The value of a great value proposition: a practical guide for founders

You explain your business. The other person nods politely, then asks: “So what does it actually do?”

It is a useful signal! You may know your product so well that you have skipped the explanation someone else needs.

This happens in early-stage businesses, but it can also happen as a company grows. The product develops, the customer base changes and the original description no longer fits.

A clear value proposition helps the right people understand why your business might matter to them. It also helps your team explain it consistently.

What is a value proposition?

A value proposition explains who you help, what you help them achieve and why your approach is worth considering.

It should give a prospective customer enough clarity to decide whether they want to know more.

A slogan can be memorable without explaining much. A list of features can be accurate without showing why anyone should care. Your value proposition connects what you offer to something the customer values.

You do not need to explain the whole business in one sentence. You do need a clear starting point for the conversation.

Why does a clear value proposition matter?

Your value proposition helps customers recognise whether your offer fits their situation. It gives your sales and marketing activity a consistent focus and makes it easier for other people to introduce you.

Think about the last time someone asked what you do. Could they explain it accurately to another person afterwards?

That matters when you depend on referrals from customers, colleagues or advisers. People can make more useful introductions when they understand whom you help and why.

The work can also reveal uncertainty inside the business. If the team cannot agree on who the customer is or what they value, spending longer polishing a sentence will only take you so far.

Start with the customer’s situation

Before writing, choose the customer you are trying to reach.

Be specific about their circumstances. What are they trying to achieve? What gets in their way? What makes the problem important enough to address?

“Small businesses” gives you a broad category. “Growing businesses whose customer enquiries are getting lost between teams” gives you a situation to investigate.

Useful questions include:

• What happens that prompts someone to look for help?

• How do they deal with the problem today?

• What is difficult or costly about that approach?

• What would a worthwhile improvement look like?

• Who uses the solution and who decides whether to buy it?

Speak to customers about their actual experiences. Their words may be clearer and more useful than the language you use internally.

Explain the value, not just the features

A feature describes something your product or service includes. The value comes from what that feature helps someone do.

For example, “shared customer records” describes a capability. “Give everyone handling an enquiry the information they need to respond” explains its practical use.

Go carefully when describing the result. If you claim to save time, reduce costs or improve performance, you should be able to explain how and support the claim.

Specific, credible language gives people something to assess. Phrases such as “transformative solutions” or “unlock your potential” leave them doing much of the work.

Give people a reason to consider your approach

Customers usually have alternatives. They may use another supplier, build something themselves, continue with a manual process or decide the problem can wait.

What makes your offer a suitable choice for the customer you have identified?

That might be relevant experience, a simpler process, specialist knowledge or a way of delivering the service that fits their needs.

Avoid reaching automatically for “unique”, “leading” or “best”. Describe the difference and explain why it matters.

You do not have to be the only business doing something to give a customer a good reason to choose you.

A simple value proposition template

Try this as a starting point:

We help [specific customer] achieve [useful outcome] through [product, service or approach].

Then add a short supporting sentence explaining why someone should consider you.

For my own work, that could be:

“I coach and mentor founders as their businesses grow, helping them think clearly, develop as leaders and work through difficult decisions. I bring experience from building and exiting two technology businesses, with a direct and compassionate approach.”

That gives someone a starting point. We can then talk about their situation and whether working

together would be useful.

Use the template to organise your thinking. Once the meaning is clear, rewrite it in language you would comfortably use in conversation.

You may need different versions for different customers

If you serve several customer groups, they may value different aspects of what you do.

The person using a product may care about making their daily work easier. The person approving the purchase may need to understand its cost, implementation requirements and effect on the wider business.

Keep the underlying offer consistent while making its relevance clear to each audience.

It can help to have a short spoken introduction, a slightly fuller website description and supporting detail for sales conversations. Each should build on the same explanation.

Test whether people understand it

Read your draft to someone who fits your intended audience, or show it to them without adding an explanation.

Then ask:

• What do you think we help people do?

• Who do you think this is for?

• What, if anything, feels relevant to your situation?

• What is unclear or difficult to believe?

• What would you need to know next?

“Do you like it?” may produce encouraging feedback without telling you whether the message works.

Friends and family can help identify confusing language. Prospective customers can tell you more about relevance. Neither positive feedback nor a well-written sentence proves that someone will buy.

Notice what happens in real conversations too. Are people asking more relevant questions? Do they understand the offer sooner? Are you attracting the customers you intended to reach?

Review it as the business develops

Your value proposition should reflect the business you are running now.

Return to it when you change your offer, learn something important about customers or find that sales conversations repeatedly need the same clarification.

You do not need to rewrite it every time someone suggests a different word. Look for patterns in the feedback and test meaningful changes.

A useful team exercise is to ask everyone to write down, independently, who you help and what customers value about your work. Compare the answers before discussing the wording.

The differences may reveal a decision you need to make about the business itself.

Now it’s your turn

Choose one customer group and write a first draft. Keep the language simple, read it aloud and remove anything you would struggle to explain.

Then test it with a few relevant people.

The aim is to make it easier for the right person to understand you and decide whether to continue the conversation.

If this exercise raises bigger questions about your focus, customers or direction, explore how we can work together. I coach and mentor founders through these decisions as their businesses grow.

Cheers,

Duncan