A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered and acknowledged
and a belief from the customer that value will be appealed and experienced. A
value proposition can apply to an entire organization, or parts thereof, or
customer accounts, or products or services.
Value proposition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FROM “VALUE CUSTOMER PROPOSITION” …
TO “VALUE BUSINESS CHAIN” & “VALUE MARKETING STRATEGY”
VALUE
PROPOSITION
THE “VALUE CHAIN”
INBOUND
LOGISTICS
(“Input”)
SUPPLIER
VALUE
RESOURCES
OUTBOUND LOGISTICS
(“Output”)
OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT & MARKETING
(“Throughput”)
CUSTOMER
VALUE
RECEIVED
COMPANY
VALUE-ADDED
VALUE
CREATION
(“Product/Brand”)
VALUE
COSTING
(“Price”)
VALUE
DELIVERY
(“Place/Channels”)
VALUE
COMMUNICATION
(“Promotion/Media”)
Creating a Value Proposition
Communicating the Benefits of Your Product, Service or Idea, Simply and Clearly
http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ValueProposition.htm
Imagine a world where everyone is in sales. Well, the fact is, everyone is in sales, in some fashion. It's not just the salesman
at the car lot or computer reseller who qualifies: Maybe you are trying to sell your spouse your ideas for the next holiday;
Maybe you're pitching a new project to your boss; Maybe you are headhunting someone to join your firm. It's all selling, and,
whatever your offer (product, idea, project or job) it's important to have a really strong value proposition.
A value proposition is a short statement that clearly communicates the benefits that your potential client gets by using your
product, service or idea. It "boils down" all the complexity of your sales pitch into something that your client can easily grasp
and remember. It needs to be very specific: Simply describing the features or capabilities of your offer is not enough. Your
value proposition must focus closely on what your customer really wants and values. Your customer wants to solve
problems, to improve on existing solutions, to have a better life, build a better business or do more, better, faster. and so on.
Creating a value proposition is a useful marketing technique that had wider application than product marketing. Whatever
you are 'selling' and to whom, a value proposition is useful, if not essential, tool. Whether your 'customers' are external
customers, employees, co-workers or even your family, the idea is to help them see the specific value your offer brings to
them. And by doing so, you will grab their attention in such a way that they know: "Yes, that's right for me".
Creating a Great Value Proposition
"Why should I buy this specific product or idea?" asks your customer: And your value proposition must answer this, in a
compelling way. In creating a good value proposition, the trick is to know your product or idea well, know how it compares
with those of your competitors and, very importantly, put yourself in your customer's shoes to find the answers.
Your value proposition can be created step-by-step, by answering a series of questions. Once you answer these, you have
the ingredients to create a value proposition that answers your customer's question: "Why should I buy this product or idea?"
Creating a Value Proposition
Communicating the Benefits of Your Product, Service or Idea, Simply and Clearly (Continued)
http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ValueProposition.htm
Step 1: Know your customer
Thinking from the perspective of your customer, ask the following:
Who is he or she? What does s/he do and need?
What problems does s/he need to solve?
What improvements does s/he look for?
What does s/he value?
Tip: If you don't know, ask! It's easy to try to second guess what your customers want. And very easy to get it wrong.
So do some market research: This could be a simple matter of asking customers directly, or organizing a focus group or surveys. 'Market research' is not just for
external customers, it works for other 'markets' too: Depending on your product or idea, your 'market' could be employees, colleagues, or even your spouse.
Step 2: Know your product, service or idea
From your customer view point:
How does the product, service or idea solve the problem or offer improvement?
What value and hard results does it offer the customer?
Tip: Include numbers and percentages
To grab your customer's attention even faster in this financially-oriented world, your value proposition should also speak percentages and numbers: How much will
your customer gain, save or improve? How much more efficient will he or she become? How much safer, smarter, faster, brighter will the solution be? And so on.
Step 3: Know your competitors
Keep on thinking from the perspective of your customer, and ask:
How does your product or idea create more value than competing ones?
Tip: This can be quite difficult. See our articles on USP Analysis , Core Competence Analysis and SWOT Analysis for useful tools for doing this.
Step 4: Distill the customer-oriented proposition
The final step is to pull it all together and answer, in 2 or 3 sentence: "Why should I buy this specific product or idea?"
Try writing from the customer viewpoint by completing the following, (also include the numbers and percentages that matter!):
"I want to buy this product or idea because it will..."
"The things I value most about the offer are..."
"It is better than competing products or ideas because..."
Step 5: Pull it all together
Now, turn around your customers 'answer' from step 4 into a value proposition statement.
Creating a Value Proposition
Communicating the Benefits of Your Product, Service or Idea, Simply and Clearly (Continued)
http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ValueProposition.htm
Example
Here's a simple example. Let's say that you sell lawn mowers, and your customer is someone with a large back yard.
Step 1: Know your customer
Your customer is a businessman with quite a large house, who likes the "meditative feeling" of cutting his own lawn, but gets
bored by the job when it takes too long.
He's looking for a good quality of cut, for the job to be done quickly and enjoyably.
Step 2: Know your product or idea
The product is a ride-on mower with a 25 horsepower (powerful) engine and 45 inch (wide) cutting blades.
Step 3: Know your competitors
The mower goes faster and cuts wider than the competition.
Step 4: Distill the customer-oriented proposition
"Our mower cuts your grass in 50% of the time of 'big brand' mowers in its class. And it leaves the lawn looking beautiful too!"
If you haven't already looked at our USP Analysis article, do so now – it will show you how, with a little research, you can
identify how your product or service is unique. It's also worth understanding the various strategic positioning options that will
underpin your value statement: our article on Porter's Generic Strategies explains these.
This site teaches you the skills you need for a happy and successful career; and this is just one of many tools and resources
that you'll find here at Mind Tools. Click here for more, subscribe to our free newsletter, or become a member for just $1.