Being able to effectively communicate the value of your products or services is critical to any company’s success. While many businesses excel at describing what they do, they often struggle to articulate how their offerings benefit their customers. This communication gap can lead to missed opportunities and lost sales.
To bridge this gap, companies need to develop strategies that help them clearly and persuasively communicate the value they provide. Below, 19 Forbes Business Council members explore some of the best tips and practices for conveying your offering’s value to customers.
1. Focus On What Creates Value
Expertise, experience and education all create a foundation for value. Crafting the messaging in a clear and concise way for customers to understand is important, but we cannot assume that they will understand a general claim of value without the background. To take it a step further, testimonials from customers they can relate to go a long way. – Laura Scotti, ScottiWorks
2. Hone Your Value Proposition Through Surveys
Customer surveys are a secret weapon to find and hone your value proposition. The key is to not over-engineer the surveys. Instead, ask simple and open-ended questions that allow you to discover common themes straight from your customers. I love this open-ended question: “What would you tell a colleague about our business?” – Liz Giorgi, soona
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3. Always Focus On The Client
Find out what challenges your clients are facing and show your value by actually providing value. Walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk. Prove it to the client by offering something of value, showing them what you do rather than asking for something. This builds an authentic relationship rather than a pushy interaction. Show the client rather than tell them. – Beth Jannery, Titan Strategic Communications
4. Tell A Story
Storytelling works for many purposes and it works well for communicating the value your company provides. Interesting stories have a conflict (the problem your customer needs to overcome) and a resolution (your product). The hero is the customer, not you! The end of the story is about how the hero lives a better life, which is your product or service benefits in practice. – Aslak de Silva, Selfly Store
5. Highlight The Benefits Your Product/Service Offers
Instead of listing features, clearly articulate how those features solve a problem or meet a need that the customer has. Make sure that your messaging is consistent across all channels, from your website and social media profiles to your marketing materials. – Corey Scurlock, Equum Medical
6. Use Case Studies And Real-Life Examples
One thing I like to do is to never demonstrate the product in the first interactions with customers. The moment a product is introduced to the conversation, you become a cost instead of a solution. How do you discuss what you offer without showing what you offer? It is real-life examples, case studies or customer stories that show the meaningful value of a product. – Joseph Toma, Jugo
7. Communicate Your Brand Promise
Your brand promise should be at the center of all communications. Crafting the right message for your audience requires aligning all members of your team with it. It is not solely the responsibility of the sales department; every team member of the company is responsible for conveying the same message. – Francisco Ramirez, The ACE Group (TAG)
8. Show, Don’t Just Tell
Talking about what you do is easy, but conveying the value of your products or services to customers is a whole different ball game. So, here’s my tip: don’t just flaunt fancy features. Illustrate how you will improve their lives. Paint a clear picture of the benefits and problems you solve. Plus, use success stories to demonstrate your worth. – Chris Kille, Payment Pilot
9. Tell Customer Stories
Highlight how your products or services helped real customers achieve their goals. This will convey the tangible value you bring in a way that’s relatable and very engaging. Since we started using case studies, customer success stories and testimonials to showcase the real-world impact of our products, we have experienced a boost in our conversion and engagement. – Ifiok Nkem, MarketingBlocks
10. Offer Solutions To Customers’ Pain Points
Companies should focus on addressing their customers’ pain points and demonstrating how their offerings can solve those problems. Providing concrete examples and case studies can help illustrate the impact and benefits of their products or services. Additionally, companies should be transparent and communicate clearly about their pricing and how it compares to competitors in the market. – Yasmin Walter, KMD Books
11. Demonstrate What’s At Stake
It’s not enough to describe the problem and how you solved it; you must also show what was at stake for your customer and how you uniquely approached the solution. Use data that will be meaningful to prospective clients and partners when possible. – Nell Callahan, Frontwood Strategies
12. Explain Both The ‘How’ And The ‘Why’
A product or service has two components: a “how” and a “why.” Most companies focus on one or the other, but not both. To properly connect with your target audience and help them see the value, focus on the “how” and the “why” together. Then, tie that to your prospect by asking how that fits them. Value needs to be tied to them, not you or what you think it is. – Robert Depalo, National Financial Network
13. Share User-Generated Content
One strategy that has worked for us is using customer testimonials and reviews to communicate the value proposition of our products. These don’t even have to be solicited reviews. You can search on social media for user-generated content about your product, what it does and why it is better. Customers are more likely to believe another customer’s experience than a marketing video or ad. – Erik Pham, Health Canal
14. Sell The Benefits, Not The Product
Avoid talking about your product and how it works. Sell the benefit of the solution. If you sell air conditioners, then you should focus on all the amazing things you can do when you’re not hot, sweaty and miserable—don’t sell energy efficiency and related technical features. – Joseph Edgar, SnapAds
15. Be ‘Outward-Focused’
Because we focus on improving our business most of the time, we’re “inward-focused.” To communicate successfully for influence and sales, you need to be “outward-focused” and meet the emotional and rational needs and wants of your audience. To be audience-driven, start with truly understanding them to learn what they feel or think can improve their lives. Then, present your message so it resonates with them! – Jerry Cahn, Age Brilliantly
16. Use What You Are Selling
I once had a staffing firm try to sell me a database of potential employees whom they believed to be good fits for our company. When I asked the representative if his firm uses its databases to staff its own organization, he told me they didn’t —and that’s all I needed to hear. I had no interest in buying what they themselves weren’t using. – Dr. David Lenihan, Tiber Health
17. Highlight Customer Success
To effectively communicate value, focus on storytelling that highlights customer success. Share specific, relatable examples of how your products or services solved a problem or improved a customer’s life. Use testimonials, case studies or success stories to illustrate the real-world impact of your offerings. Emphasize unique benefits and differentiators and connect emotionally with your audience. – Dustin Lemick, BriteCo
18. Differentiate Yourself From The Competition
Communicate consistently across all marketing and communication channels, including the company’s website, social media, advertising and sales materials. By effectively communicating their value proposition, companies can differentiate themselves from their competitors and clearly articulate the benefits of their offerings to potential customers. – Tammy Sons, Tn Nursery
19. Think Like A Consumer
At your next company meeting, ask employees what your company does. Follow this up by asking them why people should care about what your company does. This is a great way to help people realize that the talking points they think are important may not actually matter to customers and prospects. It helps put people in the customers’ shoes. – Ty Allen, SocialClimb
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