What makes a good value proposition statement?

When a customer reads a value proposition statement, he / she needs to quickly understand what problem / challenge of theirs it addresses and why it is better than other options that they have. If these two are not present in the value proposition statement, it is no wonder that most customers don’t seem to relate to it.

If you are already in business and don’t find too many customers flocking to your business, go and read your value proposition statement and ask yourself – “Will you buy the product / service?”

Ask if the value proposition statement is answering the following two questions:

Does it clearly identify the problem it’s trying to solve?
Does it clearly tell why one should buy this and not other options?

If any of the above is not clear, re-write your value proposition statement till it does.

Then do the following test:

Show the value proposition statement to at least 25 potential customers
Ask them to read it without asking you for clarifications
Ask them to tell you what the product / service is
Ask them if they will buy the solution (at least consider it when they face the problem)

Make good value proposition statements. They are the basis for a lot of marketing and sales messages and collaterals. Your marketing efforts may not be working, not because of your marketing collaterals or marketing methods or marketing channels, etc, but because the inherent value proposition is not clearly articulated. It is one of the root-cause problems to be resolved in business.