Strengthening Your Business Identity with Value Propositions

Written By Emily Gorg, Director of Marketing, Len Busch Roses

It’s a question for the ages: Who are you? Who are you really? In this context, we’re not talking about you as a person, but “you” as in your organization. What do you stand for? And what do you do better than anybody else in your market? What sets you apart? Having a strong brand identity in what can sometimes be a viciously competitive market can be a game-changer.

So… how? Start with identifying your Value Propositions: the specific benefits that your organization provides to its customers. We’re all in business to solve problems for our customers. You should know what those problems are and what your business does to make them less painful. This is why you do what you do in the first place – the very reason you’re in business. And your Value Propositions should communicate why your customers should choose your products and services over those of your competitors. How do you solve their problems better than anyone else?

Establishing strong Value Propositions also has the added benefit of helping to attract your ideal customer. In today’s world, people are drawn to businesses they can relate to, businesses that feel real and accessible, those that feel human, and those that understand them. The more you can relate to your customers on a human level and demonstrate a genuine interest in them, the more successful you’ll be. While more prevalent in B2C business, this is a concept that is very much still true in B2B environments, especially with small businesses like our retail shop owners and studio-based designers.

Going through the exercise of identifying your Value Propositions can be an excellent activity to do with a group of your leaders and can also help identify gaps or other opportunities to improve your business model. Once you’ve generated your list, it becomes a critical piece of your business foundation and provides your team with the road map to achieving your overall vision. To summarize the process in five steps:

1. Identify your target audience’s main problem(s).
2. Identify the benefits* your product or service offers.
3. Identify why these benefits are valuable to your customers.
4. Describe how that value solves your customers’ problem(s) from step 1.
5. Set yourself apart in the market as the best provider of said value(s).

*Oftentimes, we confuse “benefits” with “features” – don’t make this mistake! A feature is a physical attribute or characteristic, while a benefit describes why it matters to your customers. Being intentional about this step helps you focus in the right areas and create a stronger connection to your audience.

It’s important to be honest with yourself while going through this process. Ask some hard questions – are you really the best provider of said product or service? Why or why not? What could you change to make it even better? This identifies areas of opportunity for your organization to focus on and how you might get a leg up on the competition.

So you've got your value propositions. Now what? It's time to let them shine. Use them in your marketing materials, on your website, in sales pitches—anywhere your customers are interacting with your business. Make sure your team knows them inside and out, so they can communicate them consistently and confidently. Think of your value proposition as the roots of your business’s brand. It's the foundation that everything else grows from. And in our industry, we know a thing or two about making things grow, right?

Emily Gorg
Director of Marketing, Len Busch Roses