Value is an interesting word. In the world of value proposition marketing, it is very much centred on the value you can demonstrate to the person you are selling to, whether that be a customer, a partner or even your internal teams. But what about the value it brings to you?

Miller Heiman reports that only 53% of salespeople make quota, which means 47% of your salesforce is not hitting their number. And the #1 reason, according to SiriusDecisions, is the sales teams’ “inability to articulate value to the customer.” I would therefore say, the value of a knockout proposition should be pretty high but what does that actually mean?

The process of creating a value proposition can be fairly involved but do it correctly, and you will end up with a base-line of clear and compelling messaging, centred around the needs of your customers and linking your solutions specifically to how you can help them. Is that where it ends? Is it just another tick in a long list of projects and on to the next? Nope!

The value proposition messaging is just the start. One of the reasons we create such in-depth propositions is to provide ‘one-truth’ if you like – saving a LOT of time as you move forward. It’s something that can be referred to continually when creating campaign, enabling your sales team or driving thought leadership. I often think of it like the omni-channel experience. Customers want to get a consistent experience no matter how they interact with you – whether via your sales team, your website, social media, events etc.

By having your ‘one truth’, you can drive greater impact across all your channels. Plus, when it comes to creating assets, you can simply spin the messaging. For example, to create bid copy, infographics, video scripts or use cases and digital content. You can also spin your propositions for specific verticals, tailor them for individual accounts or even personas – without losing the essence of your top line message. It’s something that is becoming much more common in a new digital world that thrives on personalised marketing.

How we helped our customer get up close and personal with persona value propositions.

When you have really cool technology, creating value propositions may seem easy. But how do you make sure you come up with the right messaging to hit all your target personas squarely in the face? Our client faced this challenge and came to us for help in really understanding the different types of people they were selling too.

Going beyond the basics (challenges, needs etc) we took a deep delve into each of the role types they wanted to target; getting under the skin of what made them tick, what kept them up at night, what they were aspiring to in their careers and, crucially, how they liked to consume information. We then took the solutions value propositions (which incidentally we also developed) and created tailored versions for each persona.

As we used the ‘one-truth’ proposition messaging as our starting point, our customer was confident that when targeting multiple c-level roles within one organisation, that they would receive a consistent top line message (business benefits based) but it would resonate more with each of them personally – as it would also talk to their specific needs, wants and concerns. It would also appear in the channels they turn to most – whether that be LinkedIn, Twitter, face-to-face events or in the press.

TIP: Try and take your value propositions and make them work for specific target groups. We know that targeted marketing is always performs best.

IDEA! Next time you’re looking to embark on a value proposition, take the time to work with your teams to plan out how you’re going to use to bolster your tactical delivery as well as your strategy. That way you ensure you get the most “value” possible.

Hilary Fenn
Director & Head of Value Proposition Development