There's a core reason that encourages users to make buying decisions. What's more, without this reason, no business can grow. We're talking about the Value Proposition. This short sentence specifies a product or service's benefits for its customers. Also, it shows how a project is unique from others available in the market. That's why having a powerful value proposition can help you stand out. Even more, it can increase sales to a large extent.
Most businesses only focus on sales and product development. Some of them may also rely on marketing strategies. Yet, only 64% of ventures have defined their value proposition. What's more, only around 2.18% are competent, according to studies. Given this context, it's no surprise that 18.4% of private businesses in the US fail within a year. This post will cover all you need to know to create a winning value proposition. Let's dive in!
What is a Value Proposition?
Although it can be hard to design, its definition is quite simple. Cambridge Business English Dictionary defines it in a very straightforward way. Here, a Value Proposition (VP) is a seller's reason for users buying a particular product or service. This reason lies in its offered value. Something like "this buy you've made will solve whatever problem you intend to solve."
A value proposition pinpoints all the benefits of a product or service. Also, it shows how it can benefit specific buyers and its uniqueness compared to others. In simple terms, a value proposition is the promise of a product's value. Of course, this promise has sales purposes. It aims to explain why a user should buy a specific thing. It's worth noting that companies often provide many products and services. In that case, it is crucial to have an individual and well-targeted value proposition for each one of them. It can take some time, but targeting your value propositions pays off.
How to Create a Value Proposition?
Defining your target audience is the most critical step with value propositions. Yet, narrowing specific markets allows your business to focus on its wants and needs. As a result, you'll be able to address them in your value proposition directly. The next step is to define the highlightable outcomes of your product. And finally, you need to clarify in a unique way your product or service helps your customers. Thereby, you can surpass other options for the same product or service. Once you've done that, it will almost write itself!
You can also ask yourself key questions to define a killer value proposition. For instance, "why should my target customer need my product instead of my competitors'?" Also, there are popular templates to give you an idea of how to write it. A widely used one is "we help (audience) to (solve x problem) through (business' unique method)."
What is a Value Proposition Canvas?
A value proposition canvas helps to envision, design, and test companies' customer value. In-depth, it encompasses two fundamental parts: a customer profile and a value map. The first one helps to clarify the understanding of targeted audiences. Meanwhile, the second one defines how to create value for them.
Some questions help with the customer profile:
● What are your customers' expectations and goals?
● What are the pains or weaknesses of your customers?
● What jobs or tasks do your customers intend to get done daily?
Other questions help to solve the value map as well.
● What products benefit your customers the most?
● How do you aim to produce the specific results users expect when buying your product?
● How does your product cut your customers' problems?
● Is your product a must-have or a nice-to-have?
What is Employee Value Proposition?
We aimed this article to focus on the Customer Value Proposition. Yet, there is also Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Both concepts are rather similar in their foundations. The EVP focuses on the benefits employees will receive due to hard work and commitment. It's fundamental to notice that EVPs also strongly impact businesses' outcomes. According to Garner (2021), only 29% of decision-makers claim to have human talent meeting market demands. This approach is even more challenging in competitive IT and Data Science sectors. Over 1,3 billion people changed jobs in 2021, 22% being professionals. In this context, strong EVPs can reduce annual employee turnover by nearly 70%.
Hence the importance for every business to focus on creating an outstanding EVP. Not only will it help the company attract and keep more human capital. Plus, it will increase the likelihood of employees recommending the organization. This approach translates into an increase in new hire commitment by approx 30%. According to TalentLyft, strong EVPs are indispensable in employer and company branding. Furthermore, it's critical to consider five elements while doing an Employee Value Proposition:
● Compensation: salary, raises, and promotions.
● Benefits: insurance, flexibility, time off, holidays.
● Career: stability, training, education, consultation.
● Culture: leaders' support to achieve the firm's goals.
● Environment: work-life balance, recognitions, challenges.
To this debate, AIHR adds that culture is vital. It states that a positive company culture with core values is key to creating a successful EVP. Plus, it includes encouraging employees to perform at their best. In fact, 88% of job seekers say that a healthy culture at work is vital for success. Moreover, 46% say that company culture is one of their deciding factors.
What is an Example of a Value Proposition?
We've explained a value proposition's definition in detail for customers and employees. So. we'd like to share some examples of leading companies' value propositions:
10 Examples of Customer Value Proposition (CVP)
1- Netlify. Bring it all together.
2- Slack. Slack is your digital HQ.
3- Figma. Nothing great is made alone.
4- WordPress. Publish your passion.
5- HubSpot. Powerful, not overpowering.
6- Webflow. The site you want — without the dev time.
7- Jira. Move fast, stay aligned, and build better — together.
8- InVision. The all-in-one collaborative online whiteboard.
9- GitHub. Let's build from here.
10- GitLab. Software. Faster.
5 Examples of Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
1- Gartner. When you work at Gartner, you will feel valued, proud, driven, and successful.
2- Google. There's no one kind of Googler. If you're looking for a place that values your curiosity, passion, and desire to learn, then you're a future Googler.
3- HubSpot. Giving HubSpotters the freedom and flexibility to create their own work-life balance builds trust in our company, but it's also just the right thing to do. That's why flexibility is at the core of our benefits and culture, from family planning to financial planning.
4- NBCUniversal. Here, you can inspire, create, innovate, lead, and engage. No matter what your specialty or interest is, this is where opportunities are found and careers are made.
5- PlastIQ: Some insider information: we think you'll like it here. Every day, our diverse, passionate, and collaborative people give their all to make this company great.
Why is a Value Proposition Important?
Value propositions have a strong connection with business success. As mentioned, it's a massive reason for leaning customers to make buying decisions. And it's no secret that sales numbers can define whether a business succeeds. Here, value propositions impact sales by creating adequate product knowledge. Yet, it also involves knowing which audiences are prone to buy or use a specific product. That's why sales teams must understand both the product's benefits and target audiences.
People nowadays have a wide range of options to choose from when buying anything. That's why businesses need to highlight their benefits to stand out from competitors. A value proposition has to be enticing and powerful. Companies can lose profit and even go out of business if their value doesn't reach customers.
Conclusion
The definition of Value Proposition is almost self-explanatory. It's a short and unique statement formed as a promise. For customers (CVP), it helps to highlight a product's benefits and what makes it stand out. Thus, it's fundamental for any business strategy. In the case of employees (EVP), it attracts human talent while taking care of the current workforce. For it, it's especially relevant to focus on the venture's culture. We hope this article helped to set a great value proposition!
