TeamStrength Toolkit Value Proposition Worksheet
From Neil Patel & HubSpot
Almost regardless of what you do, you have bigger competitors and their continued success isn’t about luck. According to HubSpot, 69% of B2B businesses have established a value proposition and more importantly, they know how to use them.
What makes you valuable?
People won’t ever buy from you if they don’t understand why they should pay attention to you. And they notice you only if you have a strong value proposition. A useful definition of value proposition is “a believable collection of the most persuasive reasons people should notice you and take the action you’re asking for.” You don’t have to be the best in every way. However, if you’re the best in at least one way, you’re the best option for the people who value that aspect.
Apple doesn’t have the largest product selection. Amazon isn’t the most prestigious. Tiffany’s isn’t the cheapest. People buy from them for other reasons. Something has to make you the best option for your target customers.
Can you prove that?
Without proof, you can’t say much before it starts to sound like “marketing talk,” which people don’t pay almost any attention to (nor do they remember it). Being the best isn’t enough. People need to believe you’re the best option for them. You can use studies, testimonials, and common sense, among other methods, to prove your claims.
Basecamp uses social proof to validate their main claim “World’s #1 Project Management App” with the following claim on their website: “Last week 6,232 companies signed up for Basecamp to manage their projects. Today it’s your turn,” and “97% of customers recommend Basecamp. Find out why.” The two specific numbers make the claim believable (“6,232 companies” and “97% recommend”).
Impressive numbers can be the right choice, but they don’t always work. Numbers can prove popularity and other quantitative things. But when you’re a “trusted expert,” saying, “1,000 people consider me an expert” won’t work. Instead, a few expert testimonials make the idea credible. They can even take away the need for you to make any claims—the testimonials can make the claims for you. Similarly, you can use testimonials to build your product’s overall perceived value and take away the last doubt people might feel about your promises. For example, StudioPress shows well-known people praising their products on their website.
You need to pick the right way to prove your promises. Otherwise they’re not believable. Usually, since you’re not just trying to make one claim about you and your products, you need to use different methods to prove each promise.
People can’t read your mind
If your website doesn’t clearly tell visitors what makes you worth their attention (and money), they don’t spend the time to figure it out on their own. It’s your job to hit people in the head with what makes you different and worth attention. Visual Website Optimizer doesn’t waste time; the home page is very clear about what you can get from them with “Increase your website sales and conversions – No coding or HTML knowledge required,” in large font on their homepage. The headline might not be as creative as many people seem to think is necessary. Instead, it gets the job done. You’ll never, ever hear anyone say, “It’s too easy to understand what your site is about.” But if your site is even a bit confusing, your bounce rate will skyrocket.
It’s not enough to have a headline that’s clear about what makes you different—people won’t really understand your value proposition that easily. You need to restate it everywhere. If you say something just once, people can easily forget it, or they don’t realize how important it is. So, when you know what people need to believe about you and your products, don’t put all the pressure on just one headline; do everything you can to make it clear to people. The Iconic, an Australian online shoe store, uses the search box to remind people of their big selection with “Search over 500 brands, and 45,000 products.”
When people understand why they should buy your product instead of any other, they’ll do it. But first you need to figure out what makes you different from your competitors and the best choice for your target customers.
Your value proposition
When you start creating (or refining) your value proposition, the first step is to find the core of it. The core of your value proposition is made up of the ideas that make you clearly the best choice for people. Identify the benefits your product/service offers to customers, link the benefits to the value offering, and differentiate and position yourself.
From Hubspot the top tactics for developing the most effect value proposition for your organization are:
- 71% of companies clearly explain the value of products & services
- 56% of companies clearly explain why the ideal customer should choose them over the competition
- 52% of companies develop different value propositions for separate products or services
- 45% of companies target specific value propositions for specific buyers
- 40% of companies utilize competitive research
- 20% of companies test different value propositions through various media.
Those few sentences can give you an unfair advantage. Using them well can make you the market leader; the current leaders got there because they knew how to do it.