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10value proposition examples for your business

Wr it te n by:

simon Warman-freed Ceo intelligent business groWth

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Simon has over 25 years’ proven international management, sales, business development and strategy experience with particular emphasis on new business start up, growth and acquisition:

He has built a number of highly successful £ �multi million start up IT and services companies. Simon also spent time as a Sales and marketing director with “Big 4” professional services firm with a focus on helping entrepreneurial and mid-market companies optimise their strategy to deliver significant growth.

Simon founded Intelligent Business �Growth which has successfully worked with many companies to build and implement sales and marketing strategies and deliver significant business wins.

He has a deep expertise in understanding the �issues and pressures facing business owners and people within businesses at all levels, and a track record of delivering strong results.

simon Warman-freed Ceo intelligent business groWth

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copyright Simon Warman-Freed 2013

A value proposition is the solution to your customer’s problem. It goes hand in hand with the problem you are solving. I am a customer, I walk in with a problem, I walk out with a solution. The solution then is not your product or service, but the solution your product or service provides. In other words, it is the end result and how much your customer gives value to it.

What is a value proposition?

Why do you need a value proposition?

Having a clearly defined Value Proposition is essential for the following reasons:

It helps you identify your target market. � Communicating it to � all of your employees makes it easy for them to understand what they are trying to achieve for the customers.

It makes it easy for sales people to communicate what your �company does and the value your business will bring, therefore, making selling easier.

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What are the Components of strong value propositions?

The diagram below demonstrates which components make for a strong proposition and the benefit it delivers versus the areas where propositions can fall down and the impact of a weak proposition to your business:

resonate

“I Want”“I Need”

differentiate

“No Alternatives As

Good”

substantiate

“I Trust” “I Believe”

Premium Fees �Lead Generation Success �Client Selectivity �Scrambling Competitors �

WeaK resonanCe

diffiCult to substitute

able to substantiate

“I don’t need”“Not important enough”

strong resonanCe

easy to substitute

able to substantiate

“What’s your best price?”“I can do without you”

strong resonanCe

diffiCult to substitute

not able to substantiate

“I’m skeptical”“Can’t risk it”

Creates foundation for.. .

. . .What buyers say

Components of strong value propositions

taKe one aWay...

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Key things to do When building a proposition

When building a proposition you should be taking the following steps:

Gather the data �Brainstorm with the right people �in the organization and list as many quantified factoids and data points as possible. For example, Customer XYZ saved 20% in operations. They cut time-to-market in half from two to one year.

Run all of these data points �through the sieve. Are these defensible, sourced? Are they actually better than something the competitor could do?

List competitive differentiators �Create a list of the � First, Best, Most, and Only claims your service or product could make.

What capabilities do you have �that your competitor doesn’t?

Make sure it’s relevant �Talk about what you have done �for customers and how you understand their industry.

Are the values you are citing helping �them improve their business by:

Increasing revenue �Decreasing cost �Speeding time-to-market �Improving agility (i.e. time to �react to market changes)

Making better use of resources �(i.e. requiring fewer people to accomplish something, or resources can be reapplied to more strategic areas)

Providing better customer service �Improving organizational �intelligence and insight

Improving accuracy of �forecasts, predictions, and market conditions

Reducing the burden �of compliance

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What does a good value proposition looK liKe?

A couple of examples of good value propositions can be found below:

oraCle value proposition exampleOne example is Larry Ellison’s announcement in 2001, that Oracle saved $1 billion by implementing its own solution across the company. The easy way would have been to say “Oracle’s solution saves customers’ time and money.” Not very exciting. But in typical Ellison fashion, he went big. Think about how much resource and focus needed to be dedicated to be able to say four words “Oracle Saved $1 Billion”. He put the entire company behind making that claim. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

vm Ware value proposition exampleAnother good example of a value proposition is VMWare.

For IT organisations wrestling with the high cost and inflexibility of the old “one server, one application” model, VMWare can improve the efficiency and availability of IT resources and applications through virtualisation. About 70% of a typical IT budget in a non-virtualised datacenter goes towards just maintaining the existing infrastructure, with little left for innovation. VMWare can free your IT admins from spending so much time managing servers rather than innovating. An automated datacenter built on the production-proven VMware virtualisation platform lets you respond to market dynamics faster and more efficiently than ever before. VMware customers

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typically save 50-70% on overall IT costs by consolidating their resource pools and delivering highly available machines with VMware vSphere.

analysis

This value proposition starts by �describing which target customer’s problem their product solves.

