From the course: Digital Marketing Foundations

How to define your value proposition

From the course: Digital Marketing Foundations

Start my 1-month free trial

How to define your value proposition

“

- At the center of your marketing is your value proposition. It's a short, distinct statement that outlines exactly why a customer should buy your product or service. It should be something that can live as a headline with a supporting sentence, or a few bullet points. It should be front and center in your messaging and be the foundation by which you build all of your marketing around. Now a value proposition is not a jargon filled statement, nor is it your slogan. It must be simple, clear, and easy to understand in five seconds. The less known that your product is, well the better that your value proposition is going to need to be. When Uber launched, it's stuck to this value proposition, "The smartest way to get around, one tap and a car comes directly to you, your driver knows exactly where to go, and payment is completely cashless." Now it's tempting to create a value proposition that lists the key differentiators of your product, but this actually isn't the right approach. What you want to do is sell the result, or the experience of using the product, not just what features get you to that result. You're telling a story and focusing on the outcomes, and in a competitive market, you're attacking pain points of the existing solutions. With Uber, well they're calling out everything people hated about traditional taxis, but their main headline isn't Uber the on-demand taxi service. It's telling you that your current way of getting around is dumb. And the outcome of Uber is that you've picked the smart way. Let's say I'm launching a new smartwatch company. Sure, I could sell my watch on features, such as the durability of the glass, or the price, or even the battery life, and that would be important for a consumer to know. But I could instead lead with the idea of never missing moments, an always connected companion with just-in-time alerts, that keep you in touch with your family, your work and your life goals. I can position this watch in a manner that lets me market beyond features. I can now develop campaigns for those that are fitness inclined, campaigns for the working professional, or even for the stay-at-home parent. I can now tell stories that connect to the features that matter for that target market. Selling the results and the experience lets you think bigger. And it gives your buyer room to imagine the bigger value of that purchase. As you sit down to develop your value proposition, determine not how your product will be better than others in the market, but how your outcome is better. Write this value proposition down and then reflect on it every time that you go to produce any new marketing collateral.

Contents