In marketing, sales and advertising, getting down to the number one value proposition of your product or service is always the starting point. Your value proposition is what separates you from your competitors, makes your product better, and gives the customer the reason why they need to purchase your product.
Sounds simple in theory, but often we get stuck on the features of a product or service and not able to convert this into benefits. Selling benefits vs. features will not only close sales but also help you with branding identity, marketing, and generally make business simpler.
Oh the many features.
The simplest way to get to your benefits and find that true value proposition is to simply write down all the features of your product or service. This includes things like:
- Great customer service
- Great pricing
- Exclusive range
- We are fast etc…
Once we have the list of features (the more the better) you have the starting point to turning them all into a value proposition that can be sold. To note- you will find that most businesses sell their features and forget the next steps. The problem with this is everyone has great customer service, great pricing, etc etc… The key is to get deep, break things down and get to the true value.
Lets turn them into benefits.
The simplest ways to find the benefits from all your features is to ask yourself (as the customer):
- Why should I care?
- Whats in it for me?
After answering these questions from the features you should start to notice a trend. You press yourself further and get to the final point where all the features are irrelevant because they all boil down to “You buy/ use us because…”. Herein lies your value proposition.
For example:
We have great customer service (Feature). You should care because when you need something we always answer. What’s in it for me? You spend less time waiting for service, receiving poor service and get the job done.
Your value proposition:
- You get more done using us or;
- The competition does not have my customer support team- that’s why you use us!
Your turn!
