What is a Value Proposition?

A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered. It’s the primary reason a prospect should buy from you.

 A value proposition is a clear statement that

• explains how your product solves customers’ problems or improves their situation (relevancy),
• delivers specific benefits (quantified value),
• tells the ideal customer why they should buy from you and not from the competition (unique differentiation).

Value proposition needs to be in the language of the customer. It should join the conversation or connect with issues and motivations that is already going on in the customer’s mind.

Value proposition usually consists of a block of text (a headline, sub-headline and one paragraph of text) with a visual (photo, hero shot, graphics).

• Headline. What is the end-benefit you’re offering, in 1 short sentence. Can mention the product and/or the customer. Attention grabber.
• Sub-headline or a 2-3 sentence paragraph. A specific explanation of what you do/offer, for whom and why is it useful.
• 3 bullet points. List the key benefits or features.
• Visual. Images communicate much faster than words. Show the product, the hero shot or an image reinforcing your main message.

The best value proposition is always clear: what is it, for whom and how is it useful? If these questions are answered, we’re on the right path. We should always strive for clarity.

If our value proposition makes people go guessing or wondering about the claims, we’re doing it in a wrong way. If the reader has to read a lot of text to understand our offering, we’re doing it wrong. Yes, sufficient amount of information is crucial for conversions, but we need to draw them in with a clear, compelling value proposition first.

So a good value proposition should have

• Clarity! It’s easy to understand.
• It communicates the concrete results a customer will get from purchasing and using your products and/or services.
• It says how it’s different or better than the competitor’s offer.
• It avoids hype (like ‘never seen before amazing miracle product’), superlatives (‘best’) and business jargon (‘value-added interactions’).
• It can be read and understood in about 5 seconds.

The key thing to remember is that we need to be unique in the customer’s mind.  

There is an interesting article on Value Proposition on Forbes. Read Here.