Beware the "Meta" Value Proposition

I once met with a business owner who raised a (particularly common) issue he was experiencing with his business. Maybe it's something you've struggled with too...

His company offered several services to diverse customer bases that were only connected at the operational level. In other words, the back office and fulfillment operations were singular - but their customers weren't the same.

And therefore their marketing was a mess.

Like, imagine that one "monster" sundae on the back of the menu that has literally EVERYTHING in it. That kind of a mess.

And this owner was struggling because what he believed his marketing team needed was a unified, "meta" value proposition. A way of synthesizing all their disparate services under one banner that would make sense to all his customers.

And while the intention was good--you should always be clear on your value proposition--there is a great danger in trying to cram too many things under one roof and expect your customers to "get it".

Here's why.

Don’t Cross the Beams

You know how in Ghost Busters, the ghost-zapping beams could not touch…or ELSE?!  Well, value propositions are kind of the same way.

For every service you offer, you should have a distinct, clear value proposition that resonates with the target customer of that distinct service.

(i.e. NO TOUCHING OF THE BEAMS!)

That's because buyers purchase for reasons that matter to them as they try to solve their unique problems...

Imagine you need heart surgery. When choosing which hospital you're going to go to, you DON'T ask "But how's their plastic surgery department?" Because, at that moment, you just don't care.

So when it comes to your clients, it's the same way. Unless they happen to have ALL the problems that your meta-value proposition covers (and they probably don't), they aren't going to care.

The Folly of "Unified Field Theory"

Don’t try to find a “unified field theory” that explains and harmonizes your distinct service offerings into one neat, tidy, “meta” message. Or you’ll end up like Sears.

Here's my quick Sears story (and not because I have any personal animus towards Sears...)

I was on a business trip to California and was asked to stay an extra day. In need of an extra shirt, I went to a Sears nearby. I found a dress shirt that got the job done--and as I went to check out, I noticed no more than twelve feet ahead of me, there was a giant tire display.

How the heck do you connect dress shirts and tires?

This epitomizes Sears: not standing for anything particular to anyone in specific. 

Sharp Arrows, Sharply Aimed

So here's the takeaway (especially if you’re a smaller company): you need to have sharp marketing "arrows" that are aimed at distinct target markets. 

The worst thing is to appear like you have a split personality to a particular market. Instead, be a “pure-play” expert in your product or service area for that market. Questions to consider:

• Are you splitting your bets within your target markets?
• Are you chasing the elusive Meta Value Proposition?
• Is your Operational Synergy (which is a good thing) driving you to look for a Marketing Synergy that just isn’t there?