Ask these 5 questions to avoid overcomplicating your message.
Because confused people don't buy, and they don't invest.
If you can't articulate your value proposition in a clear, crisp way, unfortunately, you aren't giving your business a chance to shine. And it's astonishing how many organisations are accidentally doing this.
Don't believe me? Visit a few websites and tell me if you can understand—within five seconds—what that company has to offer you. At best, most of them lead with a product or service.
We want to find companies that will solve our problems, but if you inadvertently:
Throw everything and the kitchen sink, shove too many words and adjectives in to make it sound important.
Only place a list of complicated technical terms or focus on the technology or solution.
Are not clear on how the customer is better off and to what extent
... the chances are you're falling foul of an overcomplicated and underpowered value proposition.
"Writing and speaking in plain language is surprisingly hard if you know your product very well," says Joe Wilson, senior education strategist at MaRS.
But that simplicity and clarity on the message are precisely what you need to achieve. A value proposition needs to articulate the purpose for your business from your customers' point of view in a way that they can understand in seconds.
Michael Lanning invented the term "value proposition" back in the 80s. And he believed that "Contrary to how things may seem, customers don't really care about your product. They care about their lives or businesses; they care about what they may or may not get out of using your products or services,'"
Michael said. "So what matters and what must be at the heart of a real value proposition is those customers' resulting experiences that happen because they buy [or] use your stuff rather than some other option."
These are the five questions you need to be answering:
You need to ask yourself who is my customer and what problem do we solving for them. What is the most important job they have to get done that is creating them the greatest pain that I solve?
What specifically does my solution do for them, and on what occasion this happens. What's the outcome? What specific value do I bring to their lives by solving this problem?
Is this different from my competitor's promise of value? If it's isn't then keep looking.
Why is my solution is better, what is the impact of choosing my product or solution, including why this is better than perhaps even doing nothing, why they should choose me over everything else? Be specific. Limit it to one to three things maximum.
Why now. What's happening in the world that make this the right time for my solution or product? How can you put this in context?
Remember, people are looking for authentic, human engagement. Around 86% of consumers say authenticity is a significant factor in supporting a brand. They want to be spoken to in and on their terms.
You are asking potential clients or investors to put down the iPhone, turn of Netflix, shut off the football game, stop working on emails, get of zoom, and prioritise you over everything else. They won't be able to do this if they don't understand in seconds why they should.
Doing this work is business-critical. It looks easy at the outset, but it requires putting the customer first and foremost, which can be challenging when you've been so focused on building your solution or product. But a tight, simple, authentic UVP will get you further than almost anything else you do. As Steve Jobs preached, strategy is what you choose not to do. You can achieve so much when you truly focus.
Ultimately don’t get in your own way of success, ensure your customers or VCs or media get clarity on you and fall head over heels in love with you by doing the work of defining your value proposition.