Premature positioning without translatable proof crashes your credibility.
The job of a value proposition is to gravitate your prospects towards your business.
You’ve got to define your brand the very first time they hear about you so that they remember you.
Humans are constantly looking to benefit. If you don’t take that to your advantage, you’ll be just another brand screaming for attention instead of making heads turn.
If you can write your value prop in 3 words – just 3 simple words, it means that you’ve achieved the clarity you need to lead your content.
So in this blog, I’m going to show you the value props of several websites and also tell you the first probable question that pops up in the reader’s mind when they land on a web page.
We’ll also talk about what not do while writing a value prop.
Ready? Cool.
Stop defining your company with a weak adjective
The above value prop is clearly braggy.
Also, I had never heard of Cypher learning until now. So, I’m assuming it’s not an omni brand either. And omni brands rarely call themselves the best. They’re uber specific.
Adjectives like best, world-class and high-quality mean nothing.
High-quality just means high-quality. There’s no other way to say it or measure it. Because the one thing that defines this word is “quality” which is subjective.
That is why your value proposition should never depend on adjectives to define it.
Adjectives can never communicate the real value your business offers. Behead the adjectives out of your value prop so that you can focus on bringing the outcomes to the forefront.
Why your value prop is not your USP
Few days back, Peep Laja, the founder of ConversionXL tweeted how the concept of USP is obsolete and I agree with him.
Because in 2020, it’s impossible to be running an extremely unique business.
Especially, if you’re in a SaaS market – you know how crowded this industry is. So describing your brand as unique in 2020 is definitely not a good idea.
What the absence of a value proposition does
My first thought goes – how do you make your results colorful? Colorful pie chart? Colored graphs? Rainbow data?
I feel confused and I start wondering about what the product actually is.
Unfortunately, it’s a web development company.
Solution: They could have actually spoken about the approach they mention in the CTA and position their brand with a clarified message.
Why it’s important to state the biggest benefit – FIRST
Nobody actually needs more data in this world saturated with data.
So saying “Need more data” in one of the headings is
And having data is not a benefit. It’s actually a liability to deal with if you don’t know how to tackle the data overflow problem every company faces today.
So if you’re a company offering a solution to analyze, organize, optimize and monetize your data, you should as well state this fact in your value prop and lead with it to bring in conversions.
Otherwise, you confuse your readers like this company does. And confused readers get off the wagon ASAP.
Lesson: Lead your value prop with your biggest benefit
Keep your first screen clean
Again, here’s another value prop starting with an adjective. We know what the problem is. So let’s talk about the UX here.
The goal of a business website is to make your reader’s job easy.
You start with clean websites. The screenshot of a login portal to the left is meaningless. It doesn’t add any value in elevating the message.
The objective of your message is to take your reader from one awareness stage to a deeper, better understanding of your brand.
When you add screenshots like these, that make the reader think hard, you leave them disappointed.
Conclusion: The reader doesn’t understand what this company is about until they read the tiny text that uses two keywords (AI and data analytics) in an unnatural sentence.
Solution: A hero section with no image is better than having a confusing, deviating image with an unclear value proposition.
Avoid writing unprofitable value propositions
Don’t come across as narcissistic brands by stating your own name in the value prop.
Instead, take this opportunity and use your online real estate to own your message, connect with your audience and bring them closer to your brand.
3 simple ways to make your brand more approachable
- Write an engaging value prop with a call to action with an immediate value add like in the below example. Appsumo doesn’t waste a second in adding value to their audience.
- Connect with the ideals of your audience. Connect with a belief your audience stands for. Meetup does this so well! Their value prop says – “The real world is calling”, which connects with us on so many levels because we’re all fighting this digital age and screen toxicity. We’re all striving to make our lives a little bit more outdoor-ish. The gist is – to find out how you can match with your audience’s mindset and convey that.
- State your why loud and clear just like 450GSM. They’re not afraid to break the rules. The moment you land on the homepage, it’s clear where you have come. No clever tactics, no desperate messaging to sound badass – only clear messaging.
Action steps to writing a clear value proposition
- Avoid adjectives – because adjectives repel clarity and are subjective
- Highlight the biggest benefit
- Use social proof to write your value proposition if you can
- Connect with the values and beliefs of your audience
- Connect with your reader’s mindset and intent
- Clean UX around your value prop means higher conversions
- Stop trying to be unique and focus on being useful to your readers
Any questions? Ask me in the comments.