5 Things Your Value Proposition Statement Needs
A pretty important aspect of your brand strategy is your Value Proposition Statement. If you have no idea what that is, and it just sounds like gibberish, or maybe you do, but you don’t know how to formulate it, then keep reading because you’re in the right spot.
Before we get into it, I have a few things for you: Grab the Brand Personality Freebie to get the brainstorming started, and then check out the Brand Strategy Framework Template in the shop, which is a template and guide to help you create your own brand strategy from scratch.
What IS A Value Proposition Statement?!
Your Value Proposition Statement (VPS) is what your brand stands for and what it can offer your clients and customers.
It’s going to need to state what you offer, and who you’re offering it to.
It’s also going to need to point out, very obviously, WHY they need it and what it’s going to do for them.
If it doesn’t do these things, then you haven’t found your VPS quite yet.
Unique Selling Proposition VS. Value Proposition Statements
Now, there is also something called your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). This is different from your Value Proposition Statement in that your Unique Selling Proposition is something specific about individual things you sell. You could have several of these depending on the different services and products you offer.
In comparison, you only have one Value Proposition Statement, and it talks about your brand overall – what it stands for as a whole, and what it can offer your clients and customers.
Your VPS is what gets clients and customers to not only want what you offer, but to understand it. With your value prop, you’re selling a solution to their problem, and also explaining how and why you do so.
If you can open the eyes of your ideal audience to recognize and understand their own pain point, and that you have the solution, they’ll be hooked.
Sometimes they know their pain points and just need help in finding a solution.
However, a lot of times, your ideal audience may not even know that they have the problem you’re solving.
But, through your messaging, they’ll come to understand, “Hey wait a minute, I DO have that problem and I DO need what you offer – it will _____ (fill in the blank: make my life so much easier, give me peace of mind, solve that issue I didn’t even know I had).”
And to be clear, this isn’t necessarily going to be some big amazing transformation, it’s going to be something so small and tiny to you, but that makes a huge difference to them.
I say that so you don’t get stuck here – there are a lot of companies that offer a lot of the same things, so it’s not so much about the actual tangible products or services, it’s more about the end result. It’s about what your product or service DOES for them, the transformation, the overarching relief or satisfaction or feeling they’re going to get from working with you or buying from you.
Value Proposition Statement Examples
To help you understand this a bit more, here are 3 examples:
#1) Slack
“Make work life simpler, more pleasant and more productive. Slack is the productivity platform that empowers everyone with no-code automation and Al, makes search and knowledge sharing seamless, and keeps teams connected and engaged. Around the world, Slack is the platform companies trust and people love to use.”
You can tell by this statement that they are seeking professionals and businesses that have communication and productivity issues. They clearly state who they serve and offer a no-fuss, easy solution.
#2) Ilia Beauty
“Clean, skin-centric beauty.™ We challenge the conventions of clean beauty to create something radically new-through safe, potent formulas that protect and revive your skin.”
From this statement, you can tell they’re after health-conscious individuals that care about what they put on their skin. They also realize that not all clean beauty products are created equal, so they address the fact clearly, saying their formulas are “safe, potent, and revive the skin”.
#3) Death Wish Coffee
“LIVE WITH A DEATH WISH. To some, a “death wish” may sound irresponsible, morbid, a step too far-but we believe it’s the boldest sign of living life to the fullest. At Death Wish Coffee, we stand for the bold souls who never slow down. So get out there and get it done. We’ll bring the coffee.”
This brand is after the bold types. The go-getters who get things done. You might think you can get coffee beans anywhere, but they have a value proposition statement that says otherwise.
These examples of value propositions are well-thought-out statements about these brands. They’re clear, understandable, and speak directly to their ideal audience.
What can you say about your brand that does the same?
The Framework
One thing I wanted to point out in each of these examples is that they have a short statement at the beginning – and those short statements might even be trademarked. (You can tell this usually by the ™ symbol at the end of the statement).
For example, Ilia Beauty says, “Clean, skin-centric beauty.” with a ™.
I can see that they use this statement all by itself in other places, and it’s a great one-liner that’s quick and easy to remember.
