What makes your product or service more appealing to customers than the competition? What distinguishes you from the rest of the pack? Your value proposition is the answer, and we have all likely been exposed to them at some point, even if we are unaware of it.

With a solid value proposition, you can enhance your marketing messaging and increase your campaign conversion rates by clearly articulating the value your organisation provides that differentiates it from its competitors.

What is a value proposition?

“A company’s value proposition is the promise it makes to its consumers if they choose to buy its goods or services, said Jamie Johnson, CEO of JFP Investment. “A company’s marketing plan is not complete or fully optimised without a value proposition. Customers are introduced to the company’s brand and its values through the value proposition, which functions as a declaration of intent or a statement of purpose.”

As a business or marketing statement, a company’s value proposition can be provided as a summary of why a customer should buy a product or use a service. Customers might be persuaded by this assertion that one particular product or service offered by the firm will be more valuable to them or better address their problems than others offered by business competitors.

In other words, it explains to potential customers why they should buy from you and not similar products or services offered by other businesses. This statement clearly outlines the value your company offers to give to customers. To your target audience, it’s what makes the product or service appealing.

Most value propositions have all of the following characteristics:

• It centres on your target customer’s pain point: Describe how your product or service solves a customer’s problem and improves their quality of life.
• It stands out: What distinguishes your product or service from the competition? What makes your products stand out from those of your competitors?
• It is specific: If people buy your product or service, what can they expect in terms of benefits?

Your product’s features should not be mistaken with your value proposition, which focuses on the main advantage your consumer receives from buying and utilising your product. Features describe what the product is, while the proposition describes the benefits of using it. It’s all about making a difference in the lives of your target audience.

Since your value proposition is an important part of your marketing strategy, and something that you want your customers to be aware of, it should find a prominent place on your business website. It produces the best results when prominently displayed on web pages with high purchase intent and will result in improved conversions (for example, your product and landing pages).

How to draft a value proposition

Once we understand what a value proposition is and why it should be an integral part of your marketing strategy, let’s look at how we can draft an effective one that will grab a customer’s attention with three simple steps.

Use the same language as your target audience

In other words, use the same language in your value proposition that your target audience does so you can connect with them in the most natural way. It’s important to speak the same language as your present clients so that similar customers who also speak the same language will come to buy your products in the future.

This raises an important question that has probably already crossed your mind: how do you know what language your customers speak?

Start by conducting a poll of your current consumers to find out what they think of your product or service and how they would describe it. What would people say about your business if you asked them? What are the ways in which your products and services improve the lives of your customers? What drew them to your brand in the first place and convinced them to buy from you?

Keep an eye on how clients respond to these kinds of questions, especially if they use the same words over and over again. Your objective is to include those well-known terms in your proposition statement so other like-minded customers can relate to what is being said. When you speak their language, you have a better chance of getting new customers who fit your target customer profile.

Focus on writing clearly and not creatively

Don’t be tempted to make your work sound like poetry or fancy wording when you’re first starting out writing your value proposition. This is an all-too-common mistake that will harm your marketing efforts.

The most important thing is to make sure your value proposition is straightforward to grasp by being clear. It is best when the language used resonates with your target audience and not with your subjective creativity. When you develop your proposition, ask yourself the following simple but important questions:

• What service or product are you selling?
• What’s so great about what you’re selling that folk should pay for it?
• What is it about your product or service that improves the quality of life for your customers?
• Why should a customer choose to buy from you instead of one of your rivals?

It’s best to keep your value proposition to a maximum of three sentences to have the desired effect. Ones that are too lengthy will not reach your audience with the same impact. Every phrase and word you choose must enhance readability and interest in the goods and services you provide. Any unnecessary words used that do not meet your goals should not be used.

Benefits, not features, should be your primary focus

When potential customers are considering your product or service, they will have in the forefront of their mind what benefits it will give them more than its features. In particular, how will the product or service benefit their lives?

For example, if you are a real estate agency, property developer, or property investment introducer, why should homebuyers or buy-to-let investors choose what you are offering over your competitors? Are you a leader in your niche end of the market? Do you have expert knowledge, extensive experience, and impressive results from previous projects that distinguish you from the rest?

What are the three kinds of vale propositions?

Depending on the value they want to show, there are a lot of different ways value propositions are put together.

Business websites should utilise three different kinds of value propositions:

• The value proposition for business
• Product category value proposition
• Value proposition for a product

The value proposition for business

Your company’s value proposition is very different from your product’s value proposition. In most cases, your company’s value proposition focuses on your company’s core values.

For example, as a real estate agency focused on new build projects or off plan investing, you may have a company value proposition of “Building the Future Together.” When homebuyers and investors buy your properties, they will also be aligning with your company’s value proposition of building a more prosperous society and helping to ease the chronic housing shortage.

Product category value proposition

Additionally, each of your product category pages must have a distinct value proposition. Search engine results pages (SERPs) will often display category value propositions, in addition to the product category page.

Value proposition for a product

Product categories should be divided into individual products, each with its own specific value proposition. For example, an off-plan property investment is “a potential discounted investment opportunity for purchasing before the property has been built.”

Summary considerations

Value propositions can be presented in a variety of ways, as long as they are tailored to the business and its customers. When a consumer uses a product or service, the value proposition should be simple to grasp and provide concrete outcomes for the user. By avoiding overused marketing clichés and conveying value quickly, they set themselves apart from their competitors.

It is very important for a company’s value proposition to be clear about who its target audience is, what their problems are, and why the company’s product or service is the best way to solve them.

In order for a business to be profitable, it must be able to persuade people that its products and services are of value to them. Failure to give sufficient thought to how your value proposition can best represent your products and services will result in lost business to competitors.