It quantifies the problem: �70% of an IT budget spent towards maintenance

It describes the benefits �of implementing a virtualized data center

It offers a range of IT cost savings �from their typical customers

The only thing it doesn’t do is �offer an advantage over the competition. However, it is using the non virtualized datacenter as the alternative in this case.

result

This is a good value proposition although it could have been shortened. Even though it didn’t go into the competition, it called out the customer problem that the product addressed, described how it addressed it and offered tangible and relevant results.

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1 neWness

For example, we did not know not having a PC was a problem…until we were introduced to the PC. The value proposition example then in this case, is newness.

Newness may be your value proposition if:

You have a new technology. �You have a new invention. � It is unique. �

2 performanCe

For example, the iPhone was first to market. Huge, big hit. Then everyone else started improving on what the iPhone had. Samsung made a thinner look-a-like in the Galaxy series. The Galaxy by Samsung made a thinner look-a-like. Samsung identified what the iPhone was missing, and then sought to improve it.

So, performance may be your value proposition if:

Your product or service �already exists.

You are bigger. � You are better. � You are faster. �

3 Customisation This is also the value proposition

that many business owners offer.

Customisation might be your value proposition if:

Your technology recommends �products or services based on the specific customer (like how Amazon recommends books).

Products or services are designed, �configured or built for specific customer requirements.

4 “getting the Job done”

Getting the job done is one of those really important value proposition examples. The problem we are seeing with a lot of social media is that nothing really gets the job done.

“Getting the Job Done” may be your value proposition if:

Your product or service enhances a �customer’s productivity or efficiency

the top 10 value proposition examples for your business

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5 design & usability

Who wants to buy a product or service that is difficult to use? This is becoming more demanding in technology and electronics where customers expect this value proposition built into the functionality.

Superior Design or Usability may also be your value proposition if:

Your product or solution is intuitive � Your design saves space, or �is ergonomically designed

6 priCe Price is a big one. The majority

of customers will be price-conscious to some extent or another. The key here is to make sure your price is proportional with your value. If you or your sales people cannot articulate the value of what you deliver then it becomes all about price. This will then lead to lower margins that will always be eroded because your clients won’t value what you offer.

7 reduCing Costs

Reducing a customer’s cost is one of the most powerful value propositions. People are always looking to save money.

Cost Reduction may be your value proposition if:

You reduce your customer’s cost. � You can save them money �by switching services

8 reduCing risK

Reducing risk is an insurance company’s core value proposition. Anytime you buy insurance, that’s what you’re paying for.

Reducing risk may be your value proposition if:

You can demonstrate a �great track record.

Your proposition is built on �a risk / reward basis.

Your product has built in risk �reduction and you can prove it.

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9 aCCessibility & ConvenienCe

Why do we go to the convenience store around the corner, instead of the cheaper grocery store 15 minutes away? The name convenience store says it all. It’s convenient. It’s easily accessible. Good value proposition example of this include IT Services companies.

This might be your value proposition if:

Being local is important. �

10 brand or status

Perception is reality. Building brand equity at whatever your size is important. If you don’t have that you can partner with someone who does.

Brand may be your value proposition if:

You are well known. �You can create a brand that �is powerful and unique.

You can have as many value propositions as you want but it’s better to focus on 3 core value propositions. You may also have a different value proposition for different types of customers.

The important point to note is that when developing a Value Proposition, do not think about what you offer from your point of view but look at it from your prospect’s perspective. What problem will you solve for them and what is the value that you deliver to them by solving that problem.

Once you have this articulated, ensure that you communicate it to your employees and that it forms the basis of all your marketing.

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are you experienCing any of these Challenges or is something else on your mind?

If so, IBG have helped over 300 Business Owners overcome many of the challenges that have been identified in this book and many other challenges too. But it’s not what we say that is important. It is what our clients think about us that counts! So please feel free to look at http://www.ibg-world.com for a video testimonial and http://ibg-world.com/testimonials-2/ for written testimonials.

If you are experiencing any challenges within your business and would like to get in touch please feel free to call me directly on 020 368 6606 or alternatively email me at simon.warman-freed@ibg-world.com.

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CLiCK Hereto contact us or Contact IBG on

+44 (0) 20 368 6606 or email at

simon.warman-freed@ibg-world.com