Why Are You Worth Listening To?
Click here. Share this. Buy that. Help me. Donate here. Post a comment. Try now. Watch this. Read that. Invest now. Download this. Subscribe here. The internet is a noisy place. Someone is always trying to get you to do something. While you may be numb to it on a conscious level, your brain is overwhelmed and taxed on a subconscious level. Everyone wants something from you, yet you have a very limited amount of time and energy to contribute. As a result, you can only choose a number of actions per day.
Understanding this state of things from a personal perspective will help you as an entrepreneur and business owner. If nothing else, it helps you understand how people think and highlights the importance of cutting through the noise and proving your worth to your target audience.
Developing Your Value Proposition
Why are you worth listening to? What is it about your brand that commands attention? If you’ve never thought about questions like these, you’re missing out on an opportunity to engage your audience on a meaningful level.
Every successful business or brand has an acute understanding of the value they bring to the table. At some point, they’ve gone through the process of developing a value proposition and can clearly articulate it to those who inquire.
Some value propositions are very concise and formal. Take Slack, the popular project management app, as an example. “Slack creates alignment and shared understanding across your team, making you more productive, less stressed, and just a little bit happier,” the website explains.
A less formal, yet equally valuable example would be Bill Easterly & Associates, a Nashville-based law firm that specializes in helping personal injury victims. On this page, they list clear and concise bullet points of why clients choose their firm.
Whether it’s a concrete phrase or a collection of ideas, your business needs to develop a proposition that helps you – and your customers – understand what value you offer.
“Your value proposition needs to be in the language of the customer,” conversion expert Peep Laja explains. “It should join the conversation that is already going on in the customer’s mind. In order to do that you need to know the language your customers use to describe your offering and how they benefit from it.”
Study your customers and make sure you understand who they are. This will help you connected the dots between what you provide and what they want/need.
Once you do come up with your value proposition, test it out. Run some A/B testing on different versions to see which ones get the best response. The key is to strike a balance between honoring who your business is at its core, while also giving customers what they want to hear.
Relaying Your Value Proposition
Once you’ve developed your value proposition, you can shift your focus towards relaying it to your audience. In other words, you need to make sure people are aware of the value you’re offering them.
Many companies choose to include a formal page on their website that lists the value proposition and other core beliefs. Other brands find it preferable to naturally integrate it into their homepage, landing pages, and other important URLs.
There’s no right or wrong way to share your value proposition. The important thing is that you are making your audience aware of who you are and what you do. You need an answer when someone asks, “Why should I choose you?”
Give Your Customers a Reason to Believe
Customers consider a number of factors when choosing between one company and another. These factors include price, quality, and features. But even more important than these elements is the brand behind the product or service. Customers want a reason to believe in you. Your value proposition is a tangible display of this.
