By: Kala Halbert & Jacob Robinson
What Is a Value Proposition?
As a business, you must know and understand your value proposition. Not sure what that means? It’s just what it sounds like – a promise of value to be provided to a customer. It’s a critical aspect to all of your marketing efforts as it tells a customer why they should do business with you, over your competition.
A value proposition should do the following:
- Speak directly to your intended audience
- Explain the solution to their need, want, or problem
- Separate your business from the competition
- Deliver specific benefits to the customer
Creating Your Value Proposition
#1 Speak Directly to Your Intended Audience
When writing your value proposition, always keep your target audience in mind. You want your value proposition to be relevant and understandable (i.e. be careful with industry jargon that your target audience won’t understand).
There are many segments you can use to define your target audience. Some include gender, socio-economic status, location, and age. Does your product or service cater to females over 50, college students, parents with young children living in a suburb, rural farming communities.
Using language (not industry jargon) that your target market relates to, will make them more comfortable.
#2 Explain the Solution to Their Need, Want or Problem
A value proposition should always contain a solution to a problem – that’s why they’re searching for your services in the first place. To be able to provide a solution, we first need to identify the most prominent problems your customers face. As a business owner, more than likely, you can easily identify the most common problems.
Let’s say you own Bill’s Plumbing and you know many of your customer’s have the following problems:
- The Problems: I have a leaky pipe. I have water damage. I have a clogged drain.
Now that we know the problem, let’s offer a solution:
- The Solution: We provide high quality, quick, and affordable repairs.
This is a great solution that you provide to your customers! It also applies to various problems.
Related: Positioning Your Business for Success by Focusing Less on Price & More on Value
#3 Separate Your Business From the Competition
Every business has something that separates itself from its competition. The ability to clearly tell potential clients what makes you different is extremely important. How does Bill’s Plumbing separate itself?
The Difference: Bill’s Plumbing will respond to service calls within one hour, 24/7.
From the above we see two differentiators. They are on call 24/7 and that they will respond within 1 hour. That certainly will make them stand out from the crowd!
#4 Deliver Specific Benefits to the Customer
You can offer solutions and tell clients why you’re different, but you must show the benefit of picking your solution/company. This makes it personal because you can hit different customer pain points. Sticking with plumbing, can we identify a benefit of picking Bill’s Plumbing?
The Benefit(s): Because of our high quality work and quick response times, there is a reduced chance of severe damage to your home.
The pain point here is that if they don’t choose you, there could be severe damage to their home, their largest investment.
Example: Bill’s Plumbing Value Proposition
Let’s build a value proposition for Bill’s Plumbing Co.
“When you have plumbing problems, Bill’s Plumbing Co. provides high quality, affordable repairs. We will respond within one hour, 24/7, to reduce the risk of severe damage, and get your life back to normal as soon as possible.”
It’s as simple as filling in the blanks.
- Identify the Problem:____________________________
- Offer a Solution:________________________________
- Show the Difference:_____________________________
- Provide the Benefit:______________________________
Build Your Business’s Value Proposition!
Are you ready to build a killer value proposition for your business? Just follow the above 4 steps and you will be well on your way. A value proposition is one of the first things someone on your website reads. Most importantly, an amazing value proposition will convert more website visitors to customers. That is our ultimate goal!
Do you have questions about your business’s value proposition or online presence? That’s understandable. A Townsquare marketing consultant is available to answer those questions.
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