Why is a Value Proposition so important?

Value propositions help you define your business and sets the scene in developing business strategies and a solid marketing plan. Going through this process of identifying your value and creating a value proposition will help you uncover why people choose your business and help you find what it is that makes you different. It will also help find the gaps.

Other reasons why a value proposition is important, is because it can:

• Increase the quantity and quality of leads
• Gain market share
• Enhance how you present yourselves and convert more business
• Improve your operating efficiency
• Finally, it’s a great way to jump-start or re-ignite your referral activity.

QUESTION
If you currently have a value proposition, do you think it could be time to review it?

A: Yes
B: No
C: We don’t really have one

How Do You Create a Value Proposition?

Most are built around your ability and expertise in servicing your target audience. But you may find you need more than just one value prop because many business today have a number of specialised services and a number of target audiences. In which case, consider a main over aching value prop, with 2-3 secondary ones.

At the core of this process you should:

• Identify your target audience/s
• Identify the value and benefits that your audience/s will experience by coming to see you/purchase from you
• Identify the reasons why you are different and or/better provide these services
• And then articulate the above in a concise, cohesive and powerful statement.

Questions to help you along this path to a value proposition include:

• What do I do that no one else does?
• What makes our business distinctive from others?
• Why would someone want to come to, work with, purchase from my business?
• How do I do what I do better than others?
• What expertise and certifications do I have?
• What do I offer to customers that is considered going “above and beyond”?
• What do current customers say about me and the business?
• How does my business make me, my staff and my customers feel?

Here’s a task for you.

Over the next couple of weeks, why not ask family members, your friends, your kids, your staff and some customers – what does my/our business do?
Take note of what they say. They might say things that you might not even be aware of. They may also say things that I so basic and boring – that you might cringe. Do not assume that people know what it is you do, why you do it and how you do it. The What and How in this exercise is what you need to sort out. We all fall into the trap that because we know, that everyone else knows.

I want you to have a think about this. The questions I just went through – What do I do that no one else does? what makes our business different from others? What expertise and certifications do I have?

Like every single business out there in any industry, they too have competitors that on the surface look exactly the same. Offering the same products, maybe a similar or same level of service, the same price, or worse, cheaper –

We all MIGHT look the same – But we’re NOT.

How you articulate who you are, what you do, how you are different, to who, and how you communicate and amplify this – is a differentiator in itself. Because very few businesses do this, and even fewer do this well!