In part one of our three-part series, Martin Reid, Agenda senior associate and former director at the Education and Training Foundation, defined what a value proposition is and what it’s not, and why a value proposition is important.
In part two, we considered how to understand our audiences and the advantages of building a value proposition canvas.
In this final part, we conclude with some templates so you can write your own value propositions.
Let’s get started
It doesn’t have to be a daunting task to write a value proposition. As with many communications techniques, there’s a logic to the process.
In our second blog we:
defined our audience
identified their problems or aspirations; their 'pains’ or ‘gains’
described our solution for ‘pain relief’ or ‘gain creation’
picked out one key part of the offer that really makes a difference.
Now you can create a value proposition from these building blocks using one of these templates we prefer.
Template one
For [target audience], who [problem/aspiration], [product or service name] is a [solution] that [unique value].
Let's break down each part of the template. For ease, we’re pretending to be a fictional network for teachers called Classroom Confidence.
For [target audience]:
Specify your particular segment which might be a target group. You can use demographics, psychographics or segmentation criteria to define your target audience. Let’s pick student teachers for our example.
Who [problem/aspiration]:
Describe the main pain point or desire your target audience faces and how it affects them. Use your value proposition canvas to help here. You can use data, statistics, or customer feedback to validate your problem. Let’s say our student teachers are nervous about their first teaching job.
[Product or service]:
Name your product or service and what it does. We're going to highlight our student membership which offers lots of ways to get support and ideas.
Is a [solution]:
Explain how membership solves the problem or provides value to your target audience. Again, you can refer to your value proposition canvas and use the features, benefits, experiences to describe your solution. We’re going to pick out some of the key elements of the support and ideas – the ones we know make a difference to our student members thanks to our research and feedback.
That [unique value]:
Highlight how your product or service is different from the alternatives or competitors and why your target audience should choose you. You can use a unique selling proposition or a competitive advantage to express your unique value. We’re going to focus on the fact that our resources and networks are free and they’ve been created by teachers, for teachers.
Here’s our first version of a value proposition:
For student teachers like you who are excited and nervous about your first day in the classroom, Classroom Confidence is a network of experienced teachers that offer free advice, ideas and peer support to make your back-to-school days a success.
Template two
A second template methodology is:
Our (name of product or service)
Helps (customer/member segment)
Who want to (hopes, aspirations, beliefs, goals)
By (features and benefits)
And (experiences)
Here's version two of our value proposition:
Our free Classroom Confidence membership helps student teachers who want to make their first day in the classroom a success by offering advice, ideas and peer support from a network of experienced teachers.
Review and refine
By using one of these templates, you can write a value proposition in one sentence which is great for materials or channels where you don’t have much room – for example on a marketing postcard or X/Twitter – or for when you don’t have much time to capture people’s attention. It also helps your colleagues to understand the key features and benefits of your services in a simple way.
From this sentence, you can expand to talk about your offer in a paragraph, then three paragraphs, and then a whole narrative, bringing in more detail or examples to illustrate your work and its value.
No matter the length of your text, keep in mind the following rules:
Clear:
Are you using simple language and ideas?
Is your name and offer obvious?
Have you avoided jargon or any phrases which might cause people to feel confused or excluded from your work?
Concise:
Can you edit down without losing meaning?
Have you stuck to the simple template to keep the meaning tight?
Compelling:
Have you made your case to your target audience using their pains and gains to anchor your words?
Have you used ‘you’ and ‘yours’ to speak to them directly?
Have you checked with your target audience if your words hit the mark?
Consistent:
As you expand your words from one sentence, have you kept consistency of order and offer – don’t hide the best part of your offer for later!
Have you maintained your clear, concise and compelling messaging?
Let’s recap the process
Looking through our three blogs, we can see the virtuous circle of creating then testing value propositions.
Your turn!
A value proposition is a powerful way to communicate the value of your organisation to your audiences.
There are well-known methodologies and simple templates to guide your way, and you can test your emerging ideas on your target audience as you go along.
So, now it's your turn. What is your value proposition?
Have you read the other blogs in this series?
