Description
The purpose of a Value Proposition Statement is to articulate why a customer should choose your offering over alternatives. These statements are fundamental to marketing planning as they clarify the target customer, product category, competitive advantage, and ultimate customer benefit. Value Proposition Statements should not be confused with positioning copy or advertising taglines. Rather, Value Proposition Statements are a critical input to the development of effective marketing communications. Strong Value Proposition Statements are clear, concise, compelling, and difficult for competitors to replicate. While these statements may appear aspirational for your organization, they need to be grounded in deep understanding of your customer, business, and marketplace.
Question
What exactly are we offering and why should a customer choose it?
Steps
Start by describing your target customer as specifically as possible. While you might sell to others, describe the customer that the product has been designed for. Who will find your product most valuable?
Now describe the underlying pain point or need that will motivate your target customer to consider your product. The most successful products address common, urgent, and unaddressed needs and desires.
Write down the name of your product and consider the category that it belongs to. As unique as your product may be, it is important for customers that are unfamiliar with you to have a frame of reference.
Now define your primary customer benefit. This benefit needs to address the customer need or opportunity captured in Step 2. Capture what your product uniquely provides, not a list of product features.
Finally, capture your primary competitors or alternatives. You can describe these other products as a common group for brevity. Identify the most important way your product is different and better for customers.
Considerations
Avoid starting with the features of your product and backing into the associated needs of your customer
Avoid the trap of considering your product as one-of-a-kind when identifying the category it belongs to
Avoid the tendency to use creative language or buzzwords; make your statement clear, accurate, and specific
References
Moore, G. “Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers”, Harper Business, 1991