What would you say is the most important marketing element for your business? Not a trick question, but one that many of our clients miss. It is a value proposition canvas in our opinion, hands down.
Like Jack Welch says, if you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete. It is that simple. Save your money and time.
We have found many businesses that cannot articulate how their business is truly unique. What analogy to this situation stands out in our mind?
Trying to win against your competition without good business differentiation is like trying to sail with no wind.
There are two ways to win in a competitive market:
Achieve sustainable lower cost than your competition for the same products and services. That is very difficult, if not impossible.
Deliver more value, despite equal or higher price.
There is obviously not one answer that fits all in the question of customer choices.
Value proposition canvas … what is a value proposition versus a tagline?
Lots of our clients confuse a value proposition with a business tagline. But they are not the same. A tagline is a simple representation of the brand. One whose objective is to draw attention. A unique selling proposition, on the other hand, is a business differentiation.
It is designed to be the reason a customer will want to buy your product or service. Its objective is to market that makes the product or service stand out.
The art of tagline development is to distill the meaning of a big idea into a cogent message. It should be easy to say, easy to understand, and easy to remember. What do you think?
To ensure your brand expression is impossible to forget, use the following checklist to avoid the most common mistakes.
Tagline, strapline, slogan… Whatever you choose to call it, it’s all the same. It’s the key phrase that identifies your business by capturing the essence of three elements:
Your mission
Your promise
Your brand
Coming up with a great tagline is a struggle many people face. They get it wrong by focusing on what their product or service is and neglecting what it offers.
Taglines can help or hamper your marketing efforts. They must be clear and relevant. Some taglines make you scratch your head, some don’t make you think at all.
Some, the ones that work, make you think. You know what’s insanely difficult? Being succinct.
Seriously … it’s ridiculously hard. But do you know what’s even more difficult? Expressing a complex emotional concept in just a couple of words. In other words, coming up with a tagline. Yeah, it can be a head-scratcher.
But that’s why we have a lot of respect for brands that did it right. Looking for a little tagline inspiration of your own, take a look at some of our favorite company taglines — from past and present:
See Food Differently
I see food differently. The tagline for this campaign is Sea Food Differently. I think this is tagline writing at its best: clever, play on words, and RELEVANT. They are saying that Red Lobster does seafood differently (presumably better) than other restaurants. Perfect.
The uncola
A brave and somewhat bold way 7-Up’s tagline distinguishes its product from the cola competition. Taste wise it’s not cola, and that is 7-Ups promise. A good one, isn’t it?
Snap, Crackle, Pop
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies’ fantastic tagline that doubles up as a jingle, and also is descriptive – they actual do Snap! Crackle! And Pop!
This is more of a slogan, a classic slogan example. It’s very advertising orientated – very product specific/descriptive. And the promise is freshness as the sound says.
Where dreams come true
This is just one of many of the dream makers at Disney, for they have so many elements and areas of operations. This includes Disney World to a range of other media and wonderful creations.
Disney is a dream company, while the word dream strikes similarity with DreamWorks; it works best for the Disney promise.
We make IT happen
IBM’s clever use of playing on IT (Information Technology) doubling up as IT (as in that’s it).
Just do it
Instantly, Nike’s tag line’s message began to resonate. It is no longer about just a shoe or a pair of shorts; it is a state of mind. You don’t have to be an athlete to be in shape or tackle an obstacle. If you want to do it, just do it. That’s all it takes.
The Ultimate Driving Machine
For BMW, the fact they call their vehicles “machines” shows a real truth, coupling with the word ultimate, the tagline is a well-oiled machine that works!
We try harder
This is a really strong tagline for Avis. It differentiates the brand as “going the extra mile” (this would be a relevant but more obvious tagline). It evokes that it genuinely does try harder
So, if you were wondering where to put your marketing time, focus on delivering dramatic tagline design.
The value proposition on the other hand …
A strong value proposition speaks directly to your target audience. It tells them exactly why they should purchase your products and services.
In the case of non-profits, it’s why your donors should support your organization, members should join your programs, etc.
A simple statement
A value proposition is a short statement that tells your prospect why they should buy from your company.It is focused on outcomes.
Your value proposition distills all the complexity of the value you provide into an easy-to-remember phrase that your client can easily grasp and remember.
This helps spread word-of-mouth marketing, and it differentiates you from the competition. Keep in mind that your value proposition should identify and remedy an unmet need that your customers face.
It should relieve their pain.
Regardless of the size of your business or the type of industry you are in, your company should have a value proposition. To help you, here are some guidelines to follow in creating one for your business.
A strong value proposition does the following:
Creates interest, so that your prospects ask questions and want to learn more. Your value proposition opens the door so that someone might be willing to meet with you.
