PPB May 2018

Writing Your Value Proposition 1 Think in terms of your ideal customers. What are their needs, wants and fears? What are they struggling with? You will be able to identify your customers easier when you’ve defined what they look like, what they believe in, what values they share with you and how they behave. What adjectives do you use to describe your best customers? Open-minded? Fun-loving? Metrics-driven? Value-oriented? Price-savvy? 2 Describe what problem you solve for your customers. Remember, no one has a promotional products problem—they have a problem with increasing sales, reactivating dormant accounts, losing great talent, not attracting top talent, creating awareness in a crowded market and a thousand other problems. Does your customer need a complete concept-to- completion assistant? Do they need fresh ideas or are they simply looking for someone who can get themwhat they demand? Do they need lots of options? Do they need programexpertise or help defining andmeasuring results? Do they need a lot of customer service, support and hand- holding? What descriptive nouns can you use to describe what they need? Brilliant ideas? Accurate delivery? Design expertise? 3 Speak in terms of the benefits that working with you will deliver, relevant to the needs and fears of your ideal customer. Tell your prospects how you will make them feel and how working with you will make their lives better. You want them to know that they are making a wise decision in trusting you. What can they expect to receive from you? How is it different from anything else they can find in the marketplace? How can you be different from those who say they deliver good quality at a good price? 4 How do you deliver what you have promised? For example, if you promise that you will deliver fresh, exciting ways for your clients to grow their business, you need to be able to say how you’re going to do that. It might be by being an award- winning creative professional who has worked on top national brands, having years of industry experience or being a former buyer yourself. 5 How is what you do and how you do it different or better than the competition? Instead of complaining about how a competitor consistently beats you on price, work harder to differentiate your company. Does your competition care about product safety? Does it go the extra mile on customer satisfaction? If it’s an internet- based company, does it offer assistance from a real person at all times? 6 What do you offer that the competition just can’t touch? Say it loud and say it proud. What makes your company unique? What makes you the best and only choice for a particular type of customer? Put It All Together Here’s how to phrase your value proposition. For the ( fill in the blank with a description from No. 1 ) customer needing ( fill in the blank with your answer from No. 2 ), my company delivers ( fill in the blank with your answer from No. 3 ), and does this by ( fill in the blank with your answer from No. 4 ). Unlike the competition which ( fill in the blank with your answer from No. 5 ), I offer ( fill in the blank with your answer from No. 6 ). There, you have it. Your very own value proposition. Need more help? Here’s an example based on the above method: For the value conscious, marketing-savvy customer needing sales promotions that get results, my company delivers the newest, trendiest and most buzzworthy promotion ideas and does this by staying current with new opportunities while being grounded in over two decades of successful promotion planning. Unlike the competition which rises and falls quickly and depends on me-too trends, I offer a fresh approach that generates brand excitement and creates results. Paul A Kiewiet, MAS+, CIP, CPC, is the executive director of the Michigan Promotional Products Association and an industry coach and consultant. He is an inductee into the PPAI Hall of Fame and former PPAI chairman of the board. Tell your prospects how youwillmake themfeel and howworkingwith youwillmake their lives better. Youwant them to know that they aremaking a wise decision in trusting you. 66 | MAY 2018 | THINK