---

Guest post by: Peter Lawless Become an Author

Tweet

---

---

To be honest, without ammunition, the Vikings actually would not have had a hope. For a start, Brian and his gang of Celts, would not have known what the machine guns were, and secondly, the Vikings would not have had any other weapons to combat the fury of the zealous Celts.

It is vital that you have ammunition for your machine guns! Your Value Proposition, expressed in terms that your customer understands, is what gives your marketing the firepower required to get results. Without the right message, no-one will understand what you really stand for!

Creating your Value Proposition
So how do you go about creating your unique value proposition? First it is vital that you are disciplined, and you have to hand the following material.

* A list of all customers
* For each customer you need to identify
* What they bought
* A testimonial and/or value statement from those customers
* Where they are geographically based
* The industry they are in
* Their size and turnover
* A list of your competitors and information on their products.
* An industry specific magazine that your best customers would read
* A print-out of the Mission statement of your best 5 customers

We run ½ day and full day workshops on this, using tried and tested questions to get you really thinking about what your offerings provide. However you can try do this yourself, if you budget is limited.

Which ever category you fall in, I suggest, that to avoid firing blanks with your marketing budget, you undertake this exercise, and start getting the results you deserve.


Step 1 - Know your customers

To really be able to market successfully, and by successfully, I mean getting qualified leads that turn into sales, you must relate to your prospects. If you already have customers, then they must like what you are offering. But what was it about your offering that made them buy?

Ask them!

You need to be able to identify their

* Needs – what need in their business or life are you fulfilling?
* Wants – What do they really want, because a lot of purchases are based on wants not needs – I mean who NEEDS a Porsche?
* Pains – what pain do they currently have that ownership of your product will ease or cure?

Because when you know those, then you know WHY they bought, and subsequently, it will be easier to ensure you have more customers.


Step 2 - Know your product

Successful business people all share a common trait; they are passionate about their offerings and they are persistent in ensuring it successful. So you know your product inside out. Agreed, you may not see it precisely as your customer sees it, but you do know it!

So you must identify the top ten benefits of your product. Use the checklist below as a prompter.

* Service
* Price
* Uniqueness
* Revenue generation
* Cost reduction
* Compliance with regulations
* Fulfilling a desire
* Better way of doing things
* Proximity to customers
* Adherence to standards
* Now map each of these benefits to your customer's needs, wants and pains.


Step 3 - Know your target market

So you know what your customers want and what you can give them. But who are your customers? There are many ways of finding out your target market, indeed books have been written on it. The best way is to use data that is available to you, such as;

Existing customer Data
Market research you may have conducted or bought
Who Influences, decides on and pays for your product. You need to target your message specifically to the right people. And different people within the decision process will want different things!

Finally, you need to determine on how to extend your target market, from your existing customer base, using factors such as;

* Location
* Industry
* Products
* Customer Profile


Step 4 - Know your competitors

There is an old saying that goes – “keeps your friends close and your enemy closer” It is imperative that you know precisely what your competitors are offering. You need to know what they offer, at what price, to whom and where. You also should understand what it is about your competitors that your prospects like, and what they dislike.

Once you understand this, then you need to clearly differentiate, your top customer aligned benefits, from your competitor's benefits.


Step 5 - Create a value statement for your top 3 benefits including;

This can be the most difficult step, since many people find it difficult to put their thoughts into words. With a clearly defined Customer Value Proposition Statement, your prospects will be able to clearly identify the benefits, in their terms, to enable them to make a buying decision.

If you feel you can do this, you should be sure to include the following 4 items in the Value Statement for each of your offerings and niches.

* Time to benefit
* Value of benefit
* Benefit
* Target Audience

Conclusion

Once you have your Value Proposition, clearly defined in a couple of concise statements, you can then start looking at your marketing plan and Budget. Quite simply, in my opinion, spending any money on marketing, without the correct message, is like attacking the high king of Ireland without viable weapons.

Related Articles

  How To Do Effective Local Marketing & Advertising
  Are You In Search of the Unique
  Developing a Value Proposition
  What Guerrillas Know About USPs
  Match Your Message To Your Market - A Unique Selling Proposition
  Death of the Unique Selling Proposition
  Creating Your Unique Value Proposition
  DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR SINGLE MOST COMPELLING ARGUMENT SHOULD BE TO YOUR PROSPECTS?
  Selling when YOU are the Brand
  How to Have a Unique Selling Proposition for you Online Affiliate Marketing Business
  Market Positioning And How It Effects Your Online Business
  So What
  Pharaohs and Vikings
  A GREAT USP IS THE KEY TO GREAT PUBLICITY
  Having trouble figuring out what makes your business different Heres a simple exercise that can help
  How to Create A Unique Selling Point
  Why Cupcakes for Dogs Are A Good Thing
  Brand Positioning
  Entrepreneurs – Want To Increase Your Profits Without Increasing Your Costs?
  Selling a Bundle of Booze

Related Forum Posts

Re: This is Marketing Warfare!
Re: HOW DO I STAND OUT FROM THE REST?
Re: Large 24" LCD & Eye Health, Good or Bad?
Large 24" LCD & Eye Health, Good or Bad?
Re: Quote of the Day - "If you want prospective customers to pay

Share this article. Fund someone's dream.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Clues to Increase Sales -- Listen to the Buyer

Eight Tips in Dealing with Performance Problems

Investing in Lithium Power

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.