How To Create A Market Proposition

Your company’s competitive advantage can be enhanced by having an excellent market proposition. A good market proposition is something your business should live and breathe by. After all, if you can’t clearly distinguish your product or service from your competitors — and then deliver on your brand promise — why should your target audience choose you? In this article, we will therefore cover: What is a market proposition

What if you have one already Who should create it Then the steps to go through to create your compelling market proposition

What Is A Market Proposition?

A proposition can mean different things to different people. One thing I can say, it is nothing to do with products; it is much more than that.

A market proposition, sometimes known as a value proposition, is your brand’s statement or promise that clearly explains why your target audience should choose YOU over the competition.

It will highlight what is distinct about you, in a way that connects with your audience at an emotional level – solving their problems.

In short, it is what you do and how you do it in a way that will motivate your target audience and sets out your distinct market advantage.

We Have One, So Is That Ok?

If you have a proposition in place, fantastic. However, the market changes, so you should always assess its current relevance.

Who Should Create The Proposition?

Marketing can lead this, but it is important to include key stakeholders in the process. Otherwise buy-in will be tough.

How Do You Create A Market Proposition?

What you should not do is call a meeting and just create one at a workshop. Instead, you must follow these 3 steps, which are explained below.

1. Build the foundations

2. Go to design

3. Build it out

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Step One: Build The Foundations

Bypass this stage, and you will not create a compelling proposition. It will be one created in a vacuum, through guess work.

To build your foundations, you must get a perspective into your target audience, your competitors and into your own strengths and capabilities.

Perspective One: Your Target Audience Perspective

This is where it all begins. Gather all that research you do with your audience, on brand, NPS, surveys and general feedback.

Look at your data, what products are popular, what website pages are popular, what type of marketing messages resonate the most.

Start with what you have already and use research you have.

Then it is important to do some robust primary research to build on what you have. This step cannot be bypassed.

You need to speak to 12 to 20 key customers, with a focus around your proposition. You need to dig deeper and ask why a lot – because normal surveys can’t go deep enough.

You can do this yourself. If you have to outsource it, use someone or an agency who can talk the language of your target audience and not just tick off a set of questions. And listen in or watch it.

Think clearly about who you want to speak to and make sure you get a diverse mix, to get different viewpoints. You will want to understand:

• Their key needs and behaviours, and understand their needs in order of priority

• Understand why they choose you – what are your strengths from their perspective

• Understand how you stand out

• Then understand why they choose your competitors

• Then ask them if they had a magic wand for your business, what would they do.

TOP TIP: when interviewing customers, don’t get constrained by a script or a set of questions. Be curious, ask why.

Perspective Two: Know Your Own Strengths

Your market proposition must reflect what you are truly good at; your key strengths as a business. Something that has longevity (so not cheap products).

But having a strength is one thing, it must be a strength that is important to your target audience – not you.

The real sweet spot is where your strengths meet external needs.

That is why it important to do part one, so you can determine those needs and find out what your audience sees as your strengths.

Top Tip: When doing your primary research, use open questions. Why did you choose us/what are we good at/how have we helped you and your business.

Everyone sees things differently, so it is also important to speak to people across the business to get their views on your strengths and weaknesses.

In the same way when you talk to your audience, go deep. Really understand how you do things and how you add customer value. Understand how you make customers feel at all stages of the journey. What stops you doing things differently to others.

When talking to people in your business, expect a bias view. That is why you need to ask “why do you say that” but the more views you get, the bias is removed, and you see the bigger picture.

Perspective Three: Competitor Assessment

You could visit the websites of your competitors, but what will that really tell you? No, you must get a view of your competitors from the viewpoint of your target audience.

During your primary research, ask who your audience would use if not you. When would your competitors be selected and why? Would they use them again and what are they really good at and less good at?

After this, speak to your sales team to get a view too and get to know the strengths and weaknesses of your competition against the real needs of your audience.

And see if you can understand if your competition has strong propositions – if not, you will soon have an edge when you create your own.

Perspective Four: Pull It Together

This is where your powers of creative thinking come in. You need to piece together all the insight you have. You need to ask yourself questions like:

• What are the real needs of our customers?

• What are their biggest needs and motivations?

• How can we meet these with our key strengths?

• How can we do this better than the competition?

• Where are the gaps in the market?

• How can we stand out?

Use this type of table to bring it all together:

Use whiteboards.

Go somewhere different to do this stage – to think differently you need to be in a different environment.

Get the right people involved. Stakeholders must be involved.

Don’t stop at the first big idea and don’t over critique ideas too soon.

Create some themes for your insights.

Step Two: Go To Design

Now you can turn your insights and thinking into some stories, building on the themes, to craft a compelling proposition.

Remind yourself of the need you are meeting that attracts your audience – can you build on this to be your proposition?

Are there a cluster of needs we can address?

Are there needs that are less priority, but you are meeting well, which you could change perceptions over, so they become a key need and motivator?

If our target audience was looking down on us and the competition, why will they choose us then?

Are there any needs we could deliver against better?

Why should our target audience really care?

Create Your Lead Message

Now you can begin to articulate your market proposition in a succinct statement.

Think about who you help, with what need, that is different or distinct to your competitors that gives them what benefit.

Use normal language, not jargon.

Your Sub Messages

These are your distinctive elements that you want to deliver the proposition. It is a bit more detail and useful for communicating internally.

Test It Out

Craft a few statements and then test it out with a handful of those people involved in the primary research.

Find out which statement resonates the most and which one they believe you can deliver.

Step Three: Build it Out

By this stage you are clear on the proposition, now your need to flesh it out and build a roadmap to implement it – from the inside out.

You need a blueprint the whole business understands and a roadmap of the proposition.

Too often a proposition is written and left in a drawer, and no one knows about it. Build it and bring it to life so it becomes more than words.