What is a value proposition?
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. It is the primary reason your potential customers should buy from you. It’s also the first thing that determines whether people will bother reading more about your product or simply leave your website. On your site, your value proposition is the main thing you will need to have. If you get it right, it will be a huge boost in potential leads.
Basically, a value proposition is a clear statement that offers 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, not just features. And finally, differentiation. The value proposition should tell your potential customer why they should go with you and not the competition. Your value proposition has to be the first thing visitors see on your homepage, but it should also be visible at all major entry points to the site.
Most importantly, your value proposition should be clear and understandable to your potential clientele. Your value proposition needs to be in the language your customers speak. It needs to address the questions your clients already have and be passable to the layman. To do that, you need to know the language your customers use to describe your products/services and how they benefit from them. Your value proposition shouldn’t be technical and full of jargon.
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 or a positioning statement. Remember that your value proposition should be your unique identifier. Without it, potential customers won’t have a reason to go with you over one of your competitors.
While your value proposition should help differentiate you from the rest of the industry, keep in mind it's not a slogan, tagline, or even a way to position yourself in the market. 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. Your value proposition 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. Follow this with 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. Next up, the bullet points. List the key benefits or features of your product/service. Finally, 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 targeting 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?
You now have your value proposition. How do you know it’s good? How can you improve it? An easy first step to take is to see if you can increase the clarity of it. What is it? Who is it for? How is it useful? If those questions 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. If they have to read a lot of text to understand your value proposition, something has gone wrong. Yes, a sufficient amount of information is crucial for conversions, but you need to draw them in with a clear, compelling value proposition first.
Try finding something unique
Another way to improve your value proposition is to highlight what makes you in particular unique, what can your potential customers only get from you. Admittedly, it can be hard to identify something singularly unique about your product/service. 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.
Remember that even mundane features can be benefits
Remember that you do not necessarily have to be unique in the world, just in the mind of your potential clients/customers. Depending on your product/service, you can add or highlight certain features that are certain to demonstrate immediate value to your potential clients/customers. Stuff like free shipping, money-back guarantees, licenses for multiple computers, free bonuses or setups, or even customizability are tangible features/benefits that you can incorporate to your value proposition which will improve it.
In summary,
A value proposition is a statement to your clients/customers telling them why they should go with you over your competition. It differentiates you from your competition, but it is not a slogan or a positioning statement. A good value proposition is clear, informative, and sells the positive features that distinguish your good/service from any other in the clients mind.