Why should your ideal customer purchase from you rather than anybody else?

If you can answer this question in a sentence, then you have a strong and unique value proposition. A strong and differentiated value proposition can go a long way to position your business to succeed in your target market. It is the promise of your brand.

Without exception, Kinesis clients have a company that focuses on delivering incredible value to their customers. Ironically, many of these same clients came to us without a clearly-defined value proposition - while they provide high value, they did not have a concise way of describing the value. Many businesses face the same problem of conveying vague messages about their products and services. I'm going to help to make sure you aren't in this situation.

What is a Value Proposition?

Let's start by making sure we are all on the same page: A strong value proposition speaks directly to your target audience and it tells them exactly why they should purchase your products and services (and in the case of non-profits, it's why your donors should support your organization, members should join your programs, etc.). A value proposition is a clear statement of the concrete results a customer will get from purchasing and using your products and/or services.

A value proposition is a short statement that tells your prospect why they should buy from your company. It is focused on outcomes. Your value proposition distills all the complexity of the value you provide into an easy-to-remember phrase that your client can easily grasp and remember. This helps spread word-of-mouth marketing and it differentiates you from the competition. Keep in mind that your value proposition should identify and remedy an unmet need that your customers face. It should relieve their pain.

How Do I Plan My Value Proposition?

Regardless of the size of your business or the type of industry you are in, your company should have a value proposition. To help you, here are some guidelines to follow in creating one for your business. A strong value proposition does the following:

• Creates interest, so that your prospects ask questions and want to learn more. Your value proposition opens the door so that someone might be willing to meet with you instead of blowing you off when you call or mail them for the first time
• Differentiates your offer from your competitors’ offers and creates a strong differential between you and your competitors
• Increases the quantity and quality of your sales leads and makes conversion to a customer much easier
• Wins your business greater market share in your targeted segments
• Aligns your business operations more closely to customer needs
• Focuses on your customers' point of view.
• Include demonstrated results that will catch the attention of decision-makers — results like increased revenues, decreased costs, improved operational efficiency, and faster times.

Examples of Strong Value Propositions

Business Consultant: Our clients grow their business typically by a minimum of 30-50% over the year while cutting costs by 35%.

Hubspot: B2B companies recognized a 61% lower cost per lead and increased their organic traffic and lead conversions by an average magnitude of six-fold in 6 months.

Sales Trainer: I help salespeople crack into corporate accounts, speed up their sales cycle and win big contracts. One of my recent clients won a verbal commitment for $5M in business in just 90 days.

Internet Marketing Company: Our products help people leverage the internet to triple their market reach and cut marketing costs in half when launching new products.

Are you starting to get a feel for a strong value proposition?

How Do I Write My Value Proposition?

Crafting a value proposition requires insight on what is unique about your company and your products/services. Your existing customers are your best resource to learn the value you offer. Your goal is to learn how your customers define value — not you. Call or visit some of your customers who started using your product or service in the past 6–12 months.

They remember what things were like BEFORE they started working with your company so they can most readily tell you the value of your offering. Tell them you need help understanding the real value of your offering and that you'd like a chance to learn their perspective. Most people will be more than happy to oblige.

Hire Kinesis to grow your business

Developing a value proposition is one of foundations that we emphasize in our work with business leaders. Click here to learn more about the Kinesis approach to marketing and business consulting.