Is Your Value Proposition On Target?

Know why customers value your goods and services? What makes you stand out?

Do you maximize those positive differences to reap a well-deserved profit and market growth?

Oftentimes we can get so busy with “work” that we forget why people find value in what we do. When we’re selling and trying to grow our business, do we actually know what we’re selling? To keep focused and targeted for growth, successful companies develop and adhere to relevant and updated value propositions.

Need to dust off your old corporate value proposition? Perhaps build up a new one? Here are a few ideas to consider.

One pitfall is that some companies can confuse their marketing slogan or their mission statement with their value proposition.

What’s the key difference? A company’s value proposition – one grounded in reality – reflects the benefits the company’s customers find in their goods and services. Don’t have a formal value proposition? Does that mean that your company may not truly understand what value your products and services bring to your respective market? If that latter statement is true, can you be slowly going out of business because your company’s not in contact with customer realities?

A core tenet of free enterprise is that people buy your product or service because they find higher value over competitors. If the value perception is high, that generally means one can charge more for services or products. If perceived value is low, or if it doesn’t match what your company thinks the value is, you may be in trouble. This is especially true if your product or service value is price-sensitive—that’s a commodity situation with many alternatives and high levels of competition.

So perhaps it’s time to bring down the corporate value proposition from the trophy case and see if its matches reality. Here’s a short checklist:

• What are the true benefits of your product or service to your customer? Why are you different from your worthy competitors?
• What is the scope and dynamics of your market? Where do you fit in against the matrix of competitors in your industry or field?
• What’s makes up a profile of your ideal customer? How does the depth of your firm or company match up with the needs of your ideal customer?
• What challenges or issues are your customers and/or prospects facing? How does your product or service address those challenges?
• Why would people want to buy your services or product? Do you make a measurable difference?
• Can you clearly explain why a prospect should choose you over a competitor?

The answers to a number of these questions will require some research and bit of analysis. But it’s worth it!

These and more trends impact the success and growth of your company or organization. Want to know more about developing high-impact value propositions that can energize a company? Contact Michael Snyder at msnyder@themekgroup.com, and or call 317-805-4870 today.