5 Steps to Write a Compelling Value Proposition

5 Steps to Write a Compelling Value Proposition

Get across exactly what your product or service offers to solve a customer pain point.

 

One of the biggest problems that we can have in just any industry, is not to be able to communicate clearly the value of our product, could it be a videogame, an artificial intelligence solution  or our skills in technology or datascience.

Creating and distributing a product that fails to convey its value is as bad as creating a product that has none, and the effect of succinctly communicating true product value is reflected in the company ability to retain part of that value  — which later on can be measured in revenue, users and other metrics such as market share and brand recognition.

The author of the article has a very good argumentation on some experience that he had with some companies in creating a successful product and being able to market it is writing a concise, effective and persuasive statement that sums up the purpose and benefit of your product: the value proposition.  The main ideas are resumed in 5 steps that can be used to try to synthetize a good value proposition.

Research and understand your customer.

When you’re creating a brand new product or feature, you have a set of assumptions as to why it’s a good idea — one of these, and certainly the most important, is that the target customer is experiencing a problem and is in need of a solution.

This is what you think. Unfortunately, this isn’t workable data off of which to make actionable decisions. Product decisions need to be data-driven from quantitative and qualitative customer research.

 

Create a value matrix.

As someone responsible for your product, it’s your responsibility to be able to justify that tip of the iceberg with a solid mountain of ice below. I’ve found that one of the most useful methods in helping articulate that iceberg to myself and everyone else is by using a value matrix — a simple three-column matrix that I will explain further below.

Write out key pain points.

In the first column of your matrix, list what your customers care about — the key pain points that you’ve identified your customers have. These will include some of your initial hypotheses, as well as new insights you’ve gained by speaking to users and from market, customer and competitor research.

A possible  example of how to phrase one of these pain point could be “is an important concern for ….  when …..” , i.e., «Safety is an important concern for travelers when booking accommodation».

List the product value for each.

Your list of pain points tells you what the customer cares about, and what your solution needs to solve to be valuable.
A possible example of how to phrase a feature’s value could be “will be used to increase/decrease “, i.e., «Peer reviews will be used to increase travelers’ trust when booking accommodation with a stranger».

Prioritize and craft one message.

The first question users asks themselves when seeing a product is, «Why should I care?» Using your product, even a free one, is an investment.
With your «what» and «how» arguments in place, you can write your value statement — the sentence that communicates the «why» to your customer — in the third column.

Not all pain points and product benefits need to be listed here. This is not the time to cram everything in and bombard prospects with information. Less is more. You’re communicating one key value to hook your customer’s curiosity and make them want to discover more.

Avoid buzzwords and superlatives. No one  cares about certain buzzword like “the best” if they are not able to understand if it brings a real value for them. Get across exactly what your product or service offers in a very direct way. Test it with  friends and family and don´t  hesitate in asking for feedback on what they think the product does.

Your value proposition is usually the first thing a lead will see, and efficient communication will help make sure it’s not the last.

Read the full article by  Young Entrepreneur Council

This is an excerpt of the article that was recollected from flipboard, as to generate a clip of interesting news from the topics that i think are important and I want to save for further references and share with my readers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *