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033: What Makes You Different? How to Create Your ValueProposition

On today’s episode, we talk about how to create a value proposition for your customers. Differentiation can be difficultin the security industry, and we see many companies out there that end up ignoring the value proposition, or justcoming up with one for marketing purposes but not delivering on the operations side.

What Is A Value Proposition?

We’ve identified three essentials to a value proposition:

1. It clearly explains how your product solves a customer problem or improves their business.

2. It delivers a specific benefit, ideally with a quantifiable value (i.e. % decrease in incidents, hours saved for thecustomer, fewer trespassers, etc.).

3. It explains to your ideal customer why they should buy from you instead of the competition.

Here’s an example of what a value proposition is NOT:

“XYZ security is the industry leading security solution. We offer highly trained officers and combine over 5,000 yearsof security and law enforcement experience.”

It doesn’t tell anything about the product, how it solves customer problems, benefits their business, or differs from thecompetition. There’s not even a single mention of the customer there. And yet, despite these flaws, this kind ofgeneric statement is incredibly common in the industry.

“This is probably plastered right on the front page of 7 out of 10 security companies’ websites,” says Johnny.

Potential Value Propositions

There are a lot of ways you can stand out from the crowd. One of the most obvious, and most common, is to say“we’re the cheapest.” If you can back that up, and you really are the cheapest, that’ll win you some customers, but it’salso going to make your margins incredibly tight.

Another, more creative value proposition, could be to highlight the variety of services you provide. Maybe you also doinvestigations, security assessments, mobile patrols, etc. That’s a meaningful way to set yourself apart and createadditional value for the customer.

We often recommend that our customers use Silvertrac's security guard management software as a part of theirvalue proposition. Guard Management is an area that many security companies struggle with. Explaining how yourcompany uses technology to manage officers and deliver consistent value to your customer is highly effective.

People like to highlight accountability, but that’s not really a value proposition, it’s a minimum requirement. Customerscare about making sure guards are at the location and in the right position, but they will be impressed by companiesthat can offer more than just bodies.

Highlighting the amount of time you can save for the customer, the potential cost savings to them, or a higher level ofcustomer service can all be good ways to differentiate your company and add value.

How To Present Your Value Proposition

Formulating and presenting what makes your company different can be difficult, so we’ve identified some simplesteps to explain your value proposition to customers.

1. Headline: A one-sentence explanation of the end benefit to the customer that grabs their attention

2. Sub-Headline: A two or three sentence paragraph that gives a little more specific explanation, possibly with somebullet points of key drivers of value.

3. Make It Visual: Offer something—graphs, charts, images of your officers in the field—that illustrates your valueproposition in action

As an example, here’s our own value proposition for Silvertrac:

1. Headline: “The efficiency and accountability you want, no strings attached.”

2. Sub-Headline:

No contracts

No up-front payment

No additional hardware

3. Visual: Our homepage has a variety of info graphics, images of officers, and other visual aids.

If you’re still looking struggling to identify or convey your value proposition, here’s a great worksheet and

some helpful tips you can use to figure it out. Feel free to contact us as well.

The most successful companies—in any industry—understand what their customers need and how they can addressthose needs better than their competitors. If you don’t know that yet, it’s time to figure it out.

Topics: Business Development, Best Practices, Podcasts

Written by Chris Anderson

Chris is the Founder of Silvertrac Software and has been working in the security industry for morethan 25 years. He enjoys working with our clients everyday to help them grow their businessesand really enjoy what they are doing.

Chris currently lives with his wife and three daughters in Huntington Beach, CA.