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The key to winning business, selling more, and earning higher margins is developing clear, easily articulated customer-focused value propositions, and communicating them convincingly to your customers.
So where do you start?
The most important guiding principle for creating a compelling, customer-focussed value proposition is this: the value proposition should focus on customer needs, not on product or service features.
To put it another way, do not simply explain the products and services you sell, or embellish their features. Instead, detail the benefits to the customer of owning your products or retaining your services.
Does Your Value Proposition Communicate Effectively?
As a business owner, you are passionate about what you do. You love each of your products and services, know them to be much better than those of your competitors, and understandably want to tell as many people as possible about them – how your bread is fresher, how your clothes are more fashionable or how your software has more functions!
The problem is that when you use this style of language, the core message you are communicating is centred on your view of your products, which may not reflect your customer’s purchase motivations.
What your customers want to hear is a clear statement that demonstrates that you understand their situation – that you recognise the problem they wish to solve, or the outcome they wish to achieve – followed by a specific offer or explanation as to how you are going to help them address their situation.
Getting the basics right
Ideally, the value proposition will not only explain how owning your product or using your service will allow the customer to achieve a desired outcome; it will also explain how it is that your business is uniquely positioned to create that outcome.
You should ensure your value proposition:
- Defines the business you are in using customer-centric wording; that is, it should describe the type of solution the business provides for its customers.
- Clearly demonstrates that you understand the customer’s objective – why it is they are considering doing business with you in the first place.
- Outlines your specific offer and pinpoint exactly how it is that it will meet the customer’s objective.
Once you establish these three things, your value proposition can then go on to explain how it is your product or service addresses those objectives and, where possible, provide tangible proof that backs up your claim.
Be Consistent
Your value proposition must be more than merely something you say to convince your customers to buy. It must be the core of what your customers actually experience when buying from you.
Customers are not stupid. They know when they have been duped. So, if your value proposition promises excellent service, make sure you deliver excellent service. If your value proposition promises the cheapest products, be sure that your pricing is cheaper than your competitors. If your value proposition promises to save your customers money, be sure that they achieve those savings.
Conclusion
In today’s crowded marketplace, with new competitors emerging from around the globe, and almost saturation marketing of products and services, it is more important than ever to ensure that when you have the attention of a potential customer, you are able to offer a compelling reason for doing business with you.
By couching your discussion of the desirability of your product or service in language that speaks directly to the customer’s actual needs, rather than focussing on product or service functionality, you will go a long way towards answering the most important question on a customer’s mind: why should I buy from you?
Source: Mark Neely www.neelyready.com
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