Small Business Information

What Is YOUR Value Proposition?


Every company has a value proposition. That is a statement of their perceived value to their clients. Often a company will have one perception at the executive level, another at the sales level, and even a third one at the client level.

Value propositions need to be aligned so that the customer is getting a consistent message. If the value proposition is not aligned you will have different level, different directions, and different speeds that not aiming at the same results. If you take the time to find out what others are saying about your value and compare that to what you think your value is, you may be quite surprised that the two values are not the same. If you aim to keep happy customers, then you must change your value proposition to match that of the customer's perception.

I have a colleague that was working on a company assessment to find out if the value proposition from the executive level, sales level, and customer level were the same. What he found was that this company and others of similar size ($100 M in sales) do not align their value proposition to what the customer sees as the value, In fact, he found that what they thought was the best part of their company was actually not very important to the customer.

Ask yourself what your value proposition should be, not what you think it should be. Work with your clients to achieve an alignment of perceived values and actual value. Keep a record of everything that is said about the company and its value. Help them to understand what they bring to the table and you will likely win more business.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen". Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Earthtimes (press release)

Brown & Brown, Inc. Acquires Small Business Insurance Unit of ...
MarketWatch - 15 hours ago
... Inc. (BRO: , , ) today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the small business insurance unit of Conner Strong Companies, Inc. The small ...
Brown & Brown Acquires Small Business Unit of NJ's Conner Strong Insurance Journal
Brown & Brown, Inc. Acquires Small Business Insurance Unit of ... International Business Times
Brown & Brown buys part of Conner Strong Bizjournals.com
Daytona Beach News-Journal
all 24 news articles


Nothing but Network: Cisco Performs Small Business Makeover on ...
CNNMoney.com - 20 hours ago
Today Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced that it has completed an installation of Cisco® Small Business solutions at Magic Johnson Enterprises, the No. ...
Magic Johnson discusses telepresence, Celtics-Lakers rivalry and ... NetworkWorld.com
Cisco's mixed message Internet News
all 13 news articles


iRobot Awarded Six Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) R&D ...
MarketWatch - 19 hours ago
today announced it has been awarded six new Phase Two Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Grants. These projects are to be funded by the US Army Tank ...
iRobot awarded six R&D grants Bizjournals.com
Military hands $4.4M in six grants to iRobot Mass High Tech
all 19 news articles


Barracuda Networks Breaks Into SSL VPN Space for Small Business
eWeek,  NY - 13 hours ago
By Brian Prince Fresh off its acquisition of BitLeap, Barracuda Networks has bought open source SSL VPN vendor 3SP. Barracuda Networks has released ...


The Small Business Side of the Automakers' Financial Woes
U.S. News & World Report, DC - 18 hours ago
The controversy over the bailout of Detroit's Big Three--a package whose passage is looking more unlikely all the time, at least in its current form--is ...


Verizon Wireless Business Connection Brings Big Value to Small ...
MarketWatch - 16 hours ago
Starting today, small business customers of the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network can access Verizon Wireless Business Connection, ...
Business best bets Asheville Citizen-Times
all 17 news articles


Wall Street Journal Blogs

Small Business Center Provides Assistance During Tough Economic Times
Memphis Daily News,  USA - 3 hours ago
The Tennessee Small Business Development Center stands ready to help businesses cope with today’s tough economic times and tight credit market. ...
With Credit Tight, US Gives Small Business a Hand New York Times
Small business loans see a drop-off this year Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Democrats Can Jump Start Recovery By Reinvesting in SBA Huffington Post
Lower Hudson Journal news - U.S. News & World Report
all 219 news articles


How to market a small business on Facebook
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 15 hours ago
The topic was "How to Market a Small Business on Facebook" and even though social marketing on sites like Facebook is here to stay, it can be hard to get ...


Smartsheet Ships Online Business Bundler for Small Business
PR Web (press release), WA - 1 hour ago
The Small Business Bundler provides organizations with the means to offer a branded work management tool as part of their own online service pre-loaded with ...


Small business owners invited to Nov. 19 seminar
Mid Columbia Tri City Herald, WA - 8 hours ago
By Ingrid Stegemoeller Small business owners are invited to learn how to save tax dollars and protect assets at a seminar Nov. 19. ...

Small-Business - Google News

Home | Index | SiteMap