Tuesday, November 5, 2019

[Define] Your Business Value Proposition - (4 min read)


In my last two blogs we talked about Why You’re Really in Business, and How to Identify Your Ideal Customer.

In this blog we’re going to take it to the third critical question:

Why should they buy from you?

Businesses everywhere, and in every industry, are constantly trying to figure out how to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Ask yourself these two questions:

- Why would a customer want to purchase your good or service over that of a competitor?

- How do you differentiate your good or service from the competition?

The answer to this is knowing what is called your:

Unique Value Proposition

I’ve said this in my last two blogs and I’m going to say it again:

 “You’re selling your product or service because you’re solving a problem, or problems, for your customers”.

But likely, other businesses are trying to solve their problem(s) too.

Your differentiation, or unique value proposition, is your secret ingredient. It's something that's distinctive to your business that offers a definitive, tangible benefit to your customer.

Your Unique Value Proposition is something that only you can provide, or no one else can do it as well, or they can’t do it at your price.

Some differentiators are easy to figure out while others are harder to come by.

Maybe you're the only dentist with a kid’s play area on the premises. All other things being equal, that’s a differentiator.

But maybe you’re a business that doesn’t have such an easily defined advantage. So how can you create a differentiator for your business?

Let’s look at a few ways, but there are many others:

- Look at your competition. What do they do that you can’t? What can you do that they can’t do, or do as well? Maybe your location is more convenient to customers – use whatever differentiator you can establish.

- Read your competitors’ social media reviews. Skip the 5-Star reviews and focus on the 3 and 4-Star reviews. When you see a comment that goes something like, “I would have given them a higher ranking if”, everything after the word “if” is your golden nugget. Deliver on that and you will be doing something your competition isn’t.

- Offer something to address common customer concerns and frustrations. For example, guarantee that your service delivery technician will show up within 15 minutes of the scheduled time or you’ll provide the first hour of work free.

- Never make a claim you can't deliver on. Be sure you can do what you promise or your differentiator will be useless, your reputation will suffer, as will your business. Trust is important!

- Build great customer relationships. The #1 way to differentiate yourself is to build great customer relationships. Move from a transactional mindset to a relationship mindset.

Why????

The simple truth is that….

Buyers and sellers with the best relationships will do the most business together.

Here are some questions you need to answer to help you Define Your Unique Business Value Proposition:

- Product/Service Description and problem you’re solving:

- What are you not going to do?

- What will be unique about your offering?

- Where is the proof you can deliver on the promise?

- What is your pricing strategy?

Once you've established your differentiator(s), reduce it or them into a few words – this is your elevator pitch!

Communicate it at every opportunity.

Use it in your ads, letterhead, marketing collateral, your website, signage, sales calls, and everywhere.

Your differentiators should roll right off of your tongue.

If you don’t know why customers should buy from you, they won’t either!

And make sure you deliver on it!

Ultimately, you need to help your customers answer the following question:

Why my product or service?

We can help you with this!

For more information about how The Cobalt Group can help you define your unique business value proposition, or any business or leadership challenges you are facing, Contact us.

We want to hear what you think. Leave a comment and let’s start a discussion.

Copyright © 2019 The Cobalt Group LLC. All rights reserved.

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