In addition to being a vessel for sales, your website is also your greatest marketing and advertising opportunity. With a strong, effective value proposition, you can use your home page to boost your sales conversion rate. Read on to learn how to craft a quality value proposition.
What IS a Value Proposition?
As the name suggests, a value proposition is a description of the value your company or product provides to your customers. Although this is true, it’s too generic of a definition. Your value proposition needs to grab your customer’s attention. It needs to show clearly what you do, why your customer needs you, and how you shine over your competition. It should be a tailored message of connection and differentiation.
What a Value Proposition is NOT?
This is not your slogan. It is not a collection of corporate jargon that bogs your customer down. Remember that the point of a value proposition is to entice your customers — not to cater to your internal crowd. Don’t allow this to be a buzzword frenzy. Keep clarity at the forefront.
Features of a Strong Value Proposition
The key to creating a strong value proposition is painting a clear picture of your products or services — a picture in which your customers see themselves. You want your message to answer the following questions clearly.
1) What?
What is your product? Can you glance at the page and know automatically what’s being sold? Time is valuable. A clear headline that says exactly what you do is key.
2) Why?
Why should your customer be interested? Remember, you’re painting a picture. You want to illustrate why your customer will benefit from your products. Why should they choose you?
3) Who?
You want to tailor your message to the right crowd. Is it evident who your target audience is at a glance? Customize your words and graphics to make a real connection with your desired demographic.
4) How?
How have you set yourself apart from your competitors? What differentiates you? In a sea of competition, your value proposition needs to be your life raft — a message that makes it clear why your customers don’t need to look at your competitors.
Key Components of a Compelling Value Proposition
You know you want to deliver a strong message that sets yourself apart and shows your value, but how do you go about that? Use these building blocks as a guide to craft your value proposition:
1) A strong, simple, and clear heading
This is where you want to answer that what question. Keep it short and sweet. This is the first thing your customer will see. Make it bold and precise.
2) A customer-centric summary
Under your header, you want to include a few sentences about what you offer. Tie this to the benefits you will provide to your customer. This answers the why question from above.
3) Data that supports your summary
This is where you set yourself apart. It answers the how. Include a list of your features — and bullet-point for simplicity. Statistics are helpful here, so if you know that 75% of your customers saw at least a 20% bump in sales after using your product, say so here. Another method to support your summary is to use customer testimonials. Let your satisfied consumers help you tell your story.
4) Include a relevant image
People are visual, so don’t forget to choose a photo or graphic that ties your story together. You’ve already explained who you are, why you’re needed, and how you stand out. Use visuals as your aide to support your case.
A concise value proposition is the difference between a bland home page and one that grabs the attention of your customer.
If you need more help, Shopify has some great examples of modern value propositions.