Differentiates your offer from your competitors’ offers and creates a strong differential between you and your competitors
Increases the quantity and quality of your sales leads and makes the conversion to a customer much easier
Wins your business greater market share in your targeted segments
Aligns your business operations more closely to customer needs
Are you starting to get a feel for a strong value proposition?
A strong value proposition is specific, often citing numbers or percentages. It may include a quick synopsis of your work with similar customers as a proof source and demonstration of your capability.
A value proposition is a clear statement of the tangible results a customer gets from using your products or services.
Its outcome focused and stressed the business value of your offering.
So, if you were wondering where to put your marketing time and energy to optimize how to win customers from your competitors, focus on defining and delivering a winning value proposition and tagline, keeping your promises, and establishing as well as maintaining strong social relationships.
Value proposition canvas example … how to find value
Where to look for value in your business’s value delivery chain?
Here are top 5 areas we recommend you consider first:
Time
The most important of customer priorities today. What can you do to keep your time demands on customers to a minimum?
Convenience and easy to work with
Ones related to customer time for sure. Do everything you can to make things as simple as possible.
Customer experience/service
Great service creates a great experience and becomes something worth your customer talking to his friends about. It is the most important element of your word of mouth marketing campaign.
Trust and warranty
Trust is the most often named reason customers say they select businesses to do business with. Good warranties are great places to start building trust.
How to write a value proposition.
New ways
New ways of doing business. The best example for this value proposition in my mind … Netflix.
A great value proposition has some key responsibilities.
In other words, especially for a small company, telling your customers to “just do it” doesn’t make picking a pair of shoes any easier.
Instead, the following items are what you should be addressing:
Relevancy
Give your offering relevancy to customers by saying (outright) what problem it solves, or how it will improve their current situation.
Quantify
the value for your customers by listing specific benefits (steer clear of “It’ll save you money,” and opt instead for “You’ll save $30/month on your phone bill.”)
Point of difference
Place priority on your point of difference, which is the reason why your solution is better than the competition in some notable way.
The heart of a winning value proposition needs to be articulated for the customer value end state … not for your product, service, or business process.
Be your customers … study and creatively infer value by observing/learning from what they do.
Do your claims surpass the value alternatives in the marketplace? Will your customers believe your claims? Does your value differentiate you in the customer’s eyes?
Can you validate and deliver your value proposition?
Is it sustainable, at least in the near term?
Is it simple, clear, and specific?
When your customers have customers, different value propositions are required for different players in the value delivery chain.
Every business has a value proposition … either implied or explicit. Implied value propositions usually mean little to no discrimination versus your competition. Look beyond your implied values.
Remember this: Information is cheap. Attention is expensive. Time is priceless. Customer time and convenience is a great place to look for business differentiation. Give it a try today.
Value proposition canvas explained … secrets of value propositions
Can you double your business with great value propositions? Just thinking what it would take is scary, isn’t it? Almost regardless of whom you are or what you do, you have bigger and often better competitors. The market leaders.
And if you have no competitive advantages, no understanding of the secrets of unique selling propositions (USP’s), you really can’t compete.
But with extraordinary, unique selling propositions, it certainly is another matter. And knowing these ten secrets can help you with building fantastic USP’s for your business.
So let’s turn our attention to these10 secrets to deriving the best unique selling propositions possible.
Secret # 1 Best value
The most useful definition of unique selling propositions (USP) is a believable collection of the most persuasive reasons people should notice you and take the action you’re seeking.
This way, it guides your decisions much more clearly and can be used as the basis for marketing messages.
If you don’t have strong selling propositions, people don’t have good reasons to do either of those.
For example, if your online bookstore has an average selection, decent prices, delivery, a guarantee, good customer service, and a website, why would anyone buy from you? There’s surely a competitor who beats you in at least some of those aspects.
You don’t have to be the best in every way. Sure, it’s great if you are. But realistically, it’s difficult enough to be the best couple of ways.
However, if you’re the best in at least several ways, you’re the best option for the people who value those propositions.
Starbuck’s doesn’t have the lowest prices. Amazon isn’t the most prestigious bookseller. Zappos’ isn’t the easiest way to shop. People buy from them for other reasons.
So, if your bookstore has the largest selection, for example, but the other things are just average, the people who value a large selection have a reason to buy from you.
You must have some product or service elements that are unique.
Something has to make you the best option for your target customers.
Otherwise, they have no good reason to buy from you.
Secret #2 Heart of the proposition
The heart of a winning unique selling proposition is the result of experiences of value a business intends to deliver to its target customers. The result of experiences.
For example, a customer shopping for an electric drill is looking for one that can deliver holes as easily and conveniently as possible. Also, one that can deliver the most multiple functions.
