💡Product Circle ⭕ Chat - Value is worthless – without the logic behind it with Magnus Billgren
💡 Product Circle ⭕ Chat 40 with Magnus Billgren on how to define and evolve your value logic to unlock hidden opportunities, reshape positioning and make customers believe in what your stand for.
💡Product Circle⭕ Chat runs every second week as a Zoom call that anyone can join to talk all things product, tech, product management and problem solving. Creating value for customers and the business.
Best of all, when you attend live, you receive goodies like free courses and decks (like Janna Bastow provided), a free book (like Rich Mironov, Roman Pichler and others provided), access to their course for free (like John Cutler provided) and many more.
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💡 Product Circle ⭕ Chat - Evidence-Guided Product Development with Itamar Gilad on March 26
💡 Product Circle ⭕ Chat - Product & Career Growth with Aakash Gupta on April 9 or 10 (depending on your timezone)
💡 Product Circle ⭕ Chat - Building Delightful Products with Nesrine Changuel on April 23
Become Irreplaceable in 2025
Before we get to Magnus’s talk (and recording) below, I’d like to share with you a great courses I’m running. Both virtually and both based on my 20+ years in Product Management.
Pricing and Monetisation Strategies Masterclass
The Pricing & Monetisation Strategies Masterclass is one I’m really proud of. I used to teach it over 5 years ago at General Assembly in Sydney Australia. I’ve now updated it to include mine (and everyone’s fascination), GenAI.
In over 4 hours, over 3 days virtually, you’ll learn to actually calculate your customer’s willingness to pay. We start with understanding your Customer’s Perception of Value, calculate Willingness to Pay, understand the importance of Price Elasticity of Demand and how to find your Product’s Zone of Genius. We get into the factors in choosing a pricing strategy, the monetisation tactics available, how pricing psychology impacts conversion and why messaging matters. I take you through the legal and regulatory impacts on Pricing and well as how you can use GenAI in your pricing the maximise willingness to pay.
Plus, you get the recordings, the slides and a certificate upon completion.
Stop leaving money on the table with the Pricing and Monetisation Strategies Masterclass in March.
Come along and lets maximise your customer’s willingness to pay.
Now let’s get back to Magnus’s talk on the 2025 Trends in Product Management.
"More value doesn’t win markets - clearer, smarter value does. The real challenge is not communicating value, but making it trustworthy." - Magnus Billgren
This 💡Product Circle⭕ Chat was run on the 12 March 2025 at 6pm (AEST) / 8am (EU - Stockholm time) with Magnus Billgren.
Recording below👇🏼
🤫The Secret to Powerful Product Messaging: Why Value Logic Matters
Communicating product value is one of the biggest challenges in B2B. Many companies rely on generic claims—“we reduce costs,” “we drive efficiency,” “we help you scale”—hoping customers will take their word for it.
But buyers today are more 🤨skeptical than ever.
They don’t just want to hear about value; they want to see the logic behind it.
In our latest 💡Product Circle⭕ Chat, Magnus Billgren shared why traditional value messaging fails and how product teams can bridge the gap between features and real business impact.
Through value logic, companies can move beyond empty promises and craft messaging that resonates, builds trust, and drives action.
🎯The Problem with Traditional Value Messaging
Many companies assume that simply stating a product’s value will make customers believe it. But in B2B markets, trust is fragile. Buyers have heard the same generic claims—“we reduce churn,” “we increase revenue”—countless times before, and they’ve grown skeptical.
Magnus made it clear: Value without logic is worthless.
B2B customers, especially those in complex sales environments, don’t just buy into a claim; they need a clear, credible rationale for why a product will deliver results. Without this, your messaging gets lost in the noise.
4️⃣ The Four Dimensions of Value
To move beyond vague value statements, Magnus outlined four key dimensions of value that all product teams should consider when positioning their offering:
Revenue Increase – Helping customers grow their top line (e.g., more sales, better conversion rates).
Cost Reduction – Lowering operational expenses and capital expenses.
Positioning & Brand – Enhancing the customer’s market standing (e.g., the credibility boost of “Intel Inside” branding).
Risk Management – Addressing compliance, security, and business continuity concerns.
One of the biggest missed opportunities in B2B messaging?
💥Risk Management💥
“Risk is often the most underestimated value lever in B2B. Businesses will spend money to avoid losing money.” – Magnus Billgren
Companies today are increasingly concerned about data breaches, regulatory fines, and operational risks. If your product helps mitigate these risks, you’re solving a critical pain point that competitors might be ignoring.
🌲 The Value Tree: A Framework for Clear Messaging
To help product teams connect product features to real business impact, Magnus introduced the Value Tree, a structured framework that links:
✅ Top-Level Business Value – What matters to executives (e.g., improved cash flow, operational efficiency).
