In this post I dragged you all kicking and screaming into the here and now getting into what a UVP is and 5 things to avoid when creating them. This post is going to round off your UVP so you can move forward with confidence and work on the next part of your business.
Does Your UVP Resonate? Are they just cold words or are they identifying and meeting the emotional needs of your customers?
Knowing your customers well is one of the most important success factors in your business. It's absolutely critical for growth not just in a small business but any size business. Although understanding your customers or avatars is important in all aspects of your business, it's particularly essential when you are crafting your unique value proposition.
To create a winning UVP, here is some of what you need to know about your customers:
Who They Are
You should know as much demographic information as possible, including things like age, gender, income, location, family,hobbies
What They Need
You have to thoroughly understand their problems, questions and concerns. These are the things that prompt people to take action. They're the problems you're going to offer to resolve for customers.
What They Buy
Know your customers' current suppliers. What companies are meeting their needs right now?
How They Buy
Find out about your customers' buying habits. This includes how much they buy, when they buy, how they pay, and anything else you can discover about their purchasing patterns.
How They Feel.
Finally, beyond hard data you need to understand how your customers feel about their problems and purchases. What makes them feel good or bad about the shopping experience? What do they expect from companies and products? How do they feel about the companies they currently buy from, as well as about you?
All of the above will help you create a unique value proposition that resonates with your customers and helps them understand why they should buy from you. If you don't know the answers to this already and it's not a ‘made up' customer research using surveys to your current clients , ask questions, source out people talking about your area of expertise on social media and see what they are about. This may sound like hard work but when your UVP hits the mark and it starts to connect it will save you alot of time and heartache.
Testing Your UVPÂ – The ‘What's in It for Me' Test
Creating the perfect unique value proposition is complex. It's not easy, but there's a simple test to help you refine your UVP and make it more suitable for your customers. It's the ‘What's In It For Me' test, otherwise known as WIIFM. I know this isn't new but it's as true today as it ever was
The test is simple, Your UVP should answer the question ‘What's in it for me?' in a way that people can relate to. If it successfully does that, you may have a winner.
The best way to answer the WIIFM question is to clearly emphasize the benefits of your offer and explain briefly how your product or service is different from those of your competitors. It needs to demonstrate how your offer better meets your customers needs. If you can communicate this effectively with your UVP, you'll answer the ultimate question.
Why Your Customers Ask WIIFM
People see marketing everywhere, social media, websites, TV, boars on the side of the road, newspapers, radio the list goes on and on. Every second that you're on the internet, watching TV, driving or listening to the radio, you're absorbing these messages. We're bombarded with many more today than ever in the past.
What this means is that in years past, you had more time and space to present your message. Customers had time to discover it for themselves. Today, the message needs to speak louder, clearer, and faster. You have to be NOTICED fast then keep thier attention
‘What's in it for me' is the central, deciding question that customers are asking when they encounter a marketing message such as yours. If the answer isn't given quickly and satisfactorily, they'll move on so fast you'll be forgotten in a heartbeat.
Focus on Benefits
The central theme of your message should be the benefits you offer. Benefits shouldn't be confused with features. Don't describe the features of the product, such as what it does. Instead, describe the end result that the customer experiences or feels by using the product or service. In other words, explain how it solves their problem and makes their life better.
Your WIIFM answer is what a potential customer is looking for when they encounter your UVP.
Your Unique Value Proposition – Image Matters
To create a unique value proposition that works, you need to emphasize the benefits you offer and what makes you unique among similar companies. But there's one more missing piece of the puzzle – your image.
Your UVP should convey a particular image that shows people the vibe or culture of your company. This is an important part of resonating with your customers. They need to feel like you and your company is on their side, part of their tribe and holds the same values at heart.
Language is also a major factor in image. The language you use in your message needs to speak directly to your market. If your target market is young hipsters, then use words they would use in every day conversation. If your market is corporate businesses, stick with more professional language that's relevant to their business. we decided many years ago violence in our language would not make our prospects feel good. Phrases like ‘explode your business' were never going to work well and made us feel uncomfortable
Even if you have some crossover in your ideal customers, such as a combination of young and old, stick with one type of language in your image. For example, Apple may look like their products are targeted at a young generation, but older people love them too.
You can get ideas for the right language to use by looking at websites, companies, products and marketing messages that are popular with your target market. They'll show you the type of image and language the market likes. You can then take this image and add your own personal touch to it so its authentic to you and the values you hold in your business.
Remember the UVP is a really important part of your connection with your prospects, don't overlook it as something that you'll do later or won't really make a difference, all of the smaller aspects that add up to your marketing image and pan talk to each other, individually valuable combined make it fantastic.
More greet advice again. Enjoyed this post. Always great to be reminded we are arcing others and the central question we need to ask ourselves with reference to our clients . ” what is in it for me”. Thank you for sharing again