Secret #3 Articulate for customers
Unique selling propositions need to be articulated for customers … not for your products, services or business processes. Products, services, processes are the vehicles for the proposition delivery.
Secret #4 All businesses have unique selling propositions
Customers perceive relative value in any proposition, even implicit ones … so every business delivers a unique selling proposition (explicit or implicit). You need to design it explicitly.
Don’t let it happen by chance. You don’t win that way.
Secret #5 Become your customers
“Become” your customers instead of just asking them what they want from your business. Listen, observe and study to creatively infer from what customers DO.
Secret #6 Multiple unique selling propositions
When your customers have customers, different USPs are required for different players in the value delivery chain.
Secret #7 Span all your business functions
Look for value across your entire business. Use USPs to govern the span of all your business functions. One set for all functions.
Secret #8 Know how to employ USP’s
People won’t ever buy from you if they don’t even understand why they should pay attention to you. And they notice you only if you have strong and unique selling propositions.
The usual definition of a unique selling proposition is incomplete. It is a promise of something the competition cannot or does not offer.
It must be strong enough to move the masses, i.e., attract new customers.
Unique selling propositions, as defined it like that, are decent, but incomplete, internal tools that can guide your decisions to the right general direction. But nothing more.
Secret # 9 Demonstrate the proof
If you say, my pizza is the best in the world; will people flood your restaurant? No. They won’t believe you.
Without proof, you can’t say much before it starts to sound like marketing talk. No one pays attention. Or remembers. They just don’t believe. No believing, no trust. It is all downhill after that.
For example, I recently saw a digital marketing competitor site where they claimed to be the secret weapon of digital marketing for the most successful companies in the world.
Needless to say, we doubt anyone can take that seriously when nothing supports the claim.
As long as you don’t prove your claims, people are unlikely to believe them. And your unique selling proposition becomes of no use.
Use studies, testimonials, and common sense, among other methods, to prove your claims.
Impressive numbers can be the right choice, but they don’t always 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 products’ overall perceived value and take away the last doubt people might feel about your promises.
Many businesses don’t help people see what sets the company apart from its competitors. This always amazes us.
They are better than others, and they could prove it. They just don’t do it.
Instead, they try to persuade people with general promises, corporate babble, and feature lists. If your website doesn’t clearly tell visitors what makes you worth their attention, they won’t spend the time to figure it out on their own.
Secret # 10 Be clever in communicating your claims
It’s your job to hit people on the head with what makes you different and worth attention. Clever ways to communicate your claims. In believable ways.
When people understand why they should buy your product instead of any other, they’ll do it.
Examples of how to convert average value propositions into winners
Does your business have several value propositions that you employ? Are they just good enough or are they real winners?
And do you know how to convert average value propositions into winners?
A winning value proposition helps spread word-of-mouth marketing. Keep in mind that your value proposition should identify and remedy an unmet need that your customers face.
It should relieve their pain.
To help you convert so-so value propositions into difference makers, here are some guidelines that will be a big help:
Become your customers
“Become” your customers instead of just asking them what they want from your business. Listen, observe and study to creatively infer from what customers value
As an example, Dutch Boy Paint took the approach to think like their customers. Paint cans are heavy, hard to carry, hard to close, hard to open, hard to pour, and certainly no fun.
They’ve been around for a long time, and most people assumed that there had to be a reason why they were so bad.
Dutch Boy realized that there was no reason. They also realized that the can was an integral part of the product: People don’t buy paint, they buy painted walls, and the can make that process much easier.
Focus on best value
The most useful definition of a value proposition is a believable collection of the most persuasive best values why people should notice you and take the action you’re seeking.
This way, it guides your decisions much more clearly and can be used as the basis for marketing messages.
Let’s take Zappos for example. If you are an online clothing and shoe business like Zappos, with a good selection, decent prices, delivery, a guarantee, good customer service, and a website, why would anyone buy from you?
There’s surely a competitor who beats you in at least some of those aspects.
You don’t have to be the best in every way. Sure, it’s great if you are. But realistically, it’s difficult enough to be the best in just a few ways. Zappos decided to push to be number one in all things customer service. Doing a great job of that, aren’t they?
A growing business because of their customer service value propositions.
Secrets of value propositions.
Heart of the value proposition
The heart of a winning unique selling propositionis the result of experiences of value a business intends to deliver to its target customers.
The end result experiences.
For example,the Safelite business model and value propositionsare built around customer convenience and trust. They take their service to the customer and build trust by a super guarantee.
Customers shopping for an auto windshield repair love that Safelite can deliver the repairs as easily and conveniently as possible.
