Why Unique Value Propositions Have Become Outdated

I’ve never been to a networking event where someone has stood up and said, “my team’s absolute rubbish and my service is dreadful”.

Many people would say their business’s unique value proposition is, “We have the best people and deliver the best service.”

But that statement is not unique.

Instead of asking what makes your business unique, I believe that we should be asking what makes your business superior to others.

 

Why is the phrase ‘unique value proposition’ outdated?

The phrase ‘unique value proposition’ means your business offers something uniquely different from what your competitors offer.

But here’s a little secret — your business isn’t unique.

Unless you’ve invented something brand new, your services will be very similar to those of your competitors. As the saying goes, “there is nothing new under the sun.” 

Because of this, barely any company has a unique value proposition, making them outdated.

 

Why does your business need a superior value proposition?

Businesses with a traditional unique value proposition are often missing brand personalisation. Personalisation makes a business real to its employees, consumers, and clients, and it’s why you choose to buy from one company over its competitor.

For example, if your value proposition is that you’ve got a great team of people, then what might make them superior to others is that they are so great, your competitors are trying to poach them.

You can then showcase it in a way where you’re not afraid for someone else to poach them because you know you have created such a great environment that your team won’t leave, that not even your team wants to go to the competitors.

Potential customers will be asking themselves, “Well, if they won’t even go there, why should I?”

 

How can you create a superior value proposition?

To create the traditional unique value proposition, you need:

1. To understand who your market is
2. Explain to your audience why they should buy from you instead of your competitors
3. Determine the pain point for consumers
4. Connect this to your company’s mission and what you stand for
5. Craft all of this into a single message

Your five steps of creating a value proposition remain the same as for a superior value proposition, but the next phase is asking yourself how do you communicate that better in the market?

Think of what your customers have said, how people describe your business and what makes it superior to others. Use this knowledge to prove why your business stands out and is better than your competitors.

For example, if your unique value proposition is the technology your business has, what makes your value proposition superior is how you use that technology, how it’s implemented into your business systems and processes, and how you tell that story.

That will all drive through to what makes you superior to others.

What is an example of a brand that provides superior value?

A great example of a brand with superior value is Harley Davidson. Their motorbikes arguably aren’t better or worse than any other motorbikes.

But they’ve brought people into their community, and people have attached themselves to this brand, some even going as far as getting the logo tattooed on themselves (if you can achieve that, you’ve definitely smashed your superior value proposition).

So that’s what a superior value proposition will do: give people a superior brand perception because they want to be part of it.

Creating a value proposition is essential to get clarity around who your company is and what you do.

How did this term come about?

I coined this term after hearing a lot of new clients telling me they were finding it hard to differentiate themselves in the market.

I found myself telling a lot of them the same thing: The only thing unique to any business is its people.

So, the superior value proposition takes the individuals you have, personifies that into the brand, and goes, ‘this is what you’re getting.’

Conclusion

Instead of focusing on unique value statements, I believe that every business should create a superior value statement.

This will help businesses define what they are best at and why customers should come to them rather than their competitors.

If you want help developing your superior value proposition to drive your revenue goals, get in touch with Attain.

Sharn Piper – CEO
M: +64 27 733 4333
E: sharn@weareattain.com

Having successfully led numerous sales teams, built multiple successful businesses I know what it takes to create a sales process that is robust, repeatable and produces consistent results when applied in a consistent way.