makers explore and develop their uncharted territories: new technologies, new offers, new geographies, possible futures, and new ways to innovate.
Located across eight offices around the world (France, Europe, Singapore and the United States), our team is made up of 220 highly-qualified, multicultural and passionate explorers, with a blended science/technology and business culture.
Our dream? To build a team of 1,000 explorers, to design tomorrow’s world hand in hand with our clients.
A value proposition corresponds to the benefits and advantages offered by a company, product or service to its customers. It must meet the needs and expectations of the targeted customers by highlighting the unique features and competitive advantages of the offering. It is a key element in a company’s commercial and marketing strategy, as it influences customers’ purchasing decisions and can determine its success in the market.
The value proposition is much more than a promise! It embodies all the concrete advantages and benefits of an offering. Its essential role is to convince customers to prefer a company, product or service over its competitors, and in this sense, it is decisive for future sales. What’s more, a solid value proposition aligns all the company’s functions towards a common objective, maximizing the chances of success.