How to Write a Strong Value Proposition
* What is a value proposition? *
"Value Proposition" is business lingo for the way that you describe the value of your goods, services or company to someone else. Usually value propositions are aimed at potential buyers to convince them to choose your company or product from the vast ocean of consumer choices.
So in short, Value Propositions are the sum of the benefits of your product to a given consumer. It is a company's proposition that if you give me X amount of dollars, you will get back this much value. Whether this proposition is said out loud, in advertising or on packaging, or whether it is unspoken, for example through the subtleties of branding, the value proposition always tried to make consumers see the high value of your offering.
*How can you make a Value Proposition that is strong and useful? *
Most businesses remember some of the basic elements of a Value Proposition without even thinking about it. It is worth exploring, however, so that you can be clear and strong when communicating within your market.
The elements are the same as the elements of a good news story: Who, What, When, Where, How. By answering these questions, you will have a good list of the value of your service and therefore can create a strong value proposition to back up your goods. You will know what to advertise and what to feature, and you will also know what to improve.
WHAT What are the key elements of your product? What does it do? What can the buyer do with it?
WHEN When will they see or feel a benefit from this product or service? When will it be used up or not useful?
WHERE Where will a consumer use your product? Are there special locations to find this? Is it rare? Is it more useful or needed in some parts of the world than others? Where will it fit into consumers' lives? Where was it made?
WHY Why does someone want this? Why should a consumer pick your product? Why did you make it the way you did?
HOW How is your product better than the next guy's product? How does it work? How does it make people feel or anything in their lives better? How have people been living without it before you? How does it fit into your brand?
Perhaps the most important, and the most forgotten, element of a Value Proposition is the WHO. Many companies crafting a Value Proposal think of their sales as a one-way street. "I offer, it sells." But the consumer is the key missing element in that statement. A terrific product (for example, ice makers) can have no value if the consumers are not interested (for example, Alaskans who live off the grid.) The same product could have a great value proposition to a different consumer, say Floridians. If you think through the "WHO" in the value of your product, your product, service and proposition will be even stronger:
WHO is the ideal consumer for this? Who needs this? Who would be interested in learning about this? Who are the communities and individuals most likely to want this product? Who will be most likely to tell other people about this product's value? Who do my consumers know and respect?
When a company or professional asks and answers all of these questions, the most important characteristics that define the value of the product will emerge. By joining these characteristics into a solid Value Proposition, the company will know how to market their product to create the most success possible.