There are so many unknowns to starting a small business. But customer value should not be one of them.

At this point you’ve determined your target audience, their unmet needs and pain points and your unique selling points to address their needs. Now it’s time to convert that information into a clear, concise message that will engage your audience.

The Foundation of Your Brand Strategy

A value proposition is a statement that conveys what a brand does and how it differs from competitors. Having a value proposition is important because it clearly and concisely communicates what customers can gain from selecting your brand over that of your competitors (Harvard Business School).

Crafting a concise and authentic value proposition is the foundation of your brand strategy, serving as your elevator pitch, tag line, and the tone of voice and personality reflected in your brand assets.

Creating a Value Proposition

A compelling value proposition is based on customer and competitor research that answers the following questions:

• What is my product or service?
• Who is my target audience?
• What unmet need does my business fulfill?
• What makes my solution more effective than alternatives?

The goal of a value proposition is to differentiate your product or service, and motivate your target audience to choose you over a competitor.

Author and management consultant Geoffrey Moore created the following simple and widely-used value proposition template. Its goal is to explain your product or service in 60 seconds or less, helping to promote retention and word-of-mouth promotion of your key selling messages (Stefan Lindegaard, Linkedin).

Example

Kerr+Jones Fine Art & Craft is a premier Mid-Coast destination for unique and timeless works by noted Maine artists. As a first step in their brand creation process, they conducted research that formed the basis of their customer personas, user journeys and a competitive analysis.

They concluded that their target customers were people who wanted to express their close connection to Maine through fine art but lacked the time to spend searching for works that inspired them, and their differentiated benefits were the reputations of their artists; quality of the works displayed; and the gallery’s warm and uncluttered presentation.

Here is their value proposition:

Value Proposition in Action

For Kerr+Jones, their value proposition is the foundation of marketing decisions ranging from typography to works they showcase, by ensuring that they focus on meeting the needs of their target audience better than other galleries.

In Brand Building 104 we will begin to apply the strategic brand elements that we’ve developed to visual representations of the brand, starting with defining your brand personality, typography and color palette.