If you’ve been wondering why in spite of a decent amount of traffic flocking to your site, visitors appear to be leaving rather quickly, or your conversion rates are not satisfactory, then maybe you should consider revisiting your value propositions.
Yes, your value proposition could be a deciding factor with customers when it comes to purchasing your product; or from your competitors. When visitors enter your site, you only have a few seconds to intrigue and satisfy their ‘impatient’ quest of, “What do you have for me?”
And this question could also be ‘quenched’ with a unique proposition where the benefits outweigh the costs, or else your customer is most likely to head off and land on your competitors’ turf.
What then is Value Proposition?
- Value Proposition is a promise of value to be delivered.
- It's a clear statement that articulates and reasons as to why your product/service has a competitive advantage over your competitors.
- It’s an assurance that assists prospects and targets customers as to how they can solve their problems or improve their situation.
Now that you know how a Value Proposition can make or break your relationship with your prospects and customers - without further ado, let’s jump into exploring the elements that make for a compelling Value Proposition:
1. A nice big, ‘Gripping’ Headline
This is the ‘hardest nut to crack’.
Although it looks easy once you’re done with it; the ingenuity actually lies in communicating a short, precise and effective message to your readers; that in a very short time (a few seconds) – will intrigue them enough to learn that the perceived benefits of your offer (product/business) outweighs the perceived costs.
Here’s a clever one from Shopify, which immediately seals the deal: “Shopify is everything you need to sell everywhere”
Good value propositions always bring ‘clarity’ to the readers. It tells you precisely what you’ll get as a customer and how the product is ‘UNIQUE’ or better than the competitor’s one.
Here’s another example from Dropbox, which hits the mark when it comes to crafting a headline for its value proposition:
The headline “Good things happen when your stuff lives here” is simple yet clear and powerful for readers to find that ‘uniqueness’ and straight forward ‘casualness’ - conveying the emotion that if the readers store their files with Drop Box, it’s going to be a secure and carefree experience.
2. A Supportive ‘Sub headline’
Now that you’ve got the readers’ attention with a ‘killer’ headline, it’s time to tell them a bitmore about the benefits they’ll get when they opt in for the product.
A sub headline consists of a couple of sentences or a short paragraph. It's a specific explanation of what you offer/do and for whom and why it is so beneficial.
Consider the above example of Drop Box – The sub headline says, “Dropbox keeps your files safe, synced, and easy to share.”
In a short 10-word sentence, it clearly describes four prominent features of the SaaS product (storage, security, sync-ability’ and ‘share-ability’)
Take this example from Spotify:
Spotify’s Value Proposition: “Music for everyone. All the music you’ll ever need is right here. Your favorite artists, albums, and readymade playlists for every moment.”
The sub headline (in bold above) communicates precisely they deliver you your favourite artists, albums and readymade playlists… and that too in one single place, whenever you need it!
With the Sub Headline, one needs to be wary of not going overboard, it needs to be brief, yet should be touching on the ‘benefits’ it offers.
3. Bulleted BENEFITS!
As the title suggests, this element in any value proposition consists of short and snappy ‘bulleted’ lists of benefits the customers are to receive from your products/services.
It's crafted to tackle the ‘pain points’ your customers or User Personas are seeking to solve. You need to have a clear understanding of what problems and issues your prospects are facing, before you jump into crafting the ‘bulleted benefits.’
An example below from Square, illustrates this element:
As you can see, the Value Proposition consists of a clear and impactful headline accompanied by a ‘sub headline’ giving a taste of an appropriate benefit the customers can avail.
Below that, we find the ‘Bulleted Benefits’. These are quick nuggets of other unique and intrinsic benefits the customers can get and also tackles the pain points with services such as ‘next day payout’, or other ‘freebie’ benefits and hassle free features such as the ‘fast setup’.
Also make sure your Value Proposition is supported by relevant ‘imagery’, as seen above.
4. Using Videos
Most Value Propositions do require some form of still imagery (pictures, illustrations) to accentuate the emotion and the ‘feel’ of your product. Videos on the other hand, could be an ‘optional’ element – but a well-crafted one tends to be much more effective.
The videos need to be of a short length, say not more than five minutes; or else you’ll be risking your chances with bored viewers who may cut you short.
A cleverly crafted showcase of your value proposition in a series of visuals, outlining your competitive edge and benefits can really stir up and motivate your prospects.
A good example could be from Evernote. In the example below Evernote is using video to promote their new ‘web clipper’ feature. Within one minute, it clearly demonstrate how anyone can use the feature to Clip any web articles, save and share (a clear tutorial on the benefits)
Videos can be a fun, eye pleasing and a stimulating medium for the audiences to learn about a product and it helps to build your image as more of an ‘authority’ to your prospects and customers.
To Sum It Up…
Crafting a compelling Value Proposition within your websites, landing pages or microsites is crucial to all digital businesses, as it engages more visitors and builds new customers. Success lies in making a unique proposition to your User Personas, which beats your competitors and in which - the benefits outweighs the perceived costs!
If you'd like more assistance with your sales/lead generaton or would like to discuss anything covered today, we'd love to hear from you.
Call Andy Fox (me) on (03) 5249 5570 or email andy@element7digital.com.au
Our Website is element7digital.com.au
