"You had me at hello."
15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance.
When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.
Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.
Recognize any of these sayings? Of course you do!
They’ve wormed their way into the American consciousness. You might think that these are just knock-it out-of-the-park slogans for Geico, FedEx, and Hershey’s, but these phrases, while they are clever slogans, are more than that.
They also represent each company's value proposition. Do you have your value props listed on your website? You should. Here’s why.
The 15 Second Countdown
*cue the 60 Minutes ticking sound*
Do you know that the average time spent on a website before clicking away is just 15 seconds? That’s how long we have to capture someone’s attention.
If you don’t do it within 15 seconds, you’ve likely lost them.
I wish it was just a matter of creating a colorful home page with cute puppy pictures to lure people into spending time on your site. That would be fun! Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.
Value Propositions, 101
The key to capturing someone’s attention is to begin with a BANG. Your bold and effective statement needs to communicate:
What benefits you provide
Who you serve
Why you’re the ideal fit for the customer over all your competitors
Without stating these things clearly within seconds of your customers’ experience, they’ll have to dig around to find out if you have what they need. And that’s practically inviting them to move on. Not good!
Let’s revisit the value props of the behemoths we listed above. These companies have a distinct advantage - they’re already well known. They can get away with these shorter value props. But these clever phrases still speak volumes.
15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance.
Geico lets you know that anyone who needs car insurance should buy it from them because their process is quick, easy, and discounted.
When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.
FedEx tells you that if you need to send a package, they can do it, and they can do it quickly.
Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.
M&Ms are chocolates you can take with you without worrying that they’ll melt all over the place.
Since you’re likely a little less well known than these giants, you’ll have to work
a little harder at your company’s value proposition.
First, ask yourself a few questions:
What exactly do you do? You need to be able to clearly identify what you do and how you do it differently than your competition. And it’s not just the boss that needs to know this. Everyone on the team should be confident about what they do and why. This will lead to everyone’s overall success.
Who is your target market? Who wants what you have? It’s senseless to create content without being clear about who you’re trying to reach. That leads to a disconnect between sales and marketing, and that’s no bueno.
What are their pain points? Address how your company can save the day! Ask your customers the critical questions to discover exactly what these pain points are. If you don’t know the questions to ask, check out our article here. And if you need help with this process, we can do it with you or for you. Contact us here.
How will your product or service save the day? Once you know what the key struggles are, you can position your company to be the ones to be able to help.
Let’s take a look at some value props we created for some of the companies we’ve worked with.
Sparkle Swap:
SparkleSwap is a comprehensive platform where crafters can buy and sell their unused supplies. Sellers can get cash for their unused supplies and know they will be put to good use. Buyers get great quality supplies and beautiful treasures at a significant discount. Everyone benefits from the support of other crafters in our SparkleSwap community, where you can uplevel your skill and unleash your inner artist.
This describes exactly what Sparkle Swap provides for their customers and how their software serves them. We touched on the benefits of the three markets she serves.
The Accounting Company:
We are an outsourcing accounting company who primarily serves the restaurant and hospitality industry. With our state-of-the-art technology and dedicated problem solving professionals, we can provide your business with accurate, real-time financials so you can prepare for growth, make strategic decisions based on data, reduce costs, and increase profitability. Within our company, we value human connection; we are accessible and fun!
The first sentence shares who they serve, so that their audience can select themselves automatically. Then we describe what they can do for the client.
Both of these value props were highly effective because the information came directly from the market research we had done.
Here are some examples of effective ways to differentiate different values highlighted in your value prop.
Lyft: Rider’s Page
The whole city. In the palm of your hand.
Lyft: Driver’s Page
Drive toward what matters.
Whether you’re able to come up with a catchy, clever, creative phrase that worms its way into the brains of your customers or you write a well crafted value proposition paragraph, be sure to always communicate how you help your customers from their lens.
If you do, you won’t fear the ticking clock.
You’ll get them at “hello.”