By: Peep Laja
Value proposition is the #1 thing that determines whether people will bother reading more about your product or hit the back button. It’s also the main thing you need to test – if you get it right, it will be a huge boost.
If I could give you only one piece of conversion optimization advice, “test your value proposition” would be it. [Tweet It!]
The less known your company is, the better value proposition you need. When I reviewed a bunch of websites, the conclusion was that missing or poor value proposition is one of the most common shortcomings.
What exactly is a value proposition?
A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered. It’s the primary reason a prospect should buy from you.
In a nutshell, value proposition is a clear statement tha explains how your product solves customers’ problems or improves their situation (relevancy), delivers specific benefits (quantified value), tells the ideal customer why they should buy from you and not from the competition (unique differentiation).
You have to present your value proposition as the first thing the visitors see on your home page, but should be visible in all major entry points of the site.
It’s for people to read and understand
Value proposition is something real humans are supposed to understand. It’s for people to read. Here’s an example of what a value proposition is NOT supposed to be like:
Revenue-focused marketing automation & sales effectiveness solutions unleash collaboration throughout the revenue cycle
Would you be able to explain to your friend what the offer is and how they’d benefit? Didn’t think so. Unfortunately it’s no joke. Such meaningless jargon-propositions are abundant. Avoid blandvertising at all costs.
Use the right language
Your value proposition needs to be in the language of the customer. It should join the conversation that is already going on in the customer’s mind. In order to do that you need to know the language your customers use to describe your offering and how they benefit from it.
You cannot guess what that language is. The way YOU speak about your services is often very different from how your customers describe it . The answers are outside of your office. You have to interview your customers to find it out, or use social media.
What the value proposition is NOT
It’s not a slogan or a catch phrase. This is not a value proposition:
L’Oréal. Because we’re worth it.
The value proposition is usually a block of text (a headline, sub-headline and one paragraph of text) with a visual (photo, hero shot, graphics).
There is no one right way to go about it, but I suggest you start with the following formula:
Headline. What is the end-benefit you’re offering, in 1 short sentence. Can mention the product and/or the customer. Attention grabber.
Sub-headline or a 2-3 sentence paragraph. A specific explanation of what you do/offer, for whom and why is it useful.
3 bullet points. List the key benefits or features.
Visual. Images communicate much faster than words. Show the product, the hero shot or an image reinforcing your main message.
Evaluate your current value proposition by checking whether it answers the questions below:
- What product or service is your company selling?
- What is the end-benefit of using it?
- Who is your target customer for this product or service?
- What makes your offering unique and different?
How to create a winning value proposition?
The best value proposition is clear: what is it, for whom and how is it useful? If those questions are answered, you’re on the right path. Always strive for clarity first.
If your value proposition makes people go “hmph?”, you’re doing it wrong. If they have to read a lot of text to understand your offering, you’re doing it wrong. Yes, sufficient amount of information is crucial for conversions, but you need to draw them in with a clear, compelling value proposition first.
Research by MarketingExperiments says that the key challenge companies have is identifying an effective value proposition, followed by communicating it clearly.
What makes a good value proposition:
- Clarity! It’s easy to understand.
- It communicates the concrete results a customer will get from purchasing and using your products and/or services.
- It says how it’s different or better than the competitor’s offer.
- It avoids hype (like ‘never seen before amazing miracle product’), superlatives (‘best’) and business jargon (‘value-added interactions’).
- It can be read and understood in about 5 seconds.
Sometimes it’s the little things that tip the decision in your favor. If all major things are pretty much the same between your and your competitors’ offer, you can win by offering small value-adds. I call them boosters.
These things work well against competitors who do not offer them. Boosters can be things like
- Free shipping
- Fast shipping / Next day shipping
- Free bonus with a purchase
- Free setup / installation
- No setup fee
- No long-term contract, cancel any time
- License for multiple computers (vs 1)
- (Better than) Money-back guarantee
- A discounted price (for a product)
- Customizable
Make sure the booster is visible with the rest of the value proposition.
For further information:http://conversionxl.com
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