What is a value proposition? Simply said, it is a succinct statement that summarises what a brand offers its customers and why consumers should choose the brand over another. To give you an idea, here are some of the examples of brands with a compelling value proposition.

Survey Monkey: “Create Surveys, Get Answers.”
Canva: “Beautiful design in 30 seconds.”
CoSchedule: “The Best Way To Plan Your Marketing, Save A Ton of Time.”
Evernote: “Remember Everything”
Skype: “Skype keeps the world talking for free. Share, message and call-now with group video on mobile and tablet too.
Bitly: “Shorten. Share. Measure.”
Google Drive: “A safe place for all your files.”
PayPanther: “ Helping businesses manager their files/ emails/invoices/expenses/accounting/ life/events/clients.”
Hootsuite: “The best social media tool for business. Manage all your social media marketing from one tool.”
Netflix: “See what’s next. Watch anywhere. Cancel anytime.”

Now, how does a brand come up with a value proposition that will encourage customers to avail of the products and/or services it offers? In developing a value proposition, there are several factors to consider such as the target market, the competitors and the value that the product brings to customers.

Target Market

Assess the demographics and psychographics. The demographics include information such as the age, gender, location occupation (etc) of the target market. On the other hand, the psychographics looks into the values, opinions, habits and attitudes of the market.

Competitor Information

What are the substitutes or products and services that can be used in lieu of yours? Having a clear understanding of the competition and what they offer can help a brand assess what it is up against. In doing so, it would be good to study the similarities and differences of what competitors offer.

Product Value and Features

Equally essential is to identify the value that the product will bring to customers or how it will benefit them or solve a problem. This usually is drawn from having a clear understanding of

1. The product, and
2. The target market/s (their desires and what would entice them to choose a product over another)

The process involves assessing the product or service by laying out all its features and then ensuring that the product or service features and delivery meets the needs and expectations of the customer. For example, for customers who are conscious about cost, this could be the price at which a product is sold. This could also be the quality of the product regardless of price for those that give more weight to quality. In terms of product delivery, the customer’s communication and service delivery preference should be considered as well.

Nowadays, competition among businesses is tougher than ever before. Customers are presented with countless options to choose from for their needs and wants. Having a well written and thought out value proposition can help entice customers to choose a product over another. The process of arriving at a great value proposition involves gaining a clear understanding of the competition, the customer and identifying what they perceive as valuable then composing a message that clearly communicates how the product or service can address their needs.

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Branding consists of two aspects: the tangible and the intangible:

• The tangible aspect refers to the graphic representations (i.e. the logo and other design elements), colour palette and typography. These are usually manifested by marketing collateral, stationery, signage and other visual materials.
• The intangible aspect encompasses the messaging and the tone of voice in the businesses marketing materials. It is also evident in the behaviour of the people associated with the company.

Both the tangible and intangible aspects of any brand need to be consistent, in order to make a lasting and positive impression. Doing so will help your business earn the trust of your customers and yield the following benefits:

• Improves audience recall – It takes time for customers to get to know and trust your brand. However, seeing the same design elements and messaging throughout various touch points will help customers become familiar with your brand.
• Reinforces your story, messaging and image – Consistent branding will further highlight to your customers what your brand is all about and help them to form impressions of your business that are in line with what you are working to communicate.
• Influences buying behaviour – When customers believe in and share your values, they are far more likely to purchase your products and/or services. Seeing consistent messaging that reflects your business’ values will encourage customers to see your brand for what it is and give them the confidence to trust your business.

With the proliferation of new marketing touch points, maintaining branding consistency across multiple channels is more challenging than ever. However, consistent branding is necessary to earn your customer’s trust and eventually, their loyalty. Below are some ways to ensure consistency across all your customer touch points:

• Ensure that your brand identity is reflected accurately across all marketing channels and/or customer touch points. Each touch point and/or marketing channel should use the same logo, tagline, colours and tone of voice, and should communicate the same brand messages. This will help to leave a visual imprint in the minds of your customers and will foster an emotional connection between them and your brand. In the future, these customers will then easily identify and remember your company.
• Develop a brand book and use it. A brand book contains a detailed description of the brand and its elements, and how to properly utilize them. It serves a guide for designers and writers when they create communication materials. It is also a good reference for employees on how to act in a way that accurately represents the company’s values and personality
• Develop a branding and messaging strategy. Consistent branding across multiple touch points is not easy to demonstrate and requires careful planning. While not a lot of time and energy will be needed to pull off visual consistency across marketing channels and customer touch points (as the graphic representations will be standard), achieving cohesive messaging across these channels can be tedious. It is best to plan ahead.
• Assign a brand ambassador. With all the communications that go out, having someone responsible for ensuring that all outbound communications are in line with the brand will be advantageous to your company. The brand ambassador, usually the Communications Officer, will have the task of meticulously checking whether or not the visual and intangible branding aspects in all marketing materials and other forms of communications reflect the company correctly.
• Develop key messages that reflect your company values and product or service offering. Find out what messages resonate with your audience and the best method of delivering them. It is important to consider your customer’s language and how and where they consume information.

Maintaining consistent branding across all marketing channels and customer touch points are key to first getting the attention of your customers and then, later on, earning their loyalty and advocacy. When creating your outbound communications, it is important to remember that branding consistency goes beyond the mere visual aspects (i.e. logo, tagline, colours palette), and that messages and tone of voice in communications and the behaviour or demeanour of those that represent the company are also just as crucial to the overall branding of a company.

Learn more about how we can help build your Brand Identity and Positioning Strategy here.

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