After investigating our values in VeloCITI session 1, we’ve moved on to crafting our Unique Selling Proposition or Value Proposition so we have a clear and impactful way of conveying the essence of what our businesses are all about.
It’s sometimes referred to as the elevator pitch, you only have a few seconds to convey to someone what you do in a way which uncovers it’s unique characteristics while still being clear enough for them to perfectly understand what you’re saying.
David Murray of Cape Venture Partners hosted an excellent half day session with us taking us through the nuts & bolts of value propositions. We also focused on company names and how these impact the way the market perceives the company.
Describing your company in 10 words:
If you had just ten words with which to describe why people should buy your company‘s product or service, what would you say?
10 words are very few, especially when there’s so much we want to say to those who ask us that all important question: “So, what is it that YOU do?”. Many times we are faced with this question, not only from business people, but sometimes from our family members and friends. If we are stuck for simple words to describe what we do,chances are we haven’t Mastered the art of selling our businesses yet.
So What exactly is a Value Proposition?
Otherwise known as USP or Unique Selling Point/Proposition,it’s a condensed, yet simple and easy to understand expression of what your business is all about.
- It has to be Unique, Different and that uniqueness has to be attractive enough to matter.
- It has to be clear and easy to comprehend with as little jargon if any at all.
- It has to matter to the customer or potential customer
- It has to be a solution to an existing problem. In other words there must be real(or perceived) value in what you are offering or no-one will be willing to pay for it.
- It has to be different in some way to what your competitors are saying in order to make you stand out and be more attractive to the potential customer.
