A value proposition answers one question a stranger has when they find your business: why should I choose you? If your website does not answer it in a few seconds, they leave.
The three parts
Every value proposition says three things.
- Who it is for. A specific customer, not everyone.
- The result they get. What changes for them.
- Why you. What makes it better than the alternatives, including doing nothing.
A simple formula
For [customer] who [problem], [business] gives [result], unlike [alternative].
You will not publish it in this form. It is a way to make sure you have all three parts. Then you rewrite it in plain words.
Examples
A bookkeeper. For freelancers who dread tax season: monthly books done for you, so April is just one signature.
A dog walker. Midday walks for dogs whose owners work long days. Same walker every day, with a photo after each walk.
A web studio. Websites for restaurants that take bookings at 2am. Set up in two weeks, with no monthly platform fees.
Each one names a customer, a result and a reason. None of them uses the word "solutions".
Before and after
We provide innovative, high-quality accounting solutions tailored to your unique business needs.
Monthly books for freelancers, done for you. Your tax return becomes one signature.
The first could describe any accounting firm on earth. The second tells you in seconds whether it is for you.
How to find your "why you"
If you are stuck on the third part, ask your best customers why they chose you. Their answers are often simpler and better than yours: "you replied the same day", "you explained it without jargon", "you were the only one who did weekends".
Talking to customers is also how you find the words they use for the problem. Use those words, not your industry's. There is more on those conversations in how to validate a business idea.
Mistakes to avoid
- Innovative solutions
- Best-in-class
- We are passionate about
- Tailored to your needs
- Trying to speak to everyone. A proposition for everyone convinces no one.
- Listing features instead of results. Customers buy the change, not the parts.
- Claims you cannot prove. "The best" means nothing. "Same-day replies" can be checked.
Test it
Show your sentence to five people who could be customers. Ask them to say back, in their own words, what you do and who it is for. If they cannot, rewrite it.
Once it is clear, a short, memorable line can grow out of it. That is the job of a tagline. Put the value proposition at the top of your home page, and let your about us page tell the story behind it.