Three quick ways to test your value propositions

Got a new product to launch? Thinking of sharpening up an existing value proposition? When you think you’ve got a winner, try these three quick tests to see if your proposition is likely to fly – or die – in the marketplace.

The wastepaper basket test
First, there's the "wastepaper basket" acid test of your value proposition. Here you should imagine that you have put together a letter to a prospective client, using the value proposition as the lead headline. The client has opened the envelope and is standing over the wastepaper basket, quickly scanning your letter. All she has in mind is whether to drop your letter in the trash or to read on. If you don't think your value proposition is strong enough to stop the client letting go, try again.

The supermarket shelf test
We often ask our clients to imagine their brand standing on a supermarket shelf along with the brands of their category competitors, and further flanked by beyond-category competitors (alternative ways your prospect's time and money could be used). What is it about the brand's personality (e.g. visual appearance) that gets shoppers to pull it off the shelf instead of the brand next to it? What value proposition statement and supporting points might then get the shopper to drop it into their cart?

The cold call test
Another useful exercise is to imagine you are a company salesperson operating in a highly competitive region. What statement would be most likely to get you an appointment with a busy, stressed-out prospect who actively fights off all but the smartest salespeople? For a workshop with a large food ingredients producer, we began by asking the participants to tell us all the things that both a) were interesting enough to get a meeting, and b) their competitors couldn't claim as well.

We ended up with five solid value propositions that could be individually selected as a door-opener by the company's salespeople, depending on the customer's known or expected hot buttons. Then we considered what it was that united these five value propositions and discovered the company's overall value proposition.

There are many, many paths to identifying your value proposition. And many pitfalls along the way. That's why you really need someone who is both experienced and objective to facilitate the process. Otherwise you risk spending a lot of senior management time on creating something that feels good by the end of your meeting, but which falls flat on its face when it meets marketplace realities.

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Want to learn more about value propositions?
Then check out our "Ten smart things to think about value propositions" and find out why they're useful and where to start.