Does your business have a value proposition? Do you know what it is? If you do, could you communicate it to potential customers?

What is a company value proposition? Your company’s value proposition describes, simply, why your company’s products or services are better, and deliver better value for prospects. The objective is to describe the benefits of your products or services, present these benefits to a prospect who will immediately recognize that your company is the better value, and close the deal with a signed contract. A value proposition is simple, straightforward, and easily explained to others.

To develop a believable, reliable, accurate, transparent value proposition, you need to give some thought to why prospects should want to do business with your company, and not the one across town.

You need to go head-to-head with local and/or global competitors, many of which may have a big head start on you, have deep pockets for marketing, and have brand awareness within your business sphere. If you’re marketing “Bob’s Office Suite” expect some pushback from prospects who’ve used Microsoft® Office for decades.

A value proposition should relate the benefits your company delivers that other companies don’t deliver: Free shipping. 24/7 tech support. 20% off your first order. Create incentives that focus attention on the value your company delivers to new prospects. Keep it really, really simple.

“Our company is better because….” That’s it. Get off the stage once you’ve identified your business’ value – the benefits your business delivers.

Is your company’s value proposition memorable? You attend a trade show, meet and greet numerous industry insiders, hand out brochures and key chains and then…nothing. No prospects call. No orders come in. And no one remembers you at the next industry get-together. Ouch! That has to hurt.

A value proposition is something people remember. Ask a member of your staff to describe your company’s value proposition in a single sentence. If a teammate can’t recite your company’s value proposition, chances are, prospects won’t remember you from one get-together to another.

Your company’s value proposition should be no longer than two or three sentences TOPS! Even better? Express the value your business delivers in a single sentence.

Post your value proposition everywhere. It could be your tagline, i.e. “Smith’s Moving Company: We Deliver Satisfaction.” Simple. Catchy.

Your value proposition should appear in all marketing collaterals like brochures, sell sheets, print adverts in the local newspaper, and on every piece of paper associated with your business, from letterhead to invoice.

Online, describe your value proposition on the company website homepage – the page most search engine users see first. Use bullet points to make each benefit of conducting business with you stand out. Think about your own online habits. Chances are, you don’t read web pages, you scan them. Most of us do, so a short and sweet bullet list of benefits on the home page is more likely to get scanned.

Does your value proposition generate an emotional response? Potential customers look for an emotional connection. Your company understands their needs, is there to help them, and backs up everything you sell. Does your value proposition instill trust in prospects? Trust can grow small businesses into big businesses.

Differentiate your company from the rest of the herd. It’s not a good idea to criticize the competition; it makes you sound childish, or even vindictive. Instead, use a positive approach in distinguishing your products or services from other companies that sell the same products or services.

This is not the time to blend in. A strong, clear, memorable value proposition will increase prospects’ calls, and in the long run, increase the value of your business.

 

The information provided is presented for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal or business advice. Any views expressed in this article may not necessarily be those of Nevada State Bank. Nevada State Bank is a division of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Member FDIC