Ironically, they often are unable to craft a value proposition for their offering that couldn’t be easily used by their competitors.
They write bog-standard, uninspiring, business-speak statements that go in one ear and out the other of both employees and customers.
As such, they end up saying nothing significant to the people vital to their success.
This situation is becoming more and more acute for many businesses, as it becomes harder and harder to create significant and enduring competitive differentiation based on features.
Further, people inside and outside the business have come to expect a new level of conversation when being asked to hand over their time or money.
Time to re-value the value proposition
A meaningful value proposition is a valuable business asset.
It drives an organization to consistently deliver on a promise that truly matters to people.
From product design, to manufacturing, to distribution, to promotion, to customer service, a well-crafted value proposition ensures a constant flow of quality products and services that people want, which are promoted and serviced in ways that matter.
A bland, me-too value proposition compromises all that.
A non-communication adds to confusion, lethargy and pronounced non-differentiation.
To understand how a value proposition can be meaningful to people, we need to rethink the idea of “value”.
In the past, it was enough to express value in terms of +% and -%.
So, our offering is % faster or this % cheaper.
So, our offering is new and improved.
So, our offering delivers quality, service and value.
So what?
Today, in The Age of Meaning, value has a new dimension: Purpose Beyond Profit.
When a business is driven by a reason for being beyond delivering profits, meaningful value propositions write themselves.
That’s because such businesses have enabled a higher-level connection – one that bridges rational thinking and emotional experience.
They understand that, as the saying goes, “People don’t buy drills, they buy holes.”
They understand that their success depends on their ability to help people create more meaning in their lives.
As such, “value” relates to the outcomes of a being associated with the business, or owning and using one of the business’s products or services.
These outcomes operate along a spectrum, from personal benefit to social responsibility to environment protection.
A business driven by a Purpose Beyond Profit knows where along that spectrum their “sweet spot” of meaning lies.
That is, they know what is “good” about what they do… and, most important, why that matters to people.
Their Purpose Beyond Profit shines a new light on their business, their offerings and their value propositions.
From behind the +%’s and the -%’s, there emerge meaningful truths about what’s being offered which people can grab onto, internalize and turn into meaning.
Through this process – the internalization of the business’s “good” – people find a special place for the business, product or service in their hearts and minds.
By rethinking “value”, you can matter more to people and thrive as a result.
From this meaningful position:
Your business breaks through the clutter and rises above the herd.
People become buyers, repeat buyers and active advocates.
Employees become happier, more aligned and more willing to help your business succeed.
http://www.emotivebrand.com/2012/10/18/how-to-arrive-at-a-value-proposit…
