How to build a high converting value proposition for your startup

What do you do?

It can be difficult question for startups. Often, your product is a spin on something already (tired and) established that you’ve disrupted by making it more efficient or doing it in a more effective way. It’s natural to draw comparisons to other businesses or brands to help explain what your product or service entails. You hear responses like:

“Well, it’s kinda like [X brand] but for [Y product/industry].”

“You know [X brand]? We’re a bit like them”

In a conversation you (potentially) have an opportunity to explain further until the other person understands. You don’t get that luxury with a visitor to your website. People will only buy if you provide value to them. For them to make that value judgement they need to understand what you do and why they need you or your product. And they won’t hang around to figure it out.

So can you easily articulate what you do?

Before you attempt it you need to understand the reasons why someone will choose you over another. If your startup has traction and is growing you likely have a strong product / market fit, whether you have articulated it well or not. You are addressing needs in a way that is appealing to your audience — these reasons are your value proposition.

If you want to grow further or faster you need to ensure every visitor to your website understands your proposition.

Resonate, Differentiate and Substantiate

There are many ways to define your value proposition, but one approach I’ve favoured recently is a process referred to by the Rain Group as ‘The Three Legs of the Value Proposition Stool’.

The collection of reasons why people buy typically fall into three major buckets that, in sum, form the three rules of winning value propositions:

1. Buyers have to want and need what you’re selling. You have to resonate.

2. Buyers have to see why you stand out from the other available options. You have to differentiate.

3. Buyers have to believe that you can deliver on your promises. You have to substantiate.

Once you’ve been able to define your value proposition, then consistency and repetition are key.

Consistency

Wherever you describe what you do — website, email, video, TV / radio advertising, print media, media packs, etc, — you must have consistency. You can copy and paste the exact words in some cases (be efficient in your copywriting, don’t stress yourself trying to find a gazillion ways to say the same thing), or you can vary it to fit the context — but don’t lose the essence of what you are conveying. Different words can explain the same concept.

Repetition

Say it over and over again to reinforce your message. Remind your customers why you’re so valuable to them. Remember, online every page indexable by search engines is a potential front door to your website. Don’t stop with your homepage — put it on your PPC landing pages, your Welcome email, your refer-a-friend email, everywhere!

Don’t break a promise

Your value proposition is a promise. You’re telling them how they’re going to be better off by choosing your product. Make sure you deliver on that promise. Your credibility — and repeat purchase and word of mouth referral — depends on it.

The carwow value proposition

Let’s look at a real example. carwow is a two-sided marketplace with both dealers and car buyers as customers. For the purpose of this example, let’s look at the car buyer proposition.

Early this year, this was the main copy on our homepage:

The headline was bold, presenting a dramatically different concept in car buying, whilst the sub-copy incorporated social proof to encourage users to give it a try.

It was an improvement on the previous copy from a positioning perspective, and also mirrored the TV messaging at the time (great way to create scent and improve performance). When we A/B tested the copy we also saw an increase in signups.

However, there was a concern that it was a little too conceptual. Users had to figure what ‘competing over you’ entailed (and whether that was a good or bad thing) and it didn’t actually explain how carwow met their needs or how it was different.

So using the Three Legs approach we redefined the value proposition statement:

Here is how it breaks down:

Resonate

The traditional way of car buying, traipsing around car dealers and attempting to haggle with salespeople is an off-putting experience for most car buyers, so we draw on that twice, 1) in the headline — Awkward haggling — and 2) in the sub-copy — We take the hassle and haggle out of new car buying.

Differentiate

carwow has disrupted the traditional approach by building an online product that taps into a wide network of dealers who are willing to put their best offer forward to new leads. Dealers do not know the offers from other dealers, so users get their best price upfront. The user doesn’t have to rely only on dealers near to their home either, as we find them offers from the best local and national dealers.

That’s a lot to fit in a snappy headline, so much of the detail gets covered by supporting copy. For the main statement, we draw on how things have now changed by stating in the headline that the awkward haggling is a thing of the past. Then follow up in the sub-copy by explaining how we’ve changed things for the user by finding you great offers from Britain’s top dealers.

Substantiate

It’s all very well claiming carwow is the better way of buying a new car, but does it actually work? We substantiate our claims by revealing the average saving a carwow user receives on our dealer offers — our average saving is £3,600.

Only 25% of our customers actually choose the cheapest offer — location and the customer experience from dealers are the other big decision-influencing factors — but highlighting the monetary saving is a compelling attraction regardless.

Never stand still

We’re much happier with this iteration of the value proposition — and our car buyer audience appear to be too, showing an uplift in signups from the homepage in the subsequent AB test. We’re now using this structure and wording in other locations, but we’re not stopping there.

At the heart of our company ethos is a question:

How can I make it better?

So we’re continuing to evolve this proposition as we learn more about our customers’ needs and as our product offering expands. One thing we want to explore further is the concept of having confidence you’re getting the best deal. We find the best deals for each user from over 1000 dealers, saving them a huge amount of effort and hassle. We’ll see if this can be incorporated and whether it improves comprehension and conversion.

main image: Jan Schulz

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