Five rules for a great value proposition

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Alan Black

A spot-on value proposition can work wonders for your business. It highlights the value you bring to your audience, and gives them a reason to believe.

We’re not going to get into the nitty gritty of why you need a value proposition in this article. Instead, we’ll look at what you should bear in mind when reviewing an existing value prop, or when working with an agency to create a shiny new one.

Make sure you know your customers

Getting acquainted with your customers at a granular level is super powerful, and can unlock new ways of communicating your offer. We’re not just talking about their interests and preferences, but the problems they face every day. 

Consider setting up a brand messaging workshop with your customer-facing teams to uncover this kind of information. From there, you can look at how you can – or already do – help customers with those problems.

Be authentic

Does your value proposition reflect who you are as a brand? Can you back it up with action? Does the wording suit your brand voice?

Don’t make promises you can’t keep, or bold statements you can’t live up to. Your value proposition should focus on the value that you offer to customers, right now. Something that you’re doing every day as a business and can give real examples of.

Keep it simple

Your value proposition should also be simple to understand. This isn’t to say you can’t use complex words or clever turns of phrase if that’s your bag, but you should make sure that there’s plenty of substance to go with that style.

Think straightforward. Engaging. And easy-to-remember.

Focus on what’s important

What do you want your customers to keep in mind about your brand? If you could only have them remember one thing, what would it be?

Think of these questions in terms of the product or service you provide. And how you provide it. If there’s an obvious answer dancing under a big shiny spotlight, that could well be the best focus for the leading line of your value proposition.

Stay agile

What matters to people is always changing. And your customers’ needs will change along with that. So go back to the first rule in this list whenever it feels like you might be getting out of touch.

There’s nothing wrong with going back to basics every now and again to make sure your messaging is hitting the right mark. Quite the opposite: staying dynamic has probably never been more important for brands. Customers need flexibility – so keep your value proposition flexible too.

Next steps in brand messaging

Our Three Truths™ process takes just four weeks to get to the heart of your brand messaging, find your disctinctive voice and bring it to life.

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