What a value proposition isn’t.
“As a word of advice to new founders coming to market: you can’t spend too much time on your value proposition, and you don’t have much time to waste.” Zain Jaffer, Founder and CEO, Zain Ventures.
A value proposition is not
A strapline
A catchphrase, headline or a slogan -If your company has a catchy slogan, that’s great, but your slogan is not the same thing as a value proposition.
A mission or vision or even your purpose
An incentive
A positioning statement - read more about the difference here. Doug Stayman describes it in this eCornell article: “A positioning statement is a concise description of your target market as well as a compelling picture of how you want that market to perceive your brand.”
A feature (it’s a benefit) or piece of technology
Your brand promise - it’s not about you being the first, best, only, sexiest, fun-est. A brand promise is the value or experience your customers can expect to receive every single time they interact with that company.
An elevator pitch
Unique Selling Proposition – According to Entrepreneur, “The factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition.”
All these things are great and important but what they aren’t is your unique value proposition.
A fundamental business truth is the less well known your company is, the better your value proposition needs to be.
A great unique value proposition articulates the heart of your business, the reason you are in business. Your value proposition is the promise that you’re making to your customers and future customers that speaks to everything in your business.
Get this wrong or too weak and your customers, partners and founders won’t understand and won’t connect with you in the powerful way you need them to.
Michael Lanning who invented the term "value proposition" back in the 80s actually believes it articulates your entire business in a simple format believing that without this you won’t have the insight to build a strong and healthy business.
But often this one piece of the puzzle is reviewed once a the beginning but falls aside as you move forward or even created as a slide in your brand development work articulated without the work and insight to make it right by a brand or marketing agency.
Don’t leave your value proposition to the end or forget to spend the time to ensure that you’re nailing the heart of the problem you are solving and the unique value that you bring that someone else can’t. It requires stepping back and having someone help you review this from the outside in. What matters and what must matter about what your customer may or may not get out of using your products or services must be at the heart of your value proposition.