Developing a clear and compelling value proposition is the first phase to creating an effective marketing strategy, as you cannot effectively sell a product or service unless you are able to convincingly articulate and communicate the true value that it holds for prospective buyers.
So let’s look at how to create a compelling value proposition that has the conviction to convert potential prospects into loyal customers. The process to creating your company’s proposition basically consists of three steps:
Step 1: Determine the core benefits of your offering
In this first stage you need to identify the key benefits that the buyer will get from you're the product or service that you are offering.
Make sure that your value proposition addresses a genuine need of the target audience in order to create lasting customer relations. In addition to conducting market surveys to discover the needs and expectations of your target audience, an in-depth analysis and audit of the benefits of your products or services will also help you to formulate a unique and effective value proposition.
You need a clear proposition that separates your business from the clutter and convinces potential buyers to choose you over others.
Step 2: Link the benefits to mechanisms for delivering value
Broadly speaking, all businesses deliver value in one or a combination of three categories of differentiation: cost, technology and service.
Therefore, in order to create a compelling value proposition it is vital to precisely represent the mechanisms that are linked to the benefits of your offering.
This will help your target customers to understand exactly how you promise better value than other players in your industry.
The focus, in this regard, could be on any of the elements of your operating functions or strategies that enable you to deliver better value to customers than your competitors.
Step 3: Map your company’s market difference
Your product, for example, might deliver superior performance and have a long shelf life, which means cost and technology are its major advantages.
So the final step is to put all this into one clear statement that identifies to your target market what your product or service will deliver to them, how you are delivering it and most importantly, ‘why’.
The statement should concisely communicate how your offering addresses the distinct needs that the customer that have been generally ignored by other similar businesses.
A few examples of a persuasive value proposition
Here’s four great examples of effective value propositions from brands we all know in the market place:
Domino’s
Domino’s “Fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less, or it's free” is a great example of a compelling value proposition. It clearly represents the benefit promised by the company for the buyer and came at a time when people were tired of receiving late, stale and cold pizza deliveries. The success achieved by this philosophy doesn’t really require any further elaboration.
iTunes
Apple, the company known for creating some of the best value propositions, just cannot do much wrong when it comes to marketing. iTune’s “You’ve never been so easily entertained” packages a lot into a tiny capsule. It reflects easy usability, it directly relates to the reader and of course, convinces the reader that the package will keep them ‘entertained’.
Aussie Farmers Direct
Aussie Farmers Direct who promotes the value proposition, 'Quality. Convenience. Everyday' launched in 2005 with just 30 customers in its first year and has now grown to more than 130,000 households nationally. Their value proposition resonates well with Aussies who love fresh locally grown foods and supporting their communities yet need to maintain the convenience and quality offered by traditional outlets.
FedEx
"Absolutely Positively Overnight." – that’s FedEx’s staunch commitment to meeting the need of its customers. A promise to get their shipments delivered to their destinations in the minimum possible time. In addition, the ingenious use of two adverbs – ‘absolutely’ and ‘positively’ leaves no room for doubt in the mind of the reader.
Conclusion
Your value proposition is the backbone of your business; an instrument in winning customer trust and converting prospects into patrons. In fact, regardless of the magnitude of the efforts you put into developing or improving your offering, unless your value proposition has the persuasiveness required to win the trust of target customers, realizing the true potential of your business will remain a distant reality.
Tony Eades is creative director of The Brand Manager.
Visit: http://www.thebrandmanager.com.au/
