As a business owner, are you in touch with the needs of your target demographic group? Do you have an understanding of what they’re looking for and how your brand can meet their needs? Do you have a clear statement that outlines why the goods or services you offer are of better value and will solve your customers’ problems more effectively than a competitors’ offerings?
At its core, a marketing value proposition is a clear statement that explains how your product or service is relevant to your customers, how it will provide a specific benefit to them, and why they should buy from you and not your competitor. It should encompass three elements: your target buyer and their problem, how you solve their problem, and why you solve their problem better than anyone else.
The biggest mistake that businesses make when creating their marketing value proposition is that they are too vague. Here are a few questions to consider to find out if your marketing value proposition is working for your business.
Is it relevant and easy to understand?
Is your marketing value proposition relevant to the needs of your target market? Is it riddled with technical jargon that can’t be easily understood by someone who doesn’t have a background in the industry? Your value proposition should be in the language of your customer, reflecting the problems that they have and the solutions they need.
Is it credible?
Even if your value proposition is compelling, if it sounds too good to be true of if you can’t point to real-life results that support it, you’ll undermine your own efforts. Your statement should be believable and credible.
Can it adapt to changes in your business of industry?
Your marketing value proposition is far more than a friendly blurb that you post on your About Us page. it creates a framework for not only how your customers think about you business but also how you and your employees think about your business. A value proposition that is too confining and doesn’t adapt to future growth and development will not work. As your business grows and changes and as your industry evolves, will your value proposition still hold true?
Does it resonate with your audience?
Unless your value proposition elicits an emotional response, it will quickly be forgotten. Your value proposition should resonate with your audience by grabbing your customers’ attention and being memorable. They should see their own needs in it and feel an emotional connection with your mission.
Your business may be but one fish in a sea full of competitors that all offer essentially the same features. This is why an effective marketing value proposition is so important: it goes beyond dry, standard features to showcase the rich benefits that your business is in a unique position to provide. Your marketing value proposition sets your brand apart from your competitors, demonstrating to your target audience how you understand them and have oriented your business around their needs.
