The dictionary defines a value proposition as, an innovation, service, or feature intended to make a company or product attractive to the customers. This really boils down to the time-honored marketing method of knowing your audience, identifying problems, developing solutions for them and then understanding how to let the audience know the benefits of choosing your product over someone else’s product or service.

Here are the steps to do so effectively:

Define Your Customers’ Problems

When you start trying to identify your customers’ problems, it’s important that you define them in the customers’ terms. For example, your customers’ problem isn’t that they need a new kitchen appliance. They probably don’t. But what they need is more time and less stress in their day, which is what a kitchen appliance provides.

Provide a Solution to Those Problems

 Once you know the problem: not enough time and too much stress, you can devise ways to solve those problems. Using the idea of kitchen appliances that save time and stress, you might produce a new type of pressure cooker that’s easier to clean and has clearer instructions to make it simple (such as the Instant Pot).

Show How You’re Different from the Competition

Once you’ve settled on the product or service you’re offering, to whom and why, then you need to start trying to differentiate yourself from the competition. For example, using the Instant Pot idea, the reason it’s better than the competition is that it’s easy to clean, the lid comes off easily, there is an inner pot that can be replaced, attachments, different lids to make it a slow cooker, and it’s simple to use. Not to mention that it’s attractive.

Provide Proof That Your Solution Works

 To make your offer appear even more valuable, you need to have people that will talk up your product practically without your even asking them to. For example, there are numerous Instant Pot groups on Facebook, and people doing videos on YouTube. The company pays influencers and bloggers to compare their cooking tool to others, and demonstrate how simple and attractive it looks on the counter where you’ll be more likely to use it.

To accomplish all that, you have some other tasks to do too.

• Study Your Competition

Who are your customers; what do they want; why do they want it? What can they afford to buy? What type of information will convince them that they can afford what you’re selling and that it does what they want, and they want it because it will solve their problems? Look at your competition to see how they’re selling their product. Identify the problems and gaps and use that information in your marketing.

• Know Your Product

It’s imperative that you know your product inside and out. That way when someone asks a question, you can answer it with the right information. For example, within the Instant Pot communities, there are numerous experts both being paid by the company and doing it because they’re fans of the product who will help people who are having problems. They barely have to monitor this anymore, because other people know their product so well.

• Understand Your Niche

The niche you’re in is important, because you don’t want to travel too far from the audience you are targeting in your marketing efforts. Now, you can have some sub-niches. For example, the Instant Pot niche consists of people who like to make good food fast using the device. But there are sub-niches such as vegans, paleo, and every other diet. It pays to pay attention to this because each of those sub-niches consists of thousands of potential buyers.

• Determine Distribution Methods

Another issue you need to determine within your value proposition is how you’re going to deliver your product or service. Your client getting your product in a simple manner is imperative because once you’ve convinced someone to buy your product, you don’t want them hung up on the checkout process. So, ensure you have figured this out in advance.

Every part of your offering is part of your value proposition. To create a value proposition that is compelling and understandable to your audience, you need to go through the process of figuring out each of those four parts of the value proposition.

If you would like to learn more, feel free to reach out and see how I may be able to assist you and your business.