While it may not always be the case, providing added value to the customer should be a fundamental part of every project.
By delivering value to a clearly defined group of people, you differentiate yourself from the competition and gain customers willing to pay for your solution in the long run.
It’s a first step for your brand to continue existing even long after you’re gone.
When dealing with the value proposition, don't concentrate solely on the product's features and individual characteristics but on the value of your solution. It's crucial to focus on what you bring to the customer.
What makes you the best choice for them? What need or problem are you addressing?
Does your solution answer the following customer questions?
Why should I be interested in you at all?
Do you improve my everyday life?
Do you connect me with something or someone?
Do you provide me with the means to make a difference in this world?
How to think about customer value?
Ask yourself three fundamental questions:
1) What rational value can the customer get from my product?
Ask your customers why they chose you. They will provide you with various answers, giving you insight into your value to them. It could be, for example, that you save them money or time. You might simplify their work or help them make money.
By doing this, you will identify the factors to focus on and then invest more effort into. You might even realize that customers actually need you for different reasons than your initial goal. Focus on that and use it to your advantage.
2) What emotional connection does the customer have with my product?
Ask yourself why people should fall in love with your product and keep coming back to it. It often relates to a desire, to how a person wants to feel. Ask your customers what your product evokes in them and why they return to it.
You can even ask people outside your customer base. Find out why they don't buy your product, what concerns they have, and work on addressing those.
3) What significant issue would your company stand for if it could change the world?
Startups aiming for long-term success should think globally. Choose a specific global issue to address. Consider how your company would approach it and most effectively solve it.
If you manage to find a common thread in these questions and can articulate it, you have a value proposition, the value you create. After that, nothing should prevent your customer from easily completing the following sentence: "I'm with your brand because..."
It will become the glue that holds together all platforms, propositions, advertising campaigns, new features and products, etc. Everyone – including employees as excited about it as customers, will know about it.