The value proposition you develop for your product is a simple, powerful piece of copy that can turn your business into a lead generation machine.
In other words, it’s not something you want to take lightly.
From highlighting your competitive edge to helping your target audience understand how you can solve their pain points, your product customer value proposition is more than just a catchphrase. It’s a customer attraction tool.
If you’re ready to put in the time to develop your product’s customer value proposition, stick around for five easy steps you can follow to do just that.
1. Hone in on Your Target Customer’s Pain Points
Start by uncovering key insights about your target audience according to the industry you’re in.
For instance, if you run a company that sells dental insurance in Florida, focus on understanding your target audience’s specific needs and preferences when it comes to dental health. What are their most pressing pain points, and how can the dental insurance plans you offer specifically address those issues?
For instance, are they hoping for a plan that includes ortho benefits for dependents at no extra charge? Do they need access to basic dental procedures as soon as their coverage begins?
Get into the nuts and bolts of their specific problems and outline how your product solves them in detail.
Implementing lead scoring models can be a powerful way to help you gather this information. Lead scoring models use data to identify and prioritize the most valuable prospects for your product. By tracking their behavior and engagement with your brand, you can gain insights into what they’re looking for and what they value most.
This is also a prime opportunity to uncover additional features or feature requests your target audience wants that you haven’t included in your products yet. Applying their feedback (as long as it makes sense for your business) can help you go above and beyond on the customer experience front.
Speaking of applying feedback, that’s what Guardian Dental Plans did.
In its Guardian Advantage Achiever dental plan, it listed “You asked, we answered! Access benefits like fillings, simple extractions, cleanings & more as soon as your coverage starts” as a benefit of investing in the plan:
Not only is this a great statement to add in a benefit description on a product page, but it would also be a highly effective plug to include in a value proposition. More on this in a bit.
After conducting research, make sure you have a pain point list in tow with the solutions you provide.
Here’s an example:
Audience Pain Points ▶️ Our Custom Solutions:
- Few preventative care options that don’t break the bank ▶️ Comprehensive coverage for preventive care available right away
- Expensive deductibles from $5,000+ ▶️ Deductibles as low as $2,000 and no higher than $3,000
- A small network of dentists ▶️ A large network of dentists with the option to inquire about additional practices outside of our network
2. Outline Your Company Description and Product Use Cases
Next, summarize your company and be as detailed as possible in your description.
Who are you really? What do you make and sell? Why did you get into this business? Why do you have a passion for what you sell?
Here’s an example:
“We’re a coaching platform with over 20 years of experience coaching mid-level professionals and ambitious company leaders. We sell coaching packages and digital mentorship courses to businesses around the globe. We also offer a SaaS platform for businesses to conduct their own in-house training and mentorship programs.
We’re passionate about helping professionals thrive at work, develop mental fitness, and create a positive work-life balance. From our experience running countless businesses, coaching not only rehabilitates exhausted teams, but it also helps companies hit their long-term growth goals.”
Next, outline your product use cases.
Why do people buy your products, and how do they use them?
Here’s an example:
“Businesses come to us when their employees lack engagement, feel burned out, or are ready to advance, either personally or professionally. Our product use cases include:
- Coaching packages: Businesses meet with our online mentors for weekly coaching.
- Mentorship courses: Businesses download our mentorship courses for self-paced coaching and company-wide training.
- SaaS platform: Businesses use our SaaS platform to facilitate in-house training and mentorship programs.”
3. Highlight Your Competitive Edge and Trust Elements
What sets you apart from your competitors? What elements can you draw on to help you build trust?
For instance, in the example below, PlushCare highlights “online doctor appointments available now” as its competitive edge.
It then goes on to list its value proposition: “Speak with a doctor online without leaving your house. Manage your health conveniently with top-quality care. Try membership free for 30 days.”
To go the extra mile, PlushCare could also offer patients the option to request a prescription to be delivered straight to their door.
As far as trust elements go, the ones PlushCare features on its site are pretty impressive.
As you can see in the image above, PlushCare’s online doctors have treated over 550,000 patients — that’s trust element #1. Below that, PlushCare features raving testimonials from happy customers to further demonstrate its value — that’s trust element #2.
So, what trust elements can you brag about? What unique identifiers set you apart from the rest?
4. Describe the Value Customers Gain by Using Your Product
What benefits, success, or value do your customers enjoy as a result of using your product?
Can they save 10-20 hours a week using your software? Do they get to keep an extra $750 a year by investing in your plans? Can your product help them get the brand visibility they crave faster than your competitors can promise?
Be specific about how your customers derive value from your product. Share how you’re going to protect customers’ data, why you need to take email security measures, and setup DMARC to keep vital information safe from spamming and phishing.
5. Put It All Together: Map out Your Value Statements
Now that you’ve curated some essential pieces of information, it’s time to put it all together to map out your value proposition.
Below, we’re sharing five simple templates you can use to create your product’s customer value proposition.
Our advice? Give each of them a try and test them across your marketing channels before finalizing.
If several statements test well, consider using all of them according to your specific goals. For instance, one statement might test well on your website homepage, another might test better in campaign ads, and a third might test best on social media.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at those templates!
Template 1
“We help” + who you help + what you help them achieve + value-based motivational plug
For instance, take a look at how digital PR agency uSERP applied this template in its value proposition:
It reads: “We help ambitious brands get high authority backlinks and make SEO their customer growth engine. Drive revenue from organic search 10x faster than hiring in-house.”
Template 2
Who you are + who you help + customer result
For example, if you’re a retail manufacturing company specializing in fixtures, your statement could read:
“We’re a manufacturing company specializing in retail fixtures for enterprise-level retailers. We help large retailers tailor the customer experience with custom-built display cases and integrated technology.”
Template 3
Competitive edge or trust element + target audience + inspirational use case(s)
Pull a trust element from a reputable source and use it to write a value proposition with the template from above.
Here’s an example:
“Recognized as one of the top 10 Best Sales Books in 2023, Think and Grow Rich is a timeless self-help masterpiece that empowers salespeople to unleash their full potential and attain unparalleled success.”
Be sure to include a link to the trust element you’re referencing (see the link above) in your value proposition so your audience can vet it out for themselves.
When they visit the link, this is what they’ll see:
Template 4
Highlight a customer pain point (start with a verb) + how your product can help
Here’s an example from monday.com:
“Boost your team’s alignment, efficiency, and productivity by customizing any workflow to fit your needs.”
Template 5
Who your customers are + the results/success they enjoy when using your product + trust element(s)
For instance, if you sell HR software to HR firms and managers, you might write something like:
“Learn how HR managers save 10+ hours a week with HRSuite5. Our 5-star software suite has been helping firms and HR teams work smarter since 2007.”
Wrap up
Today we covered a simple, fool-proof way to design your product’s customer value proposition in five steps.
Your next move? Put this plan into action!
Meet with your marketing team to begin the process of developing and implementing your value proposition. Discuss how you plan to facilitate testing and where you’ll be adding your statement — think marketing materials, sales copy, campaigns, and outreach channels.