The term “online value proposition” is fast becoming one of the key phrases as far as businesses in the online space are concerned. But what does this term really mean and why are online value propositions for small businesses so important?
What is an Online Value Proposition?
An online value proposition is defined by entrepreneur, Michael Skok, as “a positioning statement that explains what benefit you provide and how you do it uniquely well. It describes your target buyer, the pain point you solve, and why you’re distinctly better than the alternatives. The crucial element in this definition is the term “uniquely”. A truly persuasive value proposition will make it abundantly clear how you are set apart from your competition. Furthermore, it will convince prospects why your business provides a better solution. It is also important that this value proposition be the vehicle that delivers quantifiable value to the customer.
Once you have established what an online value proposition means to your business, it is important to understand what its purpose is and why it is essential to any successful small business.
Why Does Your Business Need One?
It attracts and connects with customers in a short space of time. Clear and simple online value propositions for small businesses can be used to “hook” potential customers. It can turn them into real customers. By clearly communicating your benefit and value-add to the prospective, you instantly give them the reason to choose your business over any similar offerings. By communicating this superiority, you give them every reason to choose you right then and there. The nature of businesses are that if customers don’t find what they are looking for immediately, they will look elsewhere.
It Differentiates From Competitors and Proves its Superiority
A key success factor for any small business is not only the ability to give a unique and valuable offering. It is also the ability to communicate that to prospective clients. An online value proposition is the precise vehicle for this purpose. Furthermore, it proves its superiority over the alternatives. And it encourages the prospective to choose your business offering over those of your competitors. This is the most important factor when creating online value propositions for small businesses. It should be an effective driver of future successes.
It Provides a Clear Focus to Marketing Efforts
The clear and precise nature of an online value proposition gives ultimate clarity. It defines what the core differentiation of your business is. This guideline can serve as the perfect point of departure for creating marketing strategies and clearly define what you need to communicate with them. By clearly establishing what the key value-adds of your offering are, you can devise strategies to make sure that it is effectively and creatively communicated. It also provides a very clear purpose for the site and why you are driving your target audience to the site.
Supplement PR and Word of Mouth Recommendations
The concise and deliberate nature of any online value proposition forms part of a variety of media strategies. This can lead to easy adaptions for all forms of PR and for both staff and your customers to promote your business effectively via word of mouth. This simple and effective communication tool can lead to a dramatic increase in the interest in your business.
It Can Echo Wider Sentiments of the Company or Product
The online value proposition is also leveraged to communicate the values or sentiments of the business and what they stand for. An example of this is Apple’s choice to focus their value proposition on the aspirational nature of their products rather than focusing on the features of the products themselves. This is how they communicate their unique selling point and entire brand strategy in an extremely competitive market. This is done so incredibly effectively. By applying the same strategy to your business, you can communicate your core values and purpose effectively. This will also be abundantly clear to your prospective customers.
The online value proposition is essentially the very core of what makes your business different to any of your competitors. It should be the spearhead of what makes your business great and provide direction to all aspects of it.
Ultimately online value propositions for small businesses are a key element that not only contributes to success but to influence a variety of business factors. By creating an effective one, you create a distinct competitive advantage for your business that can lead to tangible business results in the future.
At PrimePixels, we specialise in digital marketing services for small to medium businesses. We have the knowledge, tools and understand the difficulties small businesses encounter. We’d love the opportunity to see how we can help your business, get in touch with us here, or check out our affordable business growth services.
