How to Write a Compelling Value Proposition: Tips + Tricks

With such a competitive marketing landscape, learning how to write a good value proposition can put you ahead of the game. Whether you have an existing proposition or you’re new to the game, we’ve got you covered.

In our ultimate guide, we’ll tell you all there is to know about these value propositions, including why they’re important, how to write a compelling proposition, how to test and refine them, and how to effectively deliver them.

What Is a Value Proposition?

A value proposition is a statement that explains a product or service’s benefits to its customer base. It’s similar to a mission statement in that it exists as a declaration of intent. It gives clients a concise summary of why they’d choose your company’s products or services over a competitor’s. 

Value proposition vs. mission statement

Even though both value propositions and mission statements convey a declaration of intent, they’re two different terms. A mission statement is created to describe why a company exists, its core values, and its goals, whereas a value proposition homes in on the value and benefits your company’s solution brings to the target audience. 

Why are value propositions important?

Value propositions are important for companies because they help guide a company’s sales and marketing efforts. A solid value proposition can not only act as a guideline for sales, but it also helps:

• Your company stand out from the competition
• Attract and convert folks to clients 
• Boost credibility, trust, and client loyalty

Having a solid value proposition is extra important for teams who prefer frameworks like value selling.

How to Write a Compelling Value Proposition in 4 Steps

If you’ve never written a value proposition before — or perhaps your company already has a value proposition that could be better — you’re in the right place. Crafting a compelling statement showcasing the benefits and advantages of your company’s solution over competitors can be tough. 

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be. Here’s how you and your team can learn how to write a compelling value proposition that helps your brand stand out from the crowd. 

1. Pinpoint your target audience.

First and foremost, identify who your target audience is. Do you have an ideal customer profile (ICP)? If so, what does that look like? Learning who your ideal clients are — including their goals, pain points, concerns, and demographics — is the best place to start. It’s impossible to cater to a target audience you’re unfamiliar with. 

Depending on your existing work in this area, you might want to do some market research to get insights into what your target audience looks like. You can leverage things like competitive analysis, surveys, and interviews to paint a better picture of who your customer is. 

2. Figure out what your target audience’s needs are.

Once you have an idea of who your customer is, the next step is to narrow down what their needs are. Try to put yourself in their shoes for a minute. What pain points, concerns, and needs might they have with regard to your offerings? If you’re drawing a blank, you can always talk directly to your target audience via surveys or interviews to hear about what frustrates them, what they need, and what they’d like to get out of a solution like yours. 

If you have an existing company, it’ll also help to go through any reviews left on Google or social media accounts connected to your brand. Customers will often air out any grievances they have with a product or service this way, and it’s well worth reviewing these testimonials to get honest feedback. 

3. Consider any unique selling points and advantages your solution offers.

Arguably the most essential step in learning how to write a value proposition is thinking about the unique advantages it offers. What makes your product or service stand out from the crowd? It can help teams to manually list out various benefits and key features of the solution to narrow down how it’s a better choice than competitors. 

When thinking about what your brand has to offer, don’t be afraid to quantify its value using numbers. Leaning into relevant data points, metrics, and other insights can help showcase your solution’s value to your customer base.

4. Write your value proposition (or refine an existing one). 

When it’s time to write your value proposition, remember to keep it concise. One of the most common mistakes teams make when learning how to write a value proposition is drafting a lengthy, long-winded statement. However, the main problem with that is that consumers most likely won’t remember a lengthy value proposition. Instead, keep it short, straightforward, and to the point. Avoid any negative language and focus on using action verbs to describe the benefits of your company’s solution. 

Another common pitfall to avoid with writing value propositions is to steer clear of describing just its features. Your focus should be on the advantages and benefits of the solution over its features. Think about how your product or service helps your target audience meet their goals.

Tips for Testing and Enhancing Your Value Proposition

But your value proposition journey doesn’t end once you write it. On the contrary, you’ll want to keep testing and revising it to make sure it aligns with your target audience’s needs. Here are some tips and tricks when it comes to testing and refining your value proposition. 

