by Adam Basheer, on 24-Nov-2016 16:00:00
A value proposition is an effective statement or combination of statements which describe your business to customers in a manner which will make them want to engage with you and buy from you. It will often include:
- What product or service is your company selling?
- What is the end-benefit of using it?
- Who is your target customer for this product or service?
- What makes your offering unique and different?
What makes you different (differentiation) is perhaps the most important part of the statement. You are trying to make the product novel through a feature or benefit that is relevant to the market or market segment. The options are limited only by what the customer perceives to be different. Your search for something different starts with a SWOT Analysis. This is where, in particular, you analyse the Strengths and Weaknesses of your business or product and compare them with the Strengths and Weaknesses of your competition. The competition is often forgotten in this process. Put yourself in your competitor's shoes. How would they think of the market? What would they think of their product offering?
From this SWOT analysis you should be able to describe what strengths you have which are at least as good as the competition. This provides the start of your marketing positioning strategy and provides the start of your value proposition. If this is a unique value proposition, that is, no other company or product offers what you have, then this becomes a very strong message for your customer. Please note though that the customer must also value what is unique. For instance, if you are the only brick layer in the Melbourne CBD, this does not necessarily give you any advantage over other brick layers.
Designing your value proposition
Using the FAB Technique is the best way to start to design your value proposition so it really communicates to customers. Essentially, what are your key Features? What are the major Advantages of these features? What Benefit does this give? Click on the button below to find a more detailed description of the FAB Technique including examples of how to use it:
Although you will see many value proposition definitions, there is no one right way to go about it. Some value proposition guidelines include:
- Headline in one short sentance. What is the end-benefit you are offering? Can mention the product and/or the customer. Attention grabber.
- Sub-headline or a 2-3 sentence paragraph. A specific explanation of what you do/offer, for whom and why is it useful?
- 3 bullet points. List the key benefits or features.
- Visual. Images communicate much faster than words. Show the product, the hero shot or an image reinforcing your main message.
VALUE PROPOSITION EXAMPLES
Below are some examples of the same or similar value proposition for Company X, who is in the business of providing managed computer services (or a Managed Service Provider).
Company X helps your business progress beyond today by providing meaningful advice, the latest equipment and software solutions so that you can meet and conquer the challenges you face tomorrow.
Company X combines leading business systems with business smart specialists to deliver tailored technical solutions that deliver quantifiable business results. As a result, your business runs smarter and more smoothly.
Progress beyond your current systems to create a smarter and smoother business
- Enhancing your business with proven equipment and software,
- Let Company X business specialists deliver tailored solutions, and
- Get quantifiable results.
"We help medium sized companies create smarter and smoother systems enabling their businesses to run smoother and smarter. With the rising reliance on computer systems in today's business environment, this is a critical issue for most businesses. One of our recent clients, a large distribution company, was struggling with how to decrease the cost of their sales delivery and increase the customers service they provide. We saved them over $150,000 in just six months. Plus, they didn’t cut any services and, in fact, were able to add more services without adding to the cost."
The document below will take you from developing your FAB selling methodology through to how to use this sales method by providing telephone sales script examples, ways to use it in B2B selling and B2C selling and how to use it when overcoming objections.
For further assistance please contact Fit 4 Market.
Fit 4 Market are marketing consultants operating in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth