First Step to Creating Your Value Proposition
In my last post, we looked at how important your value proposition is and especially, how it is communicated. Now that you’ve gathered the essential value points from the reconnaissance and questions I recommended, you can begin to develop your value proposition.
This week, I will kick off a three-part series aimed at helping you shape your message so that it is crystallized and becomes the core of how your directs communicate your brand.
Step #1: Think More, Speak Less
No doubt you have endured the sometimes painful process of creating a company “mission statement.” The result can be a considerably long tome that, while capturing ALL that the company stands for, it’s sheer size or unmemorable qualities make it destined for mothballs. However, strategic, long-term thought went into creating that document and I wholeheartedly believe that it could be time well spent.
I recommend taking all of that good work, and serious thought, and boil it down as much as you can to the core elements that really get your team fired up. Think seven minutes. In seven minutes (or less) anyone on your team should be able to so effectively communicate your company’s value proposition that they will not only grab your client’s attention but, will have them asking for more. Now you’re getting somewhere.
Too often, we feel a need to pack so much data, supporting arguments, examples and justification into our value proposition that it begins to sound like a defense case rather than a statement that pridefully says “We are good at what we do and we make a difference doing it.”
Homework: List Your Values
Your homework for Step #1 of this process is to create a list of all your company’s attributes, your core values. Why do you do what you do? Why do your customers hire you? Why do employees work for you, and why do they stay working for you? Make this list, in no particular order, and have other key stakeholders do the same. We will take a look at that list next week. Have fun with it and let me know how it goes (or send me your list if you’d like!)
