by Tim Beyers

Created on: August 27, 2008

If you can answer in a single, declarative sentence why your product or service offers superior value to customers than the alternatives, then you've crafted an excellent value proposition.

Think of businesses you know that stand out. When Nike says that you should "Just Do It," it's saying that, as a user of its gear, you are well equipped to be on the court, on the field, or in the gym. That is a value proposition.

When writing yours, consider how you serve your customers uniquely. What is different about what you do? If you sell cars, what is it that customers experience at your dealership that they can't get from Bob's Auto five blocks down the road? What does Bob's Auto do? How is it that you and Bob have been able to co-exist for five years? Each answer will get you closer to writing a value proposition that rings true.

Truth is the key. You can't write your way to a value proposition because words are cheap unless they're reflective of what you really do. Try answering these questions before you begin writing:

1. How does your business make most of its money?
2. What must occur in order for your business to grow?
3. Who are your very best customers?
4. What customers do you wish you had that you don't have now?
5. Who has those customers?
6. What keeps those customers loyal to your competitor?

Next, ask your customers and prospects what they think of your business. Provide anonymous surveys if you must. An excellent value proposition perfectly reflects the business as it is and as it hopes to be.

Let's take another example. When Apple showcases known geniuses in ads that tell you to "Think Differently," it is broadcasting a value proposition. It's saying that (a) we don't sell the PCs that everyone else sells and (b) there is genius built into our products. With as many Mac fans as there are - yours truly included - I think we can say that this value proposition rings true.

Microsoft, too, has a strong value proposition. When the company says at its website that our potential is its passion, we're witnessing a value proposition built on effectiveness. What we dream, Microsoft wants to make real. Hundreds of millions might say that this rings true; Microsoft's Office suite is a common tool for businesses large and small.

Finally, a value proposition needs humanity, customers who've experienced the value you profess to provide. So when GEICO says it can save you hundreds on car insurance, it had better be prepared to prove it. Fortunately, it can. The airwaves are rich with ads featuring customers who've saved money. They star alongside celebrities who mockingly glitz the commercial - as if saving money, by itself, isn't enough. But of course it is.

Nike, Apple, Microsoft, GEICO; they've all created excellent value propositions by extracting what's true about their businesses. You can, too. Define your differences. Talk with customers. Talk with prospects. And then, once you have more research than you can stomach, look for common themes. These are the truths about your business that will lead you to the single, declarative sentence that will become your value proposition.

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