✅ Concepts & Themes – How the product achieves that value (e.g., automation, compliance tools).
✅ Features & Capabilities – The product’s specific functions (e.g., AI-driven insights, subscription management).
✅ Technical Realization – The nuts and bolts (e.g., APIs, machine learning models).
By mapping out your Value Tree, you can ensure that every stakeholder—whether a CFO, compliance officer, or developer—understands exactly how your product creates meaningful business impact.
“Great product messaging isn’t about what you sell—it’s about how well you connect features to business outcomes. The Value Tree forces you to think in a way that customers actually care about.” – Magnus Billgren
🎯 Why This Matters in B2B Sales & Marketing
Unlike B2C, where the goal is often to convince one decision-maker, B2B buying decisions typically involve multiple stakeholders—sometimes 20+ individuals!
Each one has different concerns and priorities.
A well-defined value logic helps teams tailor their messaging, ensuring alignment with different audience needs while maintaining consistency.
For example, Magnus shared how Ericsson faced challenges in communicating the value of their network technology. Their messaging was deeply technical, highlighting network superiority in a way that didn’t connect with business decision-makers. Customers weren’t necessarily interested in technical specifications—they wanted to know how it would impact their business operations and bottom line.
To address this, Ericsson had to rethink their approach and shift their messaging from being tech-driven to outcome-driven. Instead of focusing on network capabilities, they began articulating how their technology reduces downtime, improves reliability, and enables seamless business operations. This change helped them resonate with decision-makers who cared about business continuity and efficiency rather than just technical excellence.
“The CFO doesn’t care about your AI models. They care about reducing financial risk. The compliance officer doesn’t care about automation—they care about auditability. If you don’t frame value in a way that matters to them, you’ve already lost.” – Magnus Billgren
💥 TL;DR
Key Takeaways for Product Teams
1️⃣ Value without logic won’t work – Your product’s value must be backed by a clear rationale.
2️⃣ Risk is a hidden goldmine – Addressing compliance and security concerns can set you apart.
3️⃣ Use the Value Tree – Align product development, marketing, and sales with a structured value framework.
4️⃣ Tailor messaging for different stakeholders – CFOs, compliance officers, and end users care about different things, but your core value logic should stay consistent.
5️⃣ Belief drives sales – If your sales team doesn’t fully believe in the value, they won’t be able to sell it effectively.
By shifting from generic value statements to a well-defined value logic, product teams can build trust, improve conversions, and ultimately create products that customers believe in.
“If your own sales team doesn’t fully believe in the value of what they’re selling, how can you expect customers to?” – Magnus Billgren
Product Circle Chat 40 - Topic
Topic: Value is worthless – without the logic behind it
In this talk, we break down how defining and evolving your value logic can unlock hidden opportunities, reshape your positioning, and make customers truly believe in what you stand for. Because in today’s world, it’s not what [VALUE] you say -it’s how you deliver it.
Based on work with Ericsson, DANA, Spotify, Volvo, Intel, Tacton and Value research
✅ Evolve your value logic to make it believable
✅ How to Align product, marketing & sales around the concept of value for maximum impact
✅ Turn complex tech into clear, compelling narratives
If you’re a mid-career product manager, product marketer, product leader, CPO, CRO or CPTO, and you want to drive stronger adoption and revenue, this talk is for you.🔥
Product Circle Chat 40 - Video
Product Circle Chat 40 - Speaker
Magnus Billgren has spent over three decades in B2B product management, helping companies turn great ideas into market-leading products, generating more than 3 Billion Euros. As the founder of Productbeats®, he’s trained 15,000+ product professionals across 1,000+ companies in 40+ countries – evolving the product thinking.
From ABB’s electricity meter portfolio to two successfully exited dotcom startups, and collaborations with Ericsson, Spotify, Dolby, Visma, Scania, Klarna, and Volvo, Magnus blends entrepreneurial grit, corporate experience, and a dose of philosophy to rethink value logic—not just what value is, but how to define, evolve, and communicate it so it actually delivers.
As co-author of Value Driven Product Marketing, he introduced the Value Development Model, bridging product management and marketing. Today, he advises companies, researches product strategy, and leads training programs.
Links:
Product Circle Chat - Q&A
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I’m Irene Liakos. I’m on a mission to rid the world of awful products through product coaching, teaching and sharing product wisdom. I’m a product management and growth expert with over 2 decades of experience growing product profitably across Telco, Banking, Fintech, AI, Data, Travel, Ecommerce and more. I teach, coach and advise product managers and business leaders. Reach out to me if your products aren’t delivering the value you need for your business to grow. Let’s transform your organisation and get your teams working within the product model. You can contact me at irene@phronesisadvisory.com
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