Struggling to create a truly unique value proposition that sets you apart from your competition? You’re not alone.
In fact, 88 percent of marketers and sellers we surveyed aren’t confident their buyers understand what makes their solution unique or valuable.
In well-defined categories, many companies can solve the same problems with similar capabilities and pricing. If you hope to get prospects to choose your solution (and not haggle over price), you must articulate your unique value clearly and effectively.
But how do you create a unique value proposition when so many other solutions look and sound like yours?
Most organizations follow the popular adage to “sell benefits, not features,” believing the shorter and crisper your descriptions, the better. Others dress up their capabilities in superlatives, trying to make their solutions appear better and brighter than others.
Here are three examples of popular types of value propositions:
Despite the popularity of these three approaches, a new research study from Emblaze and Corporate Visions shows how these typical “best practices” are missing the mark.
Emblaze ran a behavioral study to observe how 400 B2B buyers responded to four different types of value propositions.
The study’s premise was simple: What if you took the same feature set from the same company and positioned the capabilities differently? Can one version of the story consistently and materially defeat a different version of the story—even when both value propositions are based on the exact same capabilities?
Turns out, it can.
According to the research, the best way to create a truly unique value proposition is to use an approach called “Telling Details.” The Telling Details pitch beat every other message, individually and in the aggregate, across every variable tested. And it wasn’t even close.
The Telling Details approach adds specific information and more detailed, emotional language to describe the prospect’s business problem, the capabilities to solve that problem, and the value of those capabilities.
Research shows that the most compelling and unique value proposition is:
It’s worth noting that the Telling Details pitch was twice as long as other messages in the study. But it’s not just adding more words for the sake of it—those additional details bring clarity and focus to an otherwise fuzzy value proposition.
Using more specific and detailed language adds depth to your message, making it more concrete and believable. The extra details enhance your story and help your prospect better “experience” what you’re describing. That, in turn, boosts their confidence that your solution offers the most value.
Positioning the same features in a different way can completely change your buyer’s perception of value and preference for you.
If you want to create a unique value proposition, don’t just talk about features or benefits. Don’t use empty language to try and spice up your pitch. Instead, use specific, Telling Details to make your message more concrete, increase your impact, and avoid the parity trap.
Get the research report, Avoid the Parity Trap, and learn how to make your solution stand out in highly competitive categories.
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