1. Take a look at client feedback.

Plan to review client feedback when learning how to write a value proposition and when refining it. Similarly to the prep work you’ve done to write your proposition, aim to use those same methods to ensure your current value proposition lines up with what your customers expect. 

For example, you can create a survey with targeted questions and pinpoint areas for improvement based on that customer feedback. However, you could also review existing client feedback in the form of online site reviews and testimonials on social media to get a clearer picture of what your audience expects and how your solution aligns with their expectations. 

Another way to evaluate feedback from customers is to look into customer support interactions. What sorts of concerns or questions do clients have when they reach out to your customer support team? This can yield valuable insights for tweaking your value proposition. At the end of the day, a solid proposition can shorten your sales cycle, so it’s worth spending time to get it right.

2. Check out key performance indicators (KPIs).

Once your team has written and published a value proposition, take a look at the key performance indicators (KPIs) to see how the proposition performs. Which KPIs your team narrows in on will depend on what makes the most sense for your brand. For example, keeping an eye on revenue and sales insights can be a great place to start.  

You could also look at other indicators, like customer acquisition cost (CAC) to see if the proposition affects the efficiency of customer acquisition or customer lifetime value (CLTV) to see if your proposition could help grow your clients’ loyalty and trust. 

There are tons of other KPIs worth exploring when it comes to the value proposition, so find out what works best for your brand.

3. Experiment with A/B testing.

You can also use A/B testing to experiment with different value propositions. For example, a brand might write a few versions of their company’s value proposition to test. From there, go-to-market teams can experiment by testing these propositions on various channels, such as email campaigns, marketing materials, and on the website or social media.

The key with A/B testing is to look at the key metrics and client engagement to find out which of your value propositions resonated best with your audience. 

4. Train your sales reps to communicate the value proposition effectively. 

Another crucial step in testing and refining your value proposition is training your sales team to communicate it efficiently. Once you’ve written a new proposition or updated an existing one, create some sales training materials for the team to facilitate communication. For example, you might have materials that demonstrate how to communicate this proposition to customers, as well as examples of what to do and what not to do.

You can also leverage routine training sessions to field any concerns or questions and reinforce the proposition and its delivery. Using a sales enablement platform like Yoodli can make this process much easier. 

How to Improve Your Value Proposition Communication With Yoodli 

Yoodli — an intelligent sales coach powered by AI technology — is a platform that offers realistic sales roleplays for teams to improve the way they interact with customers. When you’re dealing with something as critical as a value proposition, it’s important to make sure your sales reps are on the same page. Yoodli offers teams a platform where they can safely practice the way they communicate their brand’s value without risking a lost opportunity. 

In fact, companies like Google, Dale Carnegie, and Korn Ferry have already used Yoodli to improve their sales process.

Reps start by choosing an existing sales roleplay on Yoodli’s platform — like cold calls or customer discovery calls — or crafting their own specific roleplay from scratch. They can then practice their delivery and communication with an AI-generated client. With Yoodli, no one roleplay is the same, and there are tons of AI personalities to pick from. This helps teams get experience with a plethora of different kinds of customers. 

But Yoodli doesn’t just exist as a platform for value proposition practice. It’s also a sales coach, and as such, provides reps with a detailed report on how their interaction went. They’ll get specific insights into their listening, delivery, and speech patterns with specific feedback for how they can improve. The admin at your company can even personalize Yoodli for their own means using their brand’s methodology. Plus, Yoodli also has enterprise-grade privacy, including SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, and more.

Learn more about how you can get started with Yoodli for free to improve your team’s value proposition communication at https://yoodli.ai/.

The Main Takeaway 

A value proposition has the power to make or break a brand. With a compelling value proposition, companies can reap the benefits of improved sales success and boosted customer loyalty while also standing out from the competition. Just make sure your teams are confident in communicating a proposition, and lean on a tool like Yoodli to take their communication skills to the next level. 

Sources

• Investopedia: “Value Proposition.”
• HubSpot: “How to Write a Great Value Proposition.”
• Indeed: “22 Value Proposition Examples To Help You Create Your Own.”