Let’s say you’re obsessed with making a home look picture perfect. In fact, you love it so much you turned that passion into a business—interior design. People come to you to turn their humdrum dens, dining rooms, bedrooms, and so on into aesthetically pleasing living spaces.
Note: We promise this article is about value propositions, but you’ll understand the reason for this example shortly.
So back to your interior design business. While your passion may hook clients that you interact with directly, many prospects may never visit your office or call if you don’t catch their attention with your marketing. You need to entice prospects before they ever communicate with you.
That’s where a value proposition comes in. It can help you stand out from competitors and compel prospects to buy from you (or at least put you on their shortlist).
What Is a Business Value Proposition?
A value proposition is a statement or promise of value you provide to your customers. Whether that value is in the form of a product, service, or experience, customers need to picture why they should purchase from you over competitors.
In most cases, customers have a number of options when purchasing. So, the best value propositions answer the question, Why do customers choose you?
Recalling the earlier example, consider that there are over 100,000 interior design businesses in the U.S. Even if you only consider interior designers in your local area, chances are competition is high. It’s not enough to be good at what you do (or even the best) because prospects don’t know whether that’s true before making a purchase. So, you must communicate how your interior design skills will give them something your competitors won’t.
How To Write a Great Value Proposition (With Examples)
In a crowded market of interior designers, what will make clients give your business a second look? What will encourage them to put their trust in you? How will you ensure that the experience they receive will be more satisfying than your competitors? The answers to these questions will inform your value proposition.
There are many ways you could approach crafting a value proposition—focus on a niche, a specific use case or situation, or a one-of-a-kind experience. But whatever direction you decide on, the proposition needs to be unique and convince prospects your business provides something they can’t get elsewhere.
For example, you may be a whiz at developing and curating specific interior design themes—think winter wonderland, contemporary Hollywood, mother earth, bohemian grunge, and so on. What is it about your themes that would intrigue potential clients to learn more? Your value proposition could incorporate the concept of transporting clients to another time and place when they step into their homes.
Perhaps, you focus on creating spaces suited for a specific purpose, such as parties and get-togethers. In this case, you would be crafting a value proposition that targeted a particular kind of client—one who loves hosting people in their home. You’d want to figure out what these prospects care about and what makes them happy, then ensure your proposition addresses those aspects. For instance, your value proposition may include verbiage like impress and talk of the town.
Even if you don’t focus on a specific niche within interior design, you can still develop a strong value proposition that helps your small business stand out. For example, your passion for interior design may make its way into your proposition. When you create spaces, you want clients to feel the same feeling you have during the design process—you transform their home spaces into ones they never want to leave.
Benefits of a Strong Value Proposition
Crafting the right value proposition enables you to:
- Differentiate yourself from competitors and stand out in a crowded marketplace.
- Remain competitive when up against larger or more well-known companies in your industry.
- Let prospects know what they can expect when buying from you.
- Give your marketing team a clear guide for developing campaigns and assets.
- Inform your sales team as to what aspects to focus on when communicating with prospects.
- Stay aligned with the type of product, service, or experience your target audience wants.
It can be challenging to develop a value proposition that accurately and conveys what makes your business unique. You may need to brainstorm and workshop the verbiage numerous times. However, once you find the right value proposition, the results will be well worth the initial struggle.
