{"id":11142,"date":"2019-08-27T12:34:27","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T11:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uxstudioteam.com\/?p=11142"},"modified":"2022-05-19T14:34:14","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T13:34:14","slug":"value-proposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timemachine.uxstudioteam.com\/ux-blog\/value-proposition\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Steps to Creating an Attractive Value Proposition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TheThe value proposition of a product provides one of the most important meeting points for user experience design and marketing. Although it deals mainly not with serving the customer but selling, it involves matching their needs with your product. Also, it usually gets better conversions and comes with additional benefits as well. It can set a common goal for your company, something easy to refer to when you have doubts on which feature to develop and much more.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What makes up the value proposition?<\/b><\/h2>\n

A value proposition promises value you\u2019ll deliver. It gives the primary reason a prospect should buy from you. It defines the first step of telling users what you offer. Your landing page offers the most trivial example of using the value proposition, but it can appear anywhere you need to convince your customer quickly: in an advertisement, the App Store, whatever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Example App Store<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

We can easily confuse the value proposition with other marketing related tools. Most commonly we mistake it for a single sentence, like a slogan or tagline:<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Just do it”<\/span><\/i>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Although Nike\u2019s tagline expresses some values about the product (in its simplicity), it mainly aims for memorability. A value proposition involves more. You need to answer the following questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/b><\/b>1) What do you do?<\/b><\/h3>\n

It may sound trivial to answer, but landing pages often lack it. Do you offer a service or an app? For businesses or regular customers? Imagine someone comes out of the blue with no background knowledge or context. Will they understand what you do in five seconds?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"value<\/p>\n

I love Slack and use it daily for my work, but I don\u2019t think their site fulfills this purpose. It has nice people in nice images and a dreamy headline: \u201cImagine what you\u2019ll accomplish together\u201d. These could apply to any kind of service or product. However, they can afford to play to emotion and only show people as illustration above the fold, as their target audience already knows them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Good<\/p>\n

Trello has the same target audience as Slack, and they answer this question better. I know they offer a productivity tool I can use collaboratively. The secondary headline explains this deeper with boards, lists and cards I can use. They illustrate this less abstractly.<\/span><\/p>\n

2) Why would I care?<\/b><\/h3>\n

This question extends from the first, and it deals with good targeting. Maybe I understand your product or service at a glance, but why would I care? What relevance has it got to my life? How can it make my life easier?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"wordpress<\/span>WordPress does a really good job targeting their customers. These people need a website but don\u2019t have time, so they want a quick solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

3) What makes you unique?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The third question helps distinguish you from your competitors. Maybe you can clearly define what your product does. Maybe you can also target your customers\u2019 pain points successfully. But why choose <\/span>your <\/span><\/i>solution instead of the dozens of other products like it? Have you got a cheaper, faster, more effective, etc solution? Stand apart from your competitors! Show customers what makes you different and give them a reason to buy from you.<\/span>
\n<\/span>\"firefox-value-proposition\"<\/p>\n

Firefox doesn\u2019t shy away from knocking the competitors. \u201cUses 30% less memory than Chrome\u201d seems too direct, but it certainly works.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"waze<\/p>\n

Waze can differentiate itself without direct comparison by simply emphasizing its distinctive feature: real-time help from other drivers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The elements of the value proposition\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

You have five to fifteen seconds to answer these questions because the customer spends that much time deciding whether to use your service\/product. We can answer these questions quickly in many ways. On a landing page, these elements do it the easiest:<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Headline<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

Make the first thing your customer reads short and informative but catchy at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>Secondary headline<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

<\/b>Grabbing their attention, the secondary headline lets you explain your offer more specifically.<\/span><\/p>\n

Illustration or visual<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

<\/b>Images communicate much faster than words. Show the product, the hero shot or an image reinforcing your main message. Thousand words etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>Benefits<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

List the key benefits or features in three bullet points or smaller sections.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

How to create a value proposition?<\/b><\/h2>\n

You could simply come up with sentences and test them. If you are looking for a more practical approach or the words don\u2019t come easy, use the following framework.<\/span><\/p>\n

1) Learn<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

As always, think with your user\u2019s head. But if you really want to do a good job, do <\/span>user interviews. <\/span><\/i>Why? To reach them, speak their language and answer their real problems. During the interviews, get answers to these questions:<\/span><\/p>\n