What Is Your Value Proposition?

You only get one chance to sell your company’s true value to a customer and tell them why they should choose your service or product. As a young entrepreneur, it is really essential to nail your value proposition.

This is a line that pitches your company or your product to a potential customer or client. You will notice that you will use this value proposition everywhere: in conversation, in email, in promotional videos, on your company's website, on your company's Facebook.

It becomes a way to turn a prospective customer into a lifetime customer instantly. I noticed how essential nailing your value proposition was as I started Game Day during my senior year at Babson. Game Day produces the only high-end skincare products designed specifically for active men, exclusively formulated using the finest ingredients to leave you confident in your skin.

That was my value proposition right there. It seems so simple to write, but it was not. I am going to share with you my experiences in order to help you lock down lifelong customers.

Creating the value proposition proved problematic at first. At my mentor’s recommendation, I created one for Game Day using a process of describing what my company was, who our target customer was and what differentiated my product.

My first value proposition was “A simplified way of shaving and daily care using the finest ingredients for the modern man.” It started a process. Over the next several months, I continuously readdressed my mission statement.

It is essential as it defines your brand to customers. Initially, all of my peers gave me input about what they found different and value adding about my brand.

You need to ask all of your peers, as it is essentially a free form of consulting. After all, your product is what the consumers think of it, not what you tell them it should be. The more input you gather from those around you, the more accurate your value proposition will be.

Make sure you keep your head on your shoulders and take everything with a grain of salt though. You know your business best, and remember their advice is exactly that, advice.

You must next go do market research, get in the field and ask people. Go to stores that will sell your product or call people who will use your service. Find out exactly who they are, how to identify them and what value they want.

If your company is a snowboard company, go to the mountain and stores and ask the snowboarders themselves what they wish they saw on the market. Take their input and position your company to do exactly that.

Find an unmet need and introduce yourself to it. Making sure you tell your customers exactly what they are buying and why your product is better is essential, especially while in college. Everyone wants to know why you are more qualified then the next person and your value proposition is your one chance to show your customer how you are adding value.

I also received input as my customer base grew. I began to adjust my value proposition to appeal to the customers that were buying Game Day. I deduced that they were active men who played sports or frequented the gym. I also saw that people who chose to use Game Day, valued their skin health and appearance greatly.

The Game Day formula needed to contain ingredients that make it perfect for active men specifically and it is considered to be high-end skincare.

The value proposition became: the only high-end skincare products designed specifically for active men, exclusively formulated using the finest ingredients to leave you confident in your skin.

My customers loved it, and every time my value proposition evolved, so did my customer base.

While the value proposition may not seem important initially, as a young entrepreneur, you must take advantage of nailing your value proposition from day one and evolving it until it is absolutely perfect. Your credibility is dependent on it. Make sure you take the time that I did to derive your value proposition and you will use it time and time again when explaining or pitching your business. Show your customers that you can add value to them and watch as your company builds an ever-growing network of lifetime customers.

Demetri Demascus | Elite.

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