This is what I would consider to be their tagline.
After that, they then go on to say, “We challenge the conventions of clean beauty to create something radically new–through safe, potent formulas that protect and revive your skin.”
So that sentence, in combination with that shorter tagline in the front, is their full Value Proposition Statement.
The same is true for the other examples.
I’m a huge fan of frameworks and systems to make my life easier and more efficient, so I seek them out. and I can recognize that this is a framework:
- Use your tagline first, and then:
- Add a sentence or two that’s a more fleshed out idea behind your tagline.
Keep this framework in mind when making your own value prop.
5 Things Your Value Proposition Statement Needs
Okay, we’re getting to the good stuff! Now that we have an understanding of what a VPS is, and some examples to look at, here are 5 things I think, based on my experience, that your Value Proposition Statement needs to have in order to be rock-solid:
#1. It’s Clear & Understandable
It shouldn’t be long or convoluted. It needs to be easy to get. If your audience has to work to understand what you’re saying, you’re going to lose them.
#2. It’s Really Focused
Your value prop should get really zeroed in on who you serve and why.
For example, Death Wish Coffee says “…we stand for the bold souls who never slow down. So get out there and get it done. We’ll bring the coffee.”
Whether this speaks to you specifically or not, it’s a perfect example because they’re VERY clear, targeting a certain type of audience, and they make no apologies about why.
You can also see their brand voice in this statement: direct, candid, maybe a little rough around the edges. When forming your own Value Proposition Statement, remember this example and try to get really focused.
#3. It Speaks Directly To Your Audience
I know we touched on your ideal audience and brand messaging a bit in the last blog post (and The Sweet Brand Show episode #11), and this is exactly why this is so important.
If you can make finding your ideal audience a priority first, you’ll then be able to know how to speak to them, and how to formulate your brand messaging. This will then help you in making your own value prop speak to the heart of your ideal audience.
#4. It’s Something You Really Believe In
A way to tell if you’ve found this, is when you have a statement that you just know that you know, and you can rattle it off like, “This is just how it is” or “This is who we are, this is who our brand is, this is who we serve.”
Whatever your brand believes, it’s the driving force and the reason you keep going, so it needs to be something you truly believe.
#5. It Has Depth
Like we’ve already talked about, this is not just a short tagline. Your tagline might be the first part of your value prop, because you can combine the two, but your tagline isn’t going to make up the whole thing.
Your value prop tells more of your brand’s why and who it’s for, usually in 2-3 sentences. It’s a fuller picture or explanation of your brand tagline.
Remember the framework when creating this as well: Use your tagline first, then add a sentence or two after it to flesh out the idea and make it make sense to your audience.
Actionable Steps To Take
Alright, now you might be like, “I have the framework and some examples… but I have no idea how to get started on my own!”
I got you covered – here are 4 quick and easy steps to get started TODAY:
- Have a brainstorming session with yourself: Go on a walk, sit in a coffee shop, whatever you need to do.
- Write it all down: Write ALL your lovely ideas down, even if you think they’re terrible, and try to get to a certain number, like 20! (Side note, if you want to learn more about my brainstorming process, listen to podcast episode #6 and #7).
- Narrow it down: Of course take the time to think and mull it over, but narrow it down to your favorite options, make edits needed, and run it by your most trusted people.
- Finalize your value prop: Make a decision and start using it. You can always change this later if you find it doesn’t exactly fit. The whole point here is to GET GOING and use something now. Just like your brand has and will continue to evolve, this is the same thing, so know that you’re never stuck.
- And a little bonus tip #5: You have to take the time. It’s not going to happen on its own. You have to set aside time to do this yourself. I know that is the hardest part – it is for me – so I wanted to mention it!
To recap, here are the 5 things your value proposition statement needs in order to be successful:
- It’s clear & understandable
- It’s really focused
- It speaks directly to your audience
- It’s something you really believe in
- It has depth
If you need more help in this area, remember the Brand Personality Freebie and Brand Strategy Framework Template! In case you didn’t know, you can also listen to this and more on my podcast, The Sweet Brand Show.
Thanks for being here – now go out and make your value proposition a sweet one!