How to write a great value proposition statement

Having recently been working at startups, a good chunk of my initial work has been on defining value propositions, positioning and brand strategy.

So I wanted to share some thoughts about how to write a good value proposition, whether you're working with a startup or launching a new product.

The value proposition brings together all the important elements of brand and product, which is why it's such a key element of brand building. It's also a term that creates a lot of confusion, so I've set out to demystify this important element of the brand strategy process and provide a guide to getting it done.?

What is a value proposition

A value proposition is a statement that explains the unique value that a product (or service) provides to its users. In its essence, it communicates the key benefits of a product and how it meets the needs of its target audience.

A value proposition also describes the functional and emotional benefits that users can expect when using a product. Functional benefits are more linked to specific product attributes, some examples being lightning fast connectivity, everything one centralised place, or ease of use.

On the other hand, emotional benefits describe the way the product makes the user feel. The apple iPhone, for example, makes you feel more connected to your friends and family, more empowered, and a part of the global community of fellow Apple users.

A value proposition should remain consistent throughout the life of your project, so make sure you get it?just right.

Who should be involved the value proposition process

Writing a value proposition should be a collaborative process. You’ll need to be prepared to ask for and listen to potentially difficult feedback from everyone involved in the process. If you're coming in as a contractor and working with a brand you're not familiar with, these are the people you will want to involve:

• CEO/Founder, or the people behind the idea of the brand
• Marketing Manager/Heads of Marketing/Product
• Product Managers who should be able to provide context about every minute detail about the product.

Making sure to sit down with and speak to these people will make it so much easier to write your value proposition. Spending a few minutes talking to the right people will help you in many ways: You'll better understand the brand and product, understand the rational and meaning behind the brand and ultimately, what makes the product different and unique.

Then, armed with all your notes, you can go away and get writing your value proposition. Looping in the one or two most qualified people to collaborate and help provide feedback for your first draft.

How to create a value proposition

Coming up with a value proposition can either be done through a step-by-step process, or in a workshop format. The former works well when teams are busy, or you've been brought in as a contractor and can collaborate with people individually. The latter would work well when you want the whole team to be involved and everyone can spare 3-4 hours. However, the more voices in the workshop, the harder it may be to get everyone aligned. Ultimately, you need the right people in the room or to speak to the right people - but not too many of them!

For the purpose of this article, I'm talking about the former. But since both approaches are similar, you could use the same process when running a value proposition workshop.

The steps

1. The first step is to speak to all the right people across product and brand and ensure you fully understand the product/service you're going to be writing about. Ask them questions like, "Why does this product/service exist?", "Why is this feature important to the user?" and "What impact will this product/service have on the user's life?"
2. Once you've made a ton of notes and gathered your thoughts, you can start to write down all of the assumptions you have about the product/service and the problems it solves. Let's use Figma as an example. You want to end up with a list that looks something like this:

• Figma helps designers feel more confident in their work;
• Teaches designers the skills they need to take their careers further
• Provides tried and tested steps to tackle challenging creative projects
• Enables designers to collaborate more effectively with their team
• Makes them feel part of a special community
• etc.

Remember, you should be testing your assumptions with real qual/quant research.

3. With your target customer in mind, write down a single statement that articulates the customer's core need. There will be several needs, but just focus on one for now. For example, aspiring designers need simple, trustworthy tools and reliable resources.

Next step

The next step is to create your short and long value propositions. It's useful to create two different versions of your value proposition, one short and simple, like a one liner, and one that expands on the first. This will provide the foundational work going forward, which will be really useful in things like sales decks or website copy.

The short:

A single statement of benefit that communicates your product's uniqueness. Assemble your short value prosition into this template:

For?[target customer]?who?[statement of the need], our?[name of product/service]?is a?[product description]?that?[statement of benefit].

Example:

For aspiring designers who need a simple, trustworthy tools and reliable resources, Figma is a collaborative design tool that helps people design and build meaningful products.

The long:

Expand on the first, adding more detail and some bullet points about the differentiating product benefits.

Example:

For aspiring designers who need a simple, trustworthy tools and reliable resources, Figma is a collaborative design tool that helps people design and build meaningful products.

• Work smarter, not?harder. Spend more time actually designing—and less time manually resizing—with fully responsive?auto layout.
• Collaborate faster. Bounce ideas off your team in a web-first workspace—whether you’re all in the file together or?going?async.
• Work together. Work in a?multiplayer, version-controlled design file, and get contextual feedback from stakeholders with?commenting.
• Get organized. Add?sections and pages?to files so designers, developers, and everyone in between can easily understand your?files.
• etc.

Notice, we're not leading with features, we're leading with benefits. Each bullet should highlight the distinct value your product promises to deliver. What are you offering, and what makes it special? This is your chance to wax lyrical.

Next steps

Run it by your stakeholders for feedback. Stay open to receiving potentially difficult feedback and try not to be precious about the work you've done so far. Although, you should definitely push back if you have a valid rational or strong opinion about something. Remember, if you try to please everyone, you’ll end up with a value statement that says nothing valuable at all.

Key takeaways

• One proposition per product.
• If you try to please everyone, you’ll end up with a value statement that says nothing valuable.
• A great value proposition has a?point of view?for a brand. They feed into your positioning – your value, your point of difference and why you should pick a brand over another.
• A good value proposition highlights what sets you apart.
• Without a strong value proposition in place, customers will not understand what you can offer them, leading to a lower conversion rate.
• A great value proposition will lead to a great tagline, one that communicates a whole message into a few words and a more concise package.