Why Your Value Proposition Doesn’t Work and What to Do About It

Often the hardest part of your job is getting people to understand you have something worth buying…something they would value. 

Many small businesses tend to do a poor job of explaining what their company does in a way that their ideal buyers understand the value they will receive.  In other words, their value proposition doesn’t work.

Don’t get me wrong, they know what they do, they know how they do it and they love talking about their business.  They just do a poor job of communicating the value they provide, mainly because they start in the wrong place. 

They start their value proposition by talking about themselves, their experience, their credentials, their mission, their core values, their product, their service, etc. The message is focused on them, not the buyer. 

It is like the buyer is the least important part of the equation.  Yet, what is the one thing your buyer cares about more than anything.  And it is not you or your business - they care about themselves.

What is a Value Proposition?

There is no shortage of value proposition definitions.  Here is a fairly common one:  

“A value proposition is a clear statement that explains why a person should buy from you”.

This is a simple enough concept.  So why do so many businesses struggle with creating an effective value proposition?  I think it is because of two reasons:

• First, they don’t think about value from the buyer’s point of view.
• Second, they interpret the word “statement” in the definition to mean “sentence”.  Leading them to try to cram everything they think the buyer values into one long meaningless sentence.

The Ineffective Value Proposition

Most businesses are not clear about what their buyer’s value.  So they write from the point of view they are clear about, what they do.

They mistakenly believe the buyer cares about them, what they offer, how long they have been in business, how hard they work, and so on.  Therefore they talk primarily about themselves, their business model, and what their product or service does. 

Let’s look at what I mean.  Here is a marketing message I pulled (changing the firm’s actual name) directly from a real company’s home page: 

The Every Wealth Management firm delivers comprehensive and personalized wealth management, integrated wealth planning and investment management.

This example comes from the wealth management industry, but you will see similar marketing messages from other business types, especially professional services firms. 

Where is the value to the buyer in this statement?  Basically they are describing their business model / listing their services:

• “Comprehensive and personalized wealth management”
• “Integrated wealth planning”
• “Investment management”

This is a statement of what they do.  It is not clear what value the buyer receives from what they do. I found a number of wealth management firms using similar messaging.  They all are communicating they believe the buyer values what they do.

Value is in the “Eye of the Beholder”

Unfortunately, buyers don’t care about you or what you do.  They care about what you can do for them. 

You want buyers right. 

Then lead with what you do for your buyer.  Talk about the outcomes they will receive and how they will feel when they buy from you.  Your buyer wants to know “what’s in it for me?”

What do buyers value? They value solutions to their most pressing problems. People will buy solutions to their problems.  Talking about how you solve problems and eliminate frustrations is the foundation for an effective value proposition.

We see a value proposition as a positioning statement that clearly explains the benefit you provide for your buyer.  It starts with the buyer’s problem(s), then your solution plus how they will feel once that problem has been solved. For your value proposition to be more effective it will:

• Tell who you work best with / who should buy
• Conveys how your product or service solves their problem
• Connects with your buyer at an emotional level
• Conveys the success and outcomes they experience
• Tells your buyer why they should buy from you (and not from the competition)

It isn’t a description of your business model.  It doesn’t use industry language (“jargon”); it uses language your buyer would use.  And it is clear - clarity always trumps clever.  It is a promise of the value you provide. 

3 Simple Steps to Improve Your Value Proposition

It can be as short as a single sentence.  However, we prefer to think of it as a collection of reasons of why a person would benefit from buying from you.  This gives you more to work with.  This gives you more room to customize your message depending upon the most pressing problem of a particular buyer.

Here is our simple framework you can use to craft a more effective value proposition.  It is a series of short sentences broken up into three parts:  

Part 1:  The key anxiety experienced by your target buyer (problem)

Part 2:  Anxiety relief your product or service promises to provide (solution)

Part 3:  The results your buyer experiences, including how they feel (outcomes)

Let’s stick with the wealth management industry and see how a fictitious firm, TRG Wealth Management, might apply this framework to crafting their positioning statement:  

Part 1: 

At TRG Wealth Management, we understand that as you transition through life you will encounter numerous and varied financial crossroads.  The decisions you make at each crossroad will determine the financial path you are on.  Trying to decide the best path for you, alone without an expert guide, may lead to anxiety, overwhelm, doubt, wrong decisions or even inaction.

Part 2:         

We have developed a consultative approach to financial advice that combines expertise, overall coordination and aligning financial choices with life choices.  We call this process TruPath Wealth ManagementTM.

Part 3:         

TruPath Wealth ManagementTM  results in a personal financial strategy that will bring all of the elements of your financial life into one clearly focused picture.  This will allow you to feel relaxed and confident knowing you are on track to reach all of your financial goals.  Let us guide you down your true path to financial independence.

As you can see there is a lot more here than just one sentence.  How do you use our version of a value proposition?  Use it as your core message – the starting point for creating each marketing message (including updating your website content). 

It is a tool.  It will keep you focused on what your buyer’s value, allow you to have a more consistent marketing message and still be able to customize each message based on each situation. 

Your path to more sales begins with clearly communicating you understand your buyers problems and how your solutions will benefit them. 

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Kevin is the Co-Founder and President of The Renaissance Group, a coaching and consulting firm focused on helping business owners have more time, make more money and enjoy growing a business.