Purpose
This is a back-to-basics approach to act as a guide for small business owners like you, to help you improve your Unique Value Proposition.
In this first part we will look at the three things you need to pull together to form your value proposition.
In part two we’ll cover how we can bring them all together into a clear statement and then ensure its well communicated.
Introduction
Crafting and communicating your unique value proposition – done right – is a real game changer for you and your business.
I’ve included lots of thought-provoking questions for you to answer for your business, because if you are going to be unique there is of course not one simple one size fits all answer! You’ll have to do some research and some thinking.
You are busy right, so what’s going to justify putting the time and effort into this?
- What is you had NO price competition?
- Imagine your brand was being talked about because it delivers something special others don’t!
- Like to enhance your profitability?
Let’s do this …
If you take just one thing from this article – being relevant and different increases profitability!
Crafting and Communicating Your Unique Value Proposition: A Guide for Small Business Owners
In a crowded marketplace, small businesses need a strong and distinctive value proposition to stand out from the competition. A unique value proposition (UVP) defines what sets your business apart and why customers should choose you over alternatives. It is the very foundation upon which your marketing messages, brand identity, and customer experiences are built.
& will all know what happens if you don’t invest in good foundations!!!!!
The purpose of a Unique Value Proposition as the name suggests is to CREATE VALUE.
- Value for your customers and clients
- Value for you and your business in the form of PROFIT
So, let’s look at each element in turn.
We’ll start with Value for the customer/consumer, then look at your proposition and finally what makes it UNIQUE!
1. Understand your customer’s NEEDS:
To craft a compelling value proposition, you must deeply understand your target audience. Consider the following questions:
- Who are your ideal customers? What are their demographics, preferences, and pain points?
- What specific needs or problems do they have that your business can address?
- What benefits or outcomes are they seeking from products or services in your industry?
REALLY get under their skin and into their lives (so to speak), so you can really speak to them in a way that is relevant and compelling.
- How do they feel?
- What do they think about?
- How do they see the World?
- What are the most important things in their lives?
- What do they live for?
Remember you will nearly always be competing against something for them to choose your product or service above another. As well as your obvious competitors there are two key factors to consider – Money and Times (especially time as it’s a finite resource).
- How else might they be choosing to spend the time?
- What else might they be investing the money on?
Recommended Action:
I’d recommend you take the time to construct an Avatar or pen portrait of your ideal target. This action will help get the thoughts out of your head onto paper (so it really exists) and identify what you really ought to be researching. A simple one pager is fine, and it will come in very useful as you engage other – the team or external support to market your brand.
2. Your VALUE Proposition:
Once you understand what your customers lifestyles/business needs, then you can go onto address them. Here we are answering the simple question:
How do we meet our customer’s needs?
Or how do we add VALUE to our customers lives/business’ / Why do they want what we are offering?
Join the NoLimits Business Community
Are you a business owner looking to take your business to the next level? Join our innovative community of like-minded professionals and gain access to a wealth of valuable resources, including a community portal to chat with other business owners, ebooks, business development software, and growth events that will transform the way you do business. Best of all, these resources are completely free and will be available to you forever.
But the benefits of joining our NoLimits business community don’t stop there. By becoming part of our community, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with other business owners, share insights and ideas, and build valuable relationships that will help your business thrive. Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to supercharge your business and join us today!
One great way of starting on this is to research your existing customers and prospects. Explore both their perceptions and experiences with the market area you serve before getting into their specific opinion of your business/service experience and or your competitors:
- What are the three problems or frustrations that buying this type of product/services solves?
- What are the three most common frustrations when buying this type of product/service?
- What are the three things your best customers say about you?
- What are the three things your worst customers say about you?
- What do me provide that you can’t get from others? / How important is this to you when making your decision?
- What are the three reasons that customers come to you rather than your competitors? If you honestly don’t know, ask them.
Here are some elements to consider (it’s by no means a complete list):
- Quality
- Reliability
- Price (we should have that in as a check – If it’s the only reason, then you’ve some work to do)
- Reliability
- Safety
- Speed of Service
- Customers Service (what about it?)
- Reputation
- Consistency
- Convenience
- Guarantee
- Image
The examples above are top line – it’s likely you’ll want to dig down and understand what it is specifically. e.g. What about the Image appeals to you?
Top tip – When thinking about your proposition be constantly asking yourself – What’s in it for them (WIIFT). Talk to their needs and where appropriate take it to a higher emotional level. So for a holiday it’s not just a question on the logistics, travel arrangements, number of beds et al – it’s the amazing experience in which we take care of everything for you so you can enjoy the most precious time you have as a family.
Be very clear on the market you operate within to ensure that you are watching and researching the right competitors. Again, look at this from a customer’s perspective of how they choose to invest their time and money.
Three recommended actions here:
- Compete your research to confirm what your customers really value about your products and services.
- Do some research on your top competitors to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and value propositions. You can exploit these later.
- Write down on the left-hand side of a blank page the things that you have to have in order to serve customers in this market – I call this the ‘need to play’ items. On the right you can then add the things that give to the ‘right to win’ – the things that make you different/better than the competition.
This customer centric thinking (with your Avatar in mind) will help stand you apart from others in the market!
3. The UNIQUE value you bring:
Understanding your strengths and weaknesses relative to your competitors alongside what your customers/consumers want, desire, need enables you to properly identify the things that will truly stand you apart.
Reflect on what makes your business exceptional and consider the following:
- What expertise or skills do you bring to the table that others don’t
- Do you have unique resources, technology, or processes that deliver superior results?
- What are your core values and how do they shape the way you do business differently?
N.B. Being different alone is not enough!
The difference must be relevant to create value in the eyes of the customer!!!
Got points of difference already – test them out!
Ask
- How different are they to what our customers could get elsewhere?
- How much do customers care about the difference?
Or start from scratch and ask yourself.
- What do customers care most about?
- How differentiating would that benefit be if we offered it?
Imagine being able to find an attribute or benefit of your product that makes it unique in the market which will give you more control over its pricing which in turn gives you higher margins which gives you more money for marketing allowing you to further differentiation your offering starting a virtuous cycle. That’s the true value of marketing and investing the time to create a great UVP.
Recommended Action:
List down the top things that make you better / different and check they are valuable to your customers.
Expert Tip: You’ll often find that it’s a combination of factors added together in a unique way that make for a great UVP. So, what’s your secret recipe for success?
Conclusion
To craft Your Value Proposition Statement; Once you have gathered insights from steps 1 to 3, distil them into a clear and concise value proposition statement.
This statement should answer:
- What specific benefits or outcomes does your business offer to customers?
- How does your business address their needs or solve their problems?
- What makes your business unique, different, or superior to competitors?
In part 2 of this article, we’ll give you a simple framework you can use to construct your Unique Value Proposition. For now, don’t worry about a concise line or the exact words, do first the groundwork and collect the information you need.
Action
You are in charge of the action you take and the profit you make – I’ve included recommend actions in this article, pick those that that will help you and decide when you’ll make time for them.
By James Gentle
Join the NoLimits Business Community
Are you a business owner looking to take your business to the next level? Join our innovative community of like-minded professionals and gain access to a wealth of valuable resources, including a community portal to chat with other business owners, ebooks, business development software, and growth events that will transform the way you do business. Best of all, these resources are completely free and will be available to you forever.
But the benefits of joining our NoLimits business community don’t stop there. By becoming part of our community, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with other business owners, share insights and ideas, and build valuable relationships that will help your business thrive. Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to supercharge your business and join us today!