How to identify and communicate your product’s unique value proposition
Your product needs to stand out in an amazingly complex and distracting world - and perhaps in an amazingly crowded market as well. According to eMarketer, worldwide digital ad spend alone is projected to grow 17% in 2021. That’s a lot of advertising dollars to compete with.
Whatever problem you solve, chances are your ideal customers have multiple solutions to choose from. Your biggest competitor might even be the status quo of inaction.
You know you have a great product that solves an important problem. But how is it possible to grab the right people’s attention? How can you let the people who stand to benefit most from your product know about the great value you have to offer?
This is where crafting and sharing a compelling unique value proposition comes into play.
What is a UVP and why is it important?
Your UVP (Unique Value Proposition) is a statement which describes how you uniquely solve your customers’ problems. It is sometimes alternately referred to as a USP (Unique Selling Proposition). A well crafted UVP clarifies the top benefits your product offers and how you are different from your competitors.
Your UVP tells your prospective customers why they should do business with you by letting them know what sort of value to expect from your product. Creating and prominently marketing a compelling UVP can make a significant difference in how many people you attract and convert into customers.
How to identify your product’s UVP
A true UVP is more than just a tagline or positioning statement. Offering unique value means deeply understanding your customers, their problems and desires, and how you can help. Your UVP should be data-driven, tested, and refined over time.
To identify your strongest and most compelling UVP, begin by clarifying who your ideal customer is and what is the largest and most painful problem you can solve for them. List out all of the relevant features and benefits of your product. Identify the most important and valuable benefits you offer, as well as everything you do differently from your competitors.
Here are a few examples of some different types of value that you could choose to emphasize in your unique value proposition. Whichever UVP focus angle you choose, make sure to specifically tailor it to fit your customer, market, industry, mission, product, and unique strengths. Specificity is compelling. Being vague and over-generalizing is not.
Highest quality product. If you choose this angle for your UVP, explain exactly what it is about your product that makes it superior. How is it better? What will people gain with your product that they won’t get anywhere else?
Most effective process. If you want to differentiate based on a unique process, clarify exactly how your process works and why it produces the best outcomes. Why should people care about using your process?
Fastest results. Another way you can provide value is to solve a problem faster than other alternative solutions. Be specific about how much time your product can save and which benefits the time savings will provide.
Best value for the price. Competing based on price can be a slippery slope. But there’s a difference between being the cheapest option and offering the best value for the price. Be explicit about exactly why your price is such a great deal.
Most enjoyable experience. Many people are willing to pay more for a great experience. This could be their experience using your product, interacting with your company, or both. Let people know why they’ll have the best experience with you.
How to write a UVP statement
It is essential to clearly convey your message to your audience using language that they understand. Conduct customer research to make sure you are actually using the right language in your messaging. The way you talk about your product and the way your customers talk about it might not be the same. Find out which words real customers are using to describe your product and its benefits.
Your goal is to generate a succinct statement which both describes what your UVP is and why your ideal customer should care (i.e. what’s in it for them). Feature your UVP statement prominently on your website and other marketing materials, and be prepared to discuss it in depth during conversations.
Here are the key components of a strong UVP:
Explains why your product is relevant. What problems does it solve, and how does it solve them?
Explains why your product is different. How is your solution unique, and why is it superior to other alternatives?
Explains the value of your product. What specific benefits and value will customers attain from using your product?
Examples of strong UVPs
Nailing an effective UVP is not an easy task, and many companies continue to struggle in this regard. While no value proposition is perfect, some brands have successfully managed to craft a strong UVP for their product.
Here are a few examples of compelling UVPs developed by real brands:
Digit: Take the worry out of your money. You don’t have to think about saving or investing money anymore. Digit does it all for you.
Gengo: Professional translation within hours. 97.6% customer satisfaction.
Scribd: Endless entertainment and knowledge. Read or listen anytime, anywhere.
Unbounce: Boost your conversions. Boost your relevance. Boost your confidence. Spend less time building, more time converting. The new SmartBuilder lets you tap into AI insights and over 1.5 billion data points to light up new conversion possibilities for your small business.
Vidyard: Video built for virtual selling. Vidyard is the key to making remote selling easy. From prospecting to proposals, record and send videos that add a personal touch at all stages of the sales cycle.
Do you want to build a product with unique value?
At Basecode we can help you strategize, design, and build a software product that stands out in the market and offers unique value to your customers. Contact us to find out how we can help you launch a product with a compelling UVP.