✅ Why this step proves your product is solving something that hurts
If you don’t relieve real pain, your product won’t stick.
The Pain Relievers block of the Value Proposition Canvas describes how your product or service reduces, removes, or avoids user frustrations, obstacles, and risks. These aren’t just annoyances—they’re the friction points that stop users from achieving their goals. This section links what you’re building directly to what your users need most.
📘 What you’ll define
- Which specific user pains your product addresses
- How your solution makes something easier, safer, cheaper, faster, or less stressful
- What blockers or inefficiencies you remove
- What mistakes, rework, or support requests you prevent
- Emotional, technical, or operational pain points you reduce
🛠️ Tools and methods
✅ Pain Relievers Checklist
List user pains that surfaced during interviews or testing
Link each pain to a product feature, service, or workflow
Prioritise severe, frequent, or high-friction pains
Include both emotional (stress, doubt) and functional (errors, cost) pains
Clarify whether the pain is reduced, removed, or avoided entirely
Validate with user quotes, test results, or behavioural data
Example Pain Relievers Table
| Pain Reliever | Addresses Which Pain? | Product or Feature |
| Auto-config setup process | Long setup time, manual errors | Embedded installation wizard |
| Predictive alerts | Downtime and late response | Cloud-based sensor notifications |
| QR-coded instructions | Confusion during first use | Printed packaging + app pairing |
| Single-login access | Frustration with multi-system login | Unified dashboard authentication |
| Modular design | High repair costs and waste | Swappable sensor components |
- Be honest: what are the real barriers to use, adoption, or satisfaction?
- Address both end-user pain and buyer pain if they differ
⚠️ Mistakes to avoid
- Vague relievers like “user-friendly” or “intuitive”—get specific
- Solving internal pain (yours) instead of user pain
- Forgetting emotional pain points like overwhelm or fear of error
- Promising pain relief without actually testing effectiveness
💡 From customer-led teams
“We thought our live dashboard was the ‘wow’—but users just wanted to stop missing alerts. The pain reliever became our hero feature.”– Co-founder, Remote Monitoring Startup
💡 The pain reliever is often why the product matters. Don’t bury it behind shiny features.
🔗 Helpful links & resources
- VPC Pain Relievers Mapping Sheet
- Download: Pain–Feature Matching Grid
- Article: How to Focus Your Product on What Really Hurts
- Follow-on: Gain Creators
✍️ Quick self-check
Have we defined specific pains, not just general problems?
Do our features clearly relieve or remove those pains?
Have we prioritised pains based on severity or frequency?
Are our claims backed by evidence—not just assumptions?
🎨 Visual concept (optional)
Illustration: A list of sticky notes labelled “Confusing setup”, “Missed alerts”, “High support cost”, each linked to icons for pain reliever features like “Auto-config wizard”, “Live notifications”, and “Help overlay”.
Visual shows how pain relievers make the user’s journey smoother—and the product worth adopting.