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Tag: Value Proposition

How Your Value Proposition Defines Your Website’s Success

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

How Your Value Proposition Defines Your Website’s Success

Visitors come to your website because they have a specific problem that needs to be solved.

But, visitors will only give you about 8 seconds before deciding if they will stay and read more.

If they stay, you have about 125 words to convince them that your company has the best solution to their problem.

They will probably not read on or even scan the page if they are not confident. They will move on and probably never come back again.

Tell your value proposition story quickly.

Years ago, we were taught to start with the problem and then offer the solution.

But think about it. Your visitors already know the problem, so they are at your website.

They are searching for the answer to their problem. 

You need to convince them immediately that your value proposition solves their problem.

Tell them why you can solve their problem.

Tell prospects what you do and how you solve their problem

Why your solution is superior to your competition.

Your value proposition needs to compel them to read your entire story.

They will most likely move on without a clear, targeted value proposition.

Most people look at multiple companies before deciding to move forward.  

To show you how few companies have a compelling value proposition,

marketingexperiments.com states that only 2.2% of businesses have a compelling value proposition. 

You must also tell your value proposition story quickly at the top of your website.

Very few websites have a value proposition, and even fewer have it at the top of their website.

Check out your competitor’s websites and see how many have a value proposition and what you see as your competition.

Remember, your website is about what they want to hear, not what you want to tell them.

Here are the basics you will want to include:

  1. Headline. The headline tells the reader your value proposition in one sentence, no more than two sentences.
  2. Yes, it’s only one sentence, but you will have to write it many times to get it perfect and make it attention-getting.
  3. Next, write a short explanation of the critical elements of your value proposition in two or three sentences. Remember, you have to be able to deliver what you promise.
  4. Then, add up to three features, benefits, or unique differences you offer. Individual bullet points are an excellent way to highlight these benefits.
  5. A positive image, if possible. You know, of course, it’s worth a thousand words :).

Here are the basics you will want to include:

  1. Headline. The headline tells the reader your value proposition in one sentence, no more than two sentences.
  2. Yes, it’s only one sentence, but you must write it many times to get it perfect and make it attention-getting.
  3. Next, write a short explanation of the critical elements of your value proposition in two or three sentences. Remember, you have to be able to deliver what you promise.
  4. Then, add up to three features, benefits, or unique differences you offer. Individual bullet points are an excellent way to highlight these benefits.
  5. A positive image, if possible. You know, of course, it’s worth a thousand words :).

I am sure you will consider many more questions to examine as you define your value proposition. To NeilPatel.com, Google cares about how long people spend reading your webpage. If visitors spend time on your page, you got it right.

Conclusion

Your value proposition is critical. You will be in a class all your own if you have a compelling value proposition.

You will want to get it “perfect,” which will take some time.

It may only take a few minutes to write, but it will take many tries to perfect it.

To get started, ask yourself these questions.

  1. Why does the potential client want to solve this problem? I
  2. Is there no workaround?
  3. How is the problem affecting their business?
  4. Why haven’t they been able to solve it already? How can you solve the problem?
  5. What outcome and benefits result from your solution? Here are the basics you will want to include:

 

P.S. I would love to hear how the development of your value proposition went and how successful you have been since you implemented it. Go to our website and let us know. Your story may inspire and help others (and us) try to improve their value proposition.

PPS. You might want to check out this blog post as well. Transform Your Competitive Market Into an Uncontested Market. Click Here

The Perfect Value Proposition

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

Sarah LaFleur of MM LaFleur knew she had the perfect value proposition. Well designed, quality women’s clothes at affordable prices sold through her online platform. The only problem was that this was her definition of what people wanted. She was relying on direct mail marketing and Instagram. After a year, she was in trouble, She had lots of inventory, and her conversion rate was meager.

Then she started paying attention to customers and found out that while they liked her clothes and pricing, they still wanted to see and feel the clothes before deciding to buy. So, she put together a box, the “Bento Box”  of six clothing items, based on information from earlier email responses and told the prospect to look at the clothes, no-obligation, send back the clothes they didn’t want; and they would only be billed for the clothes they kept. Bingo! Her conversion rate went from 2% to 8%, and she is now doing great.

This may be hard to believe, but every zip code has hundreds of different mindsets, and many may not match yours, and maybe fewer still match mine. 🙂 The way to product-market fit is customer-centric, not product-centric.

 

Examine All Your Products and Services

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

The first thing you will want to make is a list of all the items you offer. Altogether, they help your customers complete either functional, social, or emotional jobs. Also, remember that products alone don’t create value — they only do it in relation to a specific customer segment and their jobs, pain, and gains.

 Ask yourself, how to do (all) your products and services alleviate customer pains. Also, do you have any supporting services or ways to help customers compare offers, help them decide which products or services to buy?

Your value proposition will include various types of products and services:

  • Physical or tangible products (manufactured products)

  • Intangible (copyrights, after-purchase services, etc.)

  • Digital (downloadable products and services)

  • Financial (financing of the purchase)

But not all products and services have the same relevance to the buyer. Look at each one, is it a must-have or a nice to have? The following are some suggestions from Alexander Osterwalder’s Business Canvas.

Pain Relievers

How do your products and services alleviate specific customer pains? Focus only on a few and on those that matter most. Which one solves problems quickly or entirely?

Ask these questions. Can your product or service:

  • Does product or service produce savings (time, money, effort)?

  • Make your customers feel better (get rid of annoyances, headaches, etc.)?

  • Fix underperforming solutions (new features, better performance, better quality)?

  • Eliminate negative social consequences your customer might face (lost of trust, stature, etc.)?

  • Eliminate risks customer fear (financial, social, technical)?

  • Help your customers sleep at night (eliminate worries)?

  • Limit or eliminate common mistakes and help them use your solution in the right way?

  • Eliminate barriers that keep customers from adopting your value proposition (lower-cost financing, shorter learning time, etc.)?

Again, make sure you are talking about those that are relevant and relieve pain.

Gain Creators

Here you want to describe how your products and services create customer gains. How you will produce outcomes and benefits, your customer expects or would be surprised to see.

As with pain relievers, gain creators don’t need to address every gain identified in the customer profile. Focus on the ones that are relevant and where you can make a difference. Ask if your product and services can:

  • Create saving that will matter to your customers (time, money and effort)

  • Produce outcomes that exceed expectations (e.g., quality)

  • Outperform current value propositions

  • Make customers work life easier

  • Create positive social consequences

  • Do something customer did not expect

  • Help make adaption easier

  • Help customers get better performance

Again, make sure each one is relevant. Great value propositions focus on jobs, pains, and gains that matter to customers and exceed their expectations.

 

Great Temptations

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

 Don’t Be Tempted

When you tell your story to prospects who want to hear it, you are tempted to “stretch” the story a little to improve it.

Peter Theil, the Venture Capitalist, assumes most people say their product performs 20% better than it does.

So he wants to invest in companies with ten times better products than the competitors.  

We don’t know if 20% is the right amount of exaggeration, but it does bring up an important point.

We are exposed to so many competing stories 24/7 that this “standard” exaggeration may no longer work.

Today, you will get caught, your audience will tell others about your overkill, and you will end up the loser.

Remember, a story that resonates with people who want to hear your story are likely to believe it is true.

They will find instances that reinforce this truth, called cognitive bias, and tell others.

How can you prove your product, service, or value proposition is true (metrics, testimonials, studies, case studies, referrals, etc.)?