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PLUMBING CONNECTION
SUMMER 2015
BUSINESS PROMOTION
CECELIA HADDAD
IS THERE ANY VALUE IN A VALUE
PROPOSITION?
F
or a builder, as with any trade, growth is essential.
It isn’t enough to just be good at what you do and
simply saying that won’t necessarily bring new clients.
Future homeowners looking to find a builder need a reason
to make a beeline for your business and that is where a value
proposition comes into it.
What is a value proposition and why do I even need one?
If you think about the reasons you make purchase
decisions every day such as the best price, best value,
the fastest delivery, highest quality, best service or just
something that satisfies your needs and you have found
what you are looking for and made a purchase decision
quickly, then chances are that brand or organisation has a
well thought-through value proposition.
Not having a value proposition will be detrimental to
your business and probably most significantly, cause your
customers to move onto another option. People are too
time-poor to have to dig too deep to find out what you can
offer and if you can meet their needs. Your value proposition
needs to be clear and upfront to ensure your company or
brand is chosen in the purchase decision process.
Messages are the most important components of a
communications strategy and the best value propositions
are the ones that speak concisely about your company or
brand.
WHAT TO USE A VALUE PROPOSITION FOR
A value proposition is the core of all your communications
– internally and externally. It will give your audience the
reason they need to connect with you and enable you to
focus on delivering what will grow your business.
Value propositions aren’t tag lines, advertising slogans,
mottos or long winded explanations of your business. They
are simply a bite-size, to-the-point summary of what
you want your audience to believe about your brand or
organisation that cannot be claimed by anyone else.
A true definition is:
an innovation, service or feature
intended to make a company or product attractive to
customers or a position statement that explains what
benefit you provide for who and how you do it uniquely.
Here’s an example:
For people who want a high quality
home on time and on budget every, Bob’s Building Co is a
multi-awarding winning home builder with a 100% customer
satisfaction rating.
Sounds pretty straightforward right? Well it is, but it does
take considerable time and thought and is usually developed
through a long and considered team workshop process. This
is not something that can be bashed out over a cup of coffee
and the testing phase will demonstrate why this is the case.
Below are the steps required to develop a value proposition
that will stand the test of time.
PHASE I:
RESEARCH
Dig deep because this part of the process is the most
important. As you well know, if you don’t get the foundations
right, a structure will collapse. Beginning with the end in
mind, answer the following questions:
∫ What are you internal strengths? Features, unique points
that help you acquire new or maintain existing customers.
∫ What are your customers’ perceptions? What are their
drivers? What do they say (and think) about interacting
with your business? What are their concerns/barriers?
∫ How are you different to your competitors? Who are they?
What are they claiming? And what do you do differently
and better?
CECELIA HADDAD
DISCUSSES HOW TO DEVELOP A VALUE PROPOSITION THAT ONLY YOU CAN OWN.