15/09/2021
Want to know the missing step that predicts which startups succeed and which fail? What stops your business from growing?
I noticed a pattern after working with several startups and being involved with Startupbootcamp.
The case of the missing Value Proposition.
And I'm not alone. Investors and VCs around the world are pushing startups to think about their value propositions.
Even with everyone telling startups that value propositions are critical, very few actually committed to doing the work or it's done (forgive me for criticising) badly.
I know, it can seem like such a small thing when there is so much to get done. Why would a few sentences make that much difference? Oh, but they do.
The hard truth is if you can't powerfully articulate the value you want to bring your audience, how can your customer understand why they should buy from you or why should a potential investor give you money?
Creating your value proposition forces you to really look at what you're creating. It helps you side-step the two main reasons startups fail:
1.) not having a problem big or bad enough that people will pay to solve it
And 2.) not understanding what makes your solution unique.
I've personally fallen foul of this. I've not pushed a founder hard enough to refine their UVP, so marketing fell flat and just became bullsh*t.
Not my finest moment, I was too busy trying to appease him rather than find a way to tell him what he and the business needed to hear. Lesson learned.
And I got fired when I did flag a massive issue with a founders value prop because I bruised an ego. After all, it highlighted a major flaw - no one gave two sh*ts. A jerky thing to do but in reality it saved me from a painful future.
It made me even more passionate.
Marketing is getting a bum rap. I got a bum rap. Value propositions are getting a bum rap and driving bum raps.
Your unique value proposition is one of the most significant opportunities to find and define competitive advantage, and it's not being done!
This is how your startup can rule the world and lead instead of following even in a crowded marketplace.
Unless you set yourself up for success, the chances are your marketing activities will suck.
Your assets may look fantastic, be beautifully creative. Still, if they aren't speaking to the problem and your unique value proposition, your radical differentiation and from the customer point of view, it won't make any difference or move the needle.
My superpower is building value propositions and turn that insight into a powerful marketing strategy that will help you grow. It's what I'm really good at.
It's the ability to sift through the noise and connect what is going on in the world, with your idea and view it through the lens of your customers. It straddles your business plan and marketing.
It is NOT your brand positioning, it's not a slide done by your brand agency. It is not a logo or a strapline. And UVPs are not easy to do.
Don't believe me? Well studies say less than 2.2% of companies have a value proposition that's working for them and not against them. If it's one of the first things a VC looks at. They receive 1-2k pitches, they look at around 400 pitches a year...and maybe have 2% go through to funding... the stats align...
I can help you figure out what makes you different from everyone else. The point of radical differentation where your opportunity and growth will come from.
You might be bootstrapped. It might seem like a frivolous expense but what is your business worth to you. This work can mean the difference between success and failure.
Not sure? It won't hurt to talk. Let's have a chat. Book using this link:
https://www.dot-connectors.com/no-bs-hour
