Power Up: How to stand out from your competition - the value curve effect

Hi ??

Last week, Oren Greenberg and Scale Up put our brains together to work out how Figma stole a market worth $45.8 billion.?

The simple answer.?

Collaboration.

But how did we reach it?

Through Value Curve analysis?

What is that?

A value curve analysis is a strategic tool to help test how your strategy stands out from competitors, while helping you compare the quality of offering to others in your market.?

Using the value curve, we were able to visualise Figma’s competitive positioning against sketch, highlighting the areas where Figma excelled and Sketch lagged behind. This approach enabled us to pinpoint the ‘blue ocean’ it created - distinguishing itself significantly from competitors and winning through avoiding the competition.?

Our value curve analysis identified collaboration as a game changing feature. In a time when remote work and large, specialised teams are becoming the norm, Figma’s focus on seamless, real-time collaboration helped them seize a new market opportunity with a distinct value proposition.

Leveraging value curves for your business?

A value curve is not just for analysing others, it’s a framework you can use to dissect and enhance your own business strategy. By understanding what your target customers truly value and identifying where competitors are investing their efforts, you can position your offering more effectively and create new market opportunities through distinct value propositions.?

Here’s how you can use value curves to carve out your own ‘blue ocean’ in 3 easy steps.?

1. Identify the key attributes that customers value in your industry. Read through your customer & competitor reviews, case studies, blogs, social media engagements and you’ll quickly uncover what customers love most and what truly helps them achieve their goals.?

Because there is such a wealth of information online for Figma & Sketch, we were able to shortcut this process using tools such as Gemini & Chat GPT to come to our conclusions.?

2. Plot these attributes on the horizontal (x) axis of the value curve and score each competitive offering’s performance against them on the vertical (y) axis .

Assign a score from 1-10, quantifying how much this attribute is reflected or prioritised in customer perception & in communications.??

3. Analyse the graph to find your unique space in the competitive landscape.?

The clarity of this visual graph shows the ‘blue ocean’ that Figma owns compared to Sketch - primarily collaboration and secondly accessibility.

Remember, in the ever-evolving business world, staying ahead means continuously innovating and redefining your value proposition. As unexplored markets, untainted by the competition, ‘blue oceans’ are vast and powerful in terms of profitable opportunities and growth.?

Let’s chat if you’re ready to explore how we can help you redefine your market space.?

If you'd like to keep reading:

• Check our detailed guide on creating an effective value curve.
• And the original post with Oren and Scale Up's insights is here.