How to write a value proposition for your technology brand
Key takeaways
A clear, compelling value proposition is the cornerstone of a brand’s communication strategy that will guide all your business communications. Crafting an effective value proposition will succinctly convey the unique benefits customers receive from your business, while differentiating you from your competitors. We provide exercises and a value proposition template to help you, as well as highlighting examples of existing value propositions from leading B2B tech brands.
What is a value proposition?
A value proposition is a simple statement that summarises what benefit someone will receive as a result of buying from you, that they cannot get elsewhere.
The benefit will be rooted in something that really matters to the customer, not in what features you happen to offer.
A great value proposition will clearly differentiate you from competitors and, as the lynchpin of your brand and communication strategy, it must be underpinned by compelling evidence.
A value proposition will clearly:
- Identify the most compelling benefit, your product/service offers.
- Describe what makes this benefit(s) valuable.
- Identify your target customer’s main problem.
- Connect this value to your target buyer’s problem.
- Differentiate yourself as the preferred provider of this value.
Why a value proposition is important to business
Watch the short video and discover why a value proposition is crucial for business success. We explain where your value proposition comes from, why it’s important and how and why it sometimes goes wrong.
[Find the full transcript below.]
Here’s a brief overview of how to develop a game changing value proposition.
Your value proposition is the cornerstone of your communication strategy upon which everything else is built, so it must be robust to support your brand and ensure its resilience.
When a business is established, it’s because someone somewhere thinks there a gap in the market which they can fill – faster, better, cheaper, or maybe even kinder than what’s currently available.
As a result of delivering that better option, the company grows.
But as it grows, it can lose sight of its original purpose, because new products or services are developed, new people join the company and gradually you lose touch with your ‘faster, better, cheaper’ promise.
Does this matter? Yes. Because, the value proposition exists to keep you focussed and enables you to stand out from your competitors.
Your value proposition can be updated but to be effective it must remain specific, relevant, sustainable, and believable.
Exercises to help you write a value proposition
To help you define your value proposition try these exercises:
Is your value proposition fit for purpose?
Ask random people from across your company:
“What problem do we solve for our customers?”
Are your answers consistent, compelling and customer-orientated? If they’re not then you need some help, either in developing a clearer value proposition (see below), or in ensuring that all your business communications consistently refer to it.
Try our value proposition template
Do this exercise amongst your team, expect to do a couple of iterations to create a robust value proposition for your business
[Your company name] is the only [competitive category – this is where your customers will look for you] that provides [your target audience – be specific] with [an emotional benefit – in what way will customers’ lives be better as a result of buying/using your service] by/with/through [how you acheive this].
Now ask yourself: is your value proposition unique, specific, relevant, sustainable, and believable? If not, then take a look at the suggestions below, considering each element in turn.
How can a value proposition be improved?
Improving a value proposition involves several strategic steps to ensure it remains compelling and relevant to your target audience.
Understand your customers’ evolving needs.
Engage directly with customers through surveys, interviews, and feedback loops to gather insights into their preferences, pain points and what they truly value.
Analyse your competitors
Monitor other companies, ensure you can match or improve on what they’re doing as well as identify gaps in their offerings and find opportunities for differentiation.
Refine your value proposition
Use your additional research to clearly articulate the unique benefits and outcomes your product or service delivers, emphasising how it addresses specific customer problems better than alternatives.
Review the language
Ensure the value proposition is simple, concise, and free of jargon, making it easy to understand.
Test your revised value proposition
Test your proposistion with a subset of your audience to gauge its effectiveness and make adjustments based on their responses.
Continuously monitor market trends and customer feedback
Keep your value proposition relevant by adapting it as necessary to maintain a strong market position.
Examples of value propositions that work:
Here are four examples of B2B tech brands who have got it right:
- Weebly – Building a website has never been easier. It gives entrepreneurs all the tools they need to create a unique site without the need for any technical expertise.
- Groovehq – Build better customer experiences with Groove software – it delivers everything you need to convert, support, and delight your customers.
- Concirrus – The only digital analytics platform that provides the insurance ecosystem with greater control in decision-making to help grow your business and make it more profitable.
- 2i Testing – We deliver certainty through our bespoke framework AssureRMF, this enables you to accelerate your digital journey.
In summary
Our template will help ensure your value proposition is focused, clear and effectively communicates your business’s unique value. This can be transformative, both internally, e.g. in staff training, and externally, e.g. marketing material, sales communications, and when briefing agencies and partners.
EC-PR helps tech companies develop value propositions as part of a B2B communication strategy designed to bring competitive advantage. If you need help with your value proposition or any element of your marketing communication strategy, then please contact us and find out how we can help you.
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