Articulate for customers
Value propositions need to be articulated for customers… not for your products, services or business processes. Products, services, processes are the vehicles for the proposition delivery.
Take a recent JetBlue commercial for a great example of how to articulate value propositions to customers. Have you seen the latest JetBlue commercial design? You know … the one with the great use of the analogy using pigeons?
Quite clever isn’t it, and likely one you will remember and maybe even talk about, right? And perhaps the best example of articulating value propositions in a commercial I have ever seen.
Utilize multiple value propositions
When your customers have customers,different value propositions are required for different players in the value delivery chain.
The Safelite business is a great example of using multiple value propositions at once. While many businesses have a difficult time deriving one good unique selling proposition, a few have defined multiple unique selling propositions.
The best brand we could find with the best multiple selling propositions is Safelite Autoglass. See this case study in the next section.
Creative value proposition employment
People won’t ever buy from you if they don’t even understand why they should pay attention to you. And they notice you only if you have strong and standout value propositions.
Have you seen this Fios commercial? If you have a product that truly discriminates you from your competition, build your story and messages on these discriminators. Several of the most effective value propositions we have seen in a while are shared in these 30 seconds.
As the child in the commercial tries to do things with his TV, his uncle has to tell him that those things don’t exist with their system. But they obviously do in the system the little boy is familiar with at home.
It’s just that the uncle is not aware that they exist since his system doesn’t have them. Don’t need to say much as the visuals do much of the talking. Powerful.
Always demonstrate proof
If you say, my advertising design is the best in the world; will people flood my agency? No. They won’t believe me.
Without proof, you can’t say much before it starts to sound like marketing talk. No one pays attention. Or remembers. They just don’t believe.
No believing, no trust. It is all downhill after that.
For example, I recently saw a digital marketing competitor site where they claimed to be the secret weapon of digital marketing for the most successful companies in the world. Needless to say, we doubt anyone can take that seriously when nothing supports the claim.
As long as you don’t prove your claims, people are unlikely to believe them. And your unique selling proposition becomes of no use.
Here is a very different value proposition that you rarely see used and yet it is easy to demonstrate proof. Toms Shoes are quirky, comfy, light and inexpensive. That alone probably isn’t enough to make a company stand out in the shoe business.
The unique and compelling part of the TOMS Shoes proposition is that they give a new pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair you purchase. You don’t even have to remember the exact words. The story is what sticks in your head.
Who else cares that much? Very few.
Be clever in communicating claims
It’s your job to hit people on the head with what makes you different and worth attention. Clever ways to communicate your claims. In believable and memorable ways.
Let’s go back to the recent JetBlue commercial for an example of how to be clever in communicating claims of value propositions to customers. Have you seen the latest JetBlue commercial design? You know … the one with the great use of the analogy using pigeons?
Quite clever isn’t it, and likely one you will remember and maybe even talk about, right? And perhaps the best example of communicating value propositions in a commercial I have ever seen.
Strengthening Your VP
As you’ve probably seen from any number of conversion studies, there are a few persuasive elements you can use to strengthen the impact of any value proposition. As marketerSmriti Chawla highlights here, supporting elements can play a very important role in turning a good value proposition into a great one.
Here are a few persuasive elements that add authority to your value proposition:
People like hearing from…well, other people. It’s why customer testimonials are so effective at getting people to consider and believe your offer. (Remember, just because you’re telling the truth doesn’t mean customers will believe you. It’s your job to convince them.)
Assurance
Many companies promise the world, but if you can be specific about what you plan to offer to make sure customers are happy, it will go a long way. Instead of “Satisfaction Guaranteed,” try things like “Fall in love with it or send it back in 30 days, no charge!”
You can also offer assurance through the form of support, community, and content. People love knowing that others will be there to help them with their purchase.
Social proof
Outside of specific testimonials, social proof such as notable press features serve well for customers who might feel hesitant about buying from a new company.
You can also feature some interesting facts about your performance, or the notable brands you serve as we do on the Help Scout homepage.
Boosters for your value proposition
Sometimes it’s the little things that tip the decision in your favor. If all major things are pretty much the same between your and your competitors’ offer, you can win by offering small value-adds. I call them boosters.
These things work well against competitors who do not offer them. Boosters can be things like:
Free shipping
Fast shipping / Next day shipping
Free bonus with a purchase
Free setup/installation
No setup fee
No long-term contract, cancel anytime
Key takeaways
Just remember, a value proposition is a clear statement of the tangible results a customer gets from using your products or services. Its outcome focused and stressed the business value of your offering.
Need some help in capturing more customers from your unique selling propositions (USP’s)? Creative ideas to help the differentiation with your customers? Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
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Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
More reading on unique selling propositions from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
