What The Heck Is A Value Proposition?

A value proposition isn’t a mystery.

I’m working with a client on developing a statement of their value proposition. Their CFO – a bit of a skeptic about marketing ask me what the heck is a value proposition?

I love this type of opportunity because I needed to explain this concept to someone who doesn’t understand or believe in marketing. It forced me to read, learn, think, and discuss a part of marketing strategy.

Best of all, it requires creative yet insightful use of language—something I love to do and admire when I see it done well.

Okay, maybe there is some magic to it after all.

What the Heck is a Value Proposition?

From Wikipedia, a value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered, communicated, and acknowledged.

It is also a customer’s belief about how value (benefit) will be provided, experienced, and acquired.

Said, a value proposition is a statement that explains what benefits you provide to whom. It describes your target customers, the problems you solve, the needs you address, and why your offer is distinctly better than alternatives.

A value proposition is an excellent tool that explains your competitive advantage in the form of benefits for your stakeholders, not only to your customers but also to your employees, partners, shareholders, and investors you want to entice.

A Value Proposition describes, in short, what your strategic marketing plan describes in detail. It isn’t your tagline, but it often may be the same message.

A value proposition conveys VALUE, not FUNCTION.

How to Write a Value Proposition

Identify all the benefits your product offers.
Describe what makes these benefits valuable.
Identify your customer’s main problem.
Connect this value to your buyer’s problem.
Differentiate yourself as the preferred provider of this value.

The tagline, Slogan, or Value Proposition?

Some believe that a tagline is forever like Apple’s Think Differently or Nike’s Just Do It. Often a slogan can be a shortened version of a value proposition statement.

For example, Apple’s Mac Book uses the Slogan on their web page – Light. Years Ahead.“

Clicking the Learn More button on their splash page reveals a product description.

It reads:

Our goal with MacBook was to do the impossible: engineer a full-size experience into the lightest and most compact Mac notebook ever. This is their Value Proposition – a more extended version of the tagline.

In my view, a value proposition that is reduced to less than a sentence makes it memorable and repeatable. It can capture your imagination in a second. The actual value proposition statement may be longer.

Summary:

Slogans tend to last longer.
Taglines can be more short-term and about a campaign. Or, they can be a shortened summary of the value proposition in about seven words.
Value propositions are more comprehensive, twenty-word statements of the Value and benefit you deliver. It explains the promise your brand provides. Often this is an internal statement and not customer-facing.

An Unfair Advantage

Every company has customers, employees, and a range of stakeholders. All of them want to believe in your promise. They may have different reasons to think, but they want to understand what the brand or company will do; that is an example of an unfair competitive advantage.

It isn’t unfair because it is illegal.

It is unfair because of some collections of relationships, technology, or other special situations that only you can deliver to your larger community.

The best way to create a value proposition is to look at a few examples. Some exact and well-articulated value propositions are listed below.

Think of these as pickup lines. They need to be short, truthful, and easy to back up. But in a snap, someone gets it without a lot of mumbo jumbo.

MailChimp. Send Better Emails.

Lyft: Rides in Minutes

Dollar Shave Club: A great shave for a few bucks per month

Bitly: Shorten, share, measure.

Apple Mac Book: Light. Years Ahead.

Vimeo: Make Life Worth Watching

The Ladders: Move UP in your career

Pinterest: A few (million) of your favorite things

Square: Start selling today

Evernote: Remember Everything

Skype: Keeps the world talking for free. Share, message and call.

Spotify: Soundtrack for your life.

Plated: Open the door to a new kind of dinner

A VP must be short and connect emotionally. If it is longer than a sentence, no one will remember it. It also must pick a core advantage and point of difference, or it will just sound like corporate blah blah.

This interactive chart from Bain was enormously helpful so that value can be understood more comprehensively. The example below is from HBR and also helps build on Bain’s work.

My new CFO friend started to buy into this marketing work when we started exploring that a VP is anchored on your unfair advantage in the marketplace.

Does your brand have a clear value proposition?

Need help with your value proposition?

I can help. You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar.

Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.

Photo by OSPAN ALI on Unsplash