When it comes to selling your product or service, the most important thing you’ll need to communicate to your potential customers is your value proposition. A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered. To give you a clearer idea, these are examples of value propositions from famous brands:
Amazon: The ultimate online store – buy anything, anytime.
Netflix: Watch on-demand entertainment when and where you want it
Apple: The experience is the product
All 3 value propositions showcase the unique features of their companies and business models, in order to allow consumers to better understand their brands, and also to further motivate customers to buy from these brands instead of their competitors. From the value propositions, you would be able to tell that Amazon is an eCommerce store, while Netflix is an online streaming platform. For Apple, selling the experience ties in nicely with their iOS system, and how the user experience is their main selling point, as you get to experience it on multiple Apple products.
The 2 main things to consider when creating a value proposition: Your products and audience. Credits to HubSpot
Basically, a value proposition is a clear statement that should offer three things to any potential customer that sees it.
Relevancy, explaining how or why they need your product or service.
Quantifiable value, the specific benefits they’ll get from using your service or product, and not just a summary of your product features.
Differentiation. The value proposition should tell your potential customer why they should go with you and not the competition.
Most importantly, your value proposition should be clear and understandable to your potential clientele. Take a look at the value proposition of a web development company: “Make your results vivid”. How does it make you feel, or do you know more about what their company does?
Personally, reading this made me confused, because how does one make results vivid? Do they mean they sell results charts that are colourful? In fact, what are they even selling? A better value proposition could have included more information about their approach or product that is in line with their mission of “making my results vivid”.
Lastly, your value proposition must be accessible to consumers of all walks of life. Describe your products and services in the way a layman would, so that clients get clearer pictures of what your product does. Just because you are an expert in the field does not mean that the clients who approach you are as well! For a rule of thumb, do not include technical jargon in your value proposition.
How can you start developing your value proposition?
Now that you know what a value proposition is, you can start developing your own. But before you start, you should keep in mind what a value proposition is not. A value proposition is neither a slogan nor a positioning statement. Those types of copy are crucial parts of your brand, but your potential customers don't choose one business over the other based on a high-level mission statement.
Remember that your value proposition should be your unique identifier. It should go deep into the problems you want to solve for people, and what makes you the right one for them.
A basic structure
To start with, try following this template.
The headline
What is the main benefit you offer them in one short sentence? It can mention the product and/or customer. Make it catchy.
The body
This should be a short 2 to 3 sentence paragraph. A specific explanation of what you do/offer, the kind of people you cater to, and why your product/service is useful.
The visual
Images communicate in ways words alone cannot. Show the product image, an image of you providing the service, or an image reinforcing your main message.
To evaluate your current value proposition, you should see if reading it can help you answer these questions:
What product or service are you selling?
Why should they be using it?
Who are your target audiences for this product or service?
And finally, what makes your product/service unique and different?
If your current value proposition cannot answer those questions, you’ll need to head back to the drawing board.
What makes a good value proposition?
An example of a good value proposition. Straight to the point and easy to remember!
Now, you have the first draft of your value proposition. How do you know it’s good? Which are the areas of improvement?
An easy first step to take is to see if you can increase the clarity of it. If the questions of what it is, who it is for, and how it is useful are clear, you’re on the right path. Always strive for clarity first.If your value proposition leaves people asking questions from a place of confusion, something has gone wrong. While a sufficient amount of information is crucial for conversions, you need to draw them in with a clear, compelling value proposition first.
Another way to improve your value proposition is to highlight what makes you standout, what your potential customers can only get from you. Admittedly, it can be hard to identify something singularly unique about your product/service, and it may well require deep self-reflection and discussion.
Of course, the unique part needs to be something customers actually care about. The unique identifier for your product/service should have a tangible benefit that is either immediately apparent, or easily linked to. There’s no point in being unique for the sake of being unique. Even if what you sell isn’t unique, you can still come up with a great value proposition by considering the entire process from ideation to production, or even recollect why you chose to start a business with your products and services in the first place. You just might have found the right source for your inspiration!
In summary
In summary, give your customers, both potential and existing, a reason to truly choose you, instead of merely settling for your products over another brand. Utilise the value proposition to give you a clearer business direction, and a basis for strategising your future campaigns and operations.
Confused about how you can create the best value proposition for your business? Don’t worry, you can leave it to us! At cmocre8, we specialize in all things digital marketing, and you can be sure that we will equip your business with the best value proposition to stand out. Contact us today!