When you’re the kind of company that is on time, charges no overtime fee, stands behind work delivered by superiorly trained staff and otherwise runs circles of value around your competitors, you’ve got the makings of a value proposition that distinguishes you in a pack of hungry contractors trying to tempt away your customers.
This overall theme is your core value proposition – the umbrella of your image that filters through all of your services and products. Yet each of these individual services and products – when packaged as an offering with a marketing message – can also have its own value proposition.
That’s how a marketing campaign is created. You turn features into benefits, risks into assurances, promises into proof and problems into solutions while allowing the prospect to see an unmistakable picture of the value you are offering. Remember, your value proposition is not your product or service – it’s what your product or service provides.
A value proposition is based on the benefits your customers are going to receive. If you’re creating a campaign for a new heating and cooling system, those benefits will naturally gravitate toward savings on energy dollars, reliable comfort, repair-free operation. Yet that’s what any new equipment offers, so you begin distinguishing from someone else’s offering with such add-ons as a free home energy survey to help people see whether they actually need a new system.
Whatever words you choose to present your case, your value proposition should be seen from the customer’s perspective and address three key areas: relevance, value and unique selling position.
So, why should your prospects care about your offer? Why is it relevant? That story’s pretty easy to tell. Their old cooling equipment is costing them a ton of extra money in energy bills, and they’re facing an untimely breakdown on a very hot day. Not only that, but their old equipment is probably also causing some poor indoor air quality, which is aggravating family allergies and causing respiratory discomfort.
You begin to build value as you explain why this is a good time to buy and that it’s an especially good time to buy from you. The value of your specific offer benefits customers because it solves their comfort problems, reduces their energy use and promises uninterrupted operation. Plus, expert installation is conveniently scheduled, and financing makes it easy to give the go-ahead.
Then you get to the unique part – the one that separates your offer from other companies in the Google search results. How is your offer different? Some contractors choose the lowest price, but selling more products and doing more work for less money is a hard way to stay in business. Instead, adding value is better for long-term success.
There are certain benefits you can offer that add to the offer’s value. Sometimes that comes in the form of a guarantee (20% lower energy bills) or free service, such as “Get the free test and learn what’s hidden in your home’s indoor air.”
To recap, whether for your company or individual campaigns, value propositions define the value you deliver in a way that is relevant to your customers and comes with benefits your company uniquely offers.