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Dec 03, 2020 BY A Mighty Citizen UX Design & Content, Marketing

6 Easy Ways To Make Your Value Proposition More Valuable

Your organization’s value proposition is arguably the most important element of your overall marketing strategy. A great value proposition packs enough power to ground your overall messaging, impact your audience’s perception of you, and ultimately make or break your bottom line.

Read on to find out:

  • What a value proposition is
  • What a value proposition is not
  • How to use a value proposition in 6 easy ways
  • See a value proposition example in action

What Is a Value Proposition?

Value propositions actively tell your target audience how you’re going to solve their problems (or the world’s problems). But even more than that, it demonstrates how valuable your solution is for them.

A strong value proposition:

  • Answers “why” someone should invest their time with you and not one of your competitors.
  • Is developed specifically for your target audience.
  • Serves as the promise of the value and benefits you deliver.
  • Helps conversions by convincing potential donors, members, or students to engage with your organization.
  • Paves the way for your marketing strategy, setting the tone for your future marketing campaigns, your channel mix, and content.
  • Varies in length but is always broad, concise, and clear. It can be written in several ways—in as little as one to two words, or as long as one to two sentences, or even offer several elements, like a headline, subhead, and bullet points.

What is Not a Value Proposition?

Value propositions are very powerful, but they are often confused with other elements of a marketing strategy:

  • Positioning Statement
  • Tagline
  • Slogan

Each of these, though collectively similar, serve a very specific function for your brand’s identity (we’ll cover those details shortly). At Mighty Citizen, we bring these elements together into a Messaging Platform. In the messaging platform, the value proposition, positioning statement, tagline and slogan all work together to establish your brand’s voice.

However, one of the most common misconceptions about these elements is that they are all laterally equal. In reality, your value proposition is your North Star. When written correctly, your positioning statement, tagline, and slogan will all ladder up to your value proposition.

Icons showing Value Proposition on top with Positioning Statement, Tagline and Slogan underneath it

Therefore, these elements support your value proposition. So what exactly are they?

Positioning Statement

The positioning statement is a focused description of your primary “customer” benefits (understanding that for many mission-driven organizations, your customers may be donors, members, students, clients, etc.). They point specifically to your competitive differentiation.

A strong positioning statement:

  • Is created after you’ve developed your organization’s value proposition.
  • Is commonly found on your website’s “About Us” or “Our Mission” landing page.
  • Might be reserved for your internal team only. They are not always public-facing.
  • Can be a few sentences or several paragraphs in length.

Tagline

The tagline is a catchy statement that represents your brand.

A strong tagline:

  • Expresses the essence of your value proposition but doesn’t necessarily answer your “why” or your value over competitors.
  • Is short, simple, and causes your audience to have an emotional reaction. In a tagline, every word matters.

Slogan

The slogan is a brief catchy statement that represents a single product.

A strong slogan:

  • Is most often used as the headline of an advertising campaign. (Hot tip: Each campaign should have a different slogan.)
  • Supports your tagline.
  • Is the last piece of messaging to be written.

6 Ways to Use a Value Proposition

Before we dive into using your value proposition to its full potential, let’s talk 2020—the most challenging, unexpected, and unpredictable year of our lifetimes. For many organizations, the impacts of 2020 will linger for many quarters to come. But no matter what uncertainty lies ahead, remember that you control your brand’s narrative.

When times are changing and there is tension all around, it’s important to act or react quickly. Here are six tips to use your value proposition to make the most of your marketing even in a changing climate and economy:

But no matter what uncertainty lies ahead, remember that you control your brand’s narrative.
  1. Make sure your value proposition is on your website. Put it on your website as your hero message. Bold and clear. Remember, people are looking for solutions quickly. They will not necessarily dive deep. Put it at the top of your website so it’s the first thing they see to help drive conversions quickly.
  2. Add testimonials to your website. Testimonials humanize your value proposition and offer credibility. This is low-hanging fruit that should be elevated towards the top of your page.
  3. Look for other ways to highlight your unique value in your user experience. Do you offer free resources? How about a gift with membership? Make sure it’s on your homepage and landing pages throughout the conversion process.
  4. Start a value-focused email campaign. You will be talking directly to your subscribed target market. Be real with them. Show empathy and understanding and offer them a valuable solution.
  5. Use digital marketing and Pay Per Click (PPC) ads to A/B test your value-based messaging. Effective value propositions can take a long time to develop. The good news is that PPC ads are perfect for helping you quickly deploy new creative and easily test your messaging. A strong value proposition with the right messaging is a great formula for increasing conversion rates. And with so many platforms to choose from, you can easily create campaigns that your target audience is sure to see.
  6. Drive your value home across your organic social media channels. There is no faster and easier way to express your brand’s value in a changing time than with a post on social media (you all remember #blackouttuesday). Now is a great time to create a content strategy that highlights your value and benefits. Highlight your thought leadership, tools, templates, and case studies. You can even kick it up a notch by making sure your “about” section features your value proposition.

Value Proposition Example

Now that you’re up to speed on value propositions, let’s show you how they can work in action for a real brand. For this example, we’re going to look at Facebook.

Value Proposition: “Connect with friends and the world around you.”

Facebook does an excellent job of highlighting their unique value proposition by showing it front and center on their homepage. What we like about this value proposition is that it tells you exactly what they do and how they’ll bring you value - clear, concise and yet broad…

Screenshot of Facebook’s homepage showing their value proposition

Positioning Statement: “… bringing the world closer together.”

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Positioning statements are often more internally focused, and Facebook’s use of it is no exception. After some research, we uncovered it in an internal (now public) staff memo from Mark Zuckerburg. It ties in nicely with their value proposition while also highlighting their specific competitive differentiation–they are the world’s largest online social network afterall.

Tagline: “It’s quick and easy.”

It’s safe to say that Facebook’s tagline is not widely known. However, as you can see it has the essence of their value proposition within it, and better yet, it’s also on their homepage accompanying their call to action.

Screenshot of Facebook's homepage showing their tagline

Slogan: “More Together”

The “More Together” slogan was first introduced in a 2019 advertising campaign. From digital marketing, to out-of-home ads, and even in their first ever Super Bowl ad, Facebook was focused on the power of connecting through common interests around the world. By using it’s Groups to tell the story, they showcased their value proposition in a relatable and impactful way.

Screenshots from a Facebook commercial featuring their slogan

Not every organization has the staff capacity to create new campaigns and messaging at the drop of a hat. We recommend choosing one or two tactics from the list above to get started. If you need help implementing these ideas or creating a messaging strategy, Mighty Citizen is here to help! After all, like the value proposition on our homepage says, we offer branding and digital transformation for mission-driven